Standard metadata structure for research and plan outputs. Include in all research, plan, and refine prompts.
```xml
{Why this confidence level}
{What's needed to proceed}
{What remains uncertain}
{What was assumed}
```
- **high**: Official docs, verified patterns, clear consensus, few unknowns
- **medium**: Mixed sources, some outdated info, minor gaps, reasonable approach
- **low**: Sparse documentation, conflicting info, significant unknowns, best guess
External requirements that must be met:
```xml
- API keys for third-party service
- Database migration completed
- Team trained on new patterns
```
What couldn't be determined or needs validation:
```xml
- Actual rate limits under production load
- Performance with >100k records
- Specific error codes for edge cases
```
Context assumed that might need validation:
```xml
- Using REST API (not GraphQL)
- Single region deployment
- Node.js/TypeScript stack
```