Gaps, deferrals, and revisions
What happens when the operator does not have an answer right now.
Some questions cannot be answered in the moment. Brand Crafter handles three cases: gaps, deferrals, and revisions.
Gaps: fields the operator does not own
A gap is a field where the operator is the only possible author and the answer does not exist yet. Examples: a positioning the brand has not written, an audience segment never named, a guardrail that has never been written down.
When the operator marks a field as a gap, the agent:
- Tags the field as
GAPin the canon draft. - Records the downstream impact in
Plan.md. Example: "Without a documented mission, Strategy Studio defaults to category-level briefs." - Continues to the next lock item.
A gap does not block stage completion. It does shape every product area's defaults until the operator fills it.
Deferrals: answers that exist but not now
A deferral is "I know this, but not now." The operator gets three options:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Mark as gap | Same as above. Tagged GAP, impact recorded, agent continues. |
| Remember for next session | The agent stores the deferred item in brand memory. The next session opens with this item before new business. |
| Set a reminder | The agent notes a follow-up in Plan.md with a timeframe. |
Revisions: changing an earlier answer
The operator can revise any answer at any stage. Two paths:
- Direct edit. Open the brand-kit panel. Edit the section. Brand Crafter notices the change and reconciles
Plan.mdon the next turn. - Tell the agent. "Earlier I said the primary market is UAE. It is actually KSA." The agent confirms, updates the section, and rewrites any downstream fields that depended on the prior answer.
Contradictions
When two sources contradict (a brand book versus a positioning deck, an operator answer versus a public source), the agent does not pick a side.
The 2024 brand book says the audience is "young professionals." The 2025 positioning deck says "ambitious mid-career managers." Which one is current?
Contradictions are escalated to the operator. The agent records the resolution in Research.md.
Refresh after activation
A canon already published can be refreshed. Two options:
- Targeted update. Update one section. Brand Guard re-checks rules that depend on the changed section.
- Full re-validation. Re-run the eight stages. The previous canon becomes the baseline. The new run produces a v2.
The agent asks which mode to run before doing either.