# Frameworks and Answer Methods

Frameworks help preserve important reasoning under time pressure. They are not
scripts and do not determine the answer before the evidence.

| Domain | Primary method | Supporting artifact |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDS | [Product sense and design](product-sense-and-design.md) | [Discovery brief](../06-templates/discovery-research-brief.md) |
| GUE | [Decision-first estimation](guesstimates-and-market-sizing.md) | [Estimation ledger](../07-reference-data/estimation-anchor-ledger.md) |
| RCA | [Nine-step product diagnosis](root-cause-analysis-and-product-diagnosis.md) | [Incident review](../06-templates/incident-learning-review.md) |
| All other banks | [Domain answer router](domain-answer-router.md) | [Template library](../06-templates/README.md) |
| All | [Universal scoring and red lines](universal-scoring-and-red-lines.md) | [Mock scorecard](../06-templates/mock-interview-scorecard.md) |

## Framework test

Before using a named method, ask:

1. What decision is requested?
2. What evidence type would resolve it?
3. What mechanism could create the outcome?
4. What output must I produce?
5. Which parts of the method are irrelevant here?

If you cannot answer those, saying “I’ll use CIRCLES,” “RICE,” “AARRR,” or “5
Whys” is decoration.