Strategic revision

Strategic Revision — From Referee PDF to DAG-Validated Master Plan

Read a referee comments PDF and produce:

1. Standardised tracking files (per-reviewer markdown, LaTeX verbatim, comment tracker, review analysis)
2. A computationally validated revision master plan (atomic tasks, DAG, execution blocks A-E, critical path, bottlenecks)

Provenance: DAG validation + critical-path architecture adapted from Jukka Sihvonen's strategic-revision skill (https://github.com/jusi-aalto/strategic-revision). the user's ingestion layer (correspondence scaffolding, LaTeX verbatim, R&R routing, venue strategy, coaching) retained.

When to Use

• Received reviewer reports for a paper (journal or conference)
• Starting an R&R cycle and need to set up tracking + plan revision strategy
• Want both structured referee artifacts AND a dependency-mapped action roadmap

When NOT to Use

• Writing the actual response letter (use generated response blocks as a starting point, then write manually)
• Reviewing someone else's paper (use /proofread or peer-reviewer agent)
• Internal review synthesis only — use /synthesise-reviews instead

Inputs

Gather via interview if not provided:

1. Reviews PDF path — auto-discovered or user-provided (see below)
2. Project path — root of the research project (auto-detect from cwd if possible)
3. Venue slug — e.g., ejor, facct-2026, management-science
4. Revision round — integer, default 1
5. Response deadline — date if known, otherwise "TBD"
6. Coordinating author — who is leading the response

PDF Auto-Discovery

Search for the reviews PDF in this order. Use the first match; if multiple PDFs found at a location, list them and ask the user to pick.

1. to-sort/*.pdf — most likely landing spot after download
2. correspondence/referee-reviews/{venue}-round{n}/*.pdf
3. correspondence/referee-reviews/*.pdf
4. Ask the user for the path if nothing found

Output Location

correspondence/referee-reviews/{venue}-round{n}/
├── reviews-original.pdf              (copy of input PDF — source NEVER moved)
├── rebuttal.md                       (empty — for response draft)
├── reviews/                          (individual reviewer files)
│   ├── reviewer-1.md
│   └── ...
├── analysis/
│   ├── comment-tracker.md            (atomic comment matrix with R&R + 5-cat classification)
│   ├── review-analysis.md            (strategic overview + venue strategy)
│   └── reviewer-comments-verbatim.tex (LaTeX transcription)
└── plan/
    ├── REVISION_MASTER_PLAN.md       (six-phase Sihvonen plan — atomic tasks, DAG, blocks, risks)
    ├── revision_tasks.json           (DAG input — see references/task-schema.md)
    └── revision_dag_analysis.json    (computational output — parallel batches, critical path, bottlenecks)

Source PDF preservation: The original PDF is only ever copied to reviews-original.pdf. Never move, rename, or delete the source.

Principle: correspondence/ holds exchanges with reviewers. Internal review work goes in docs/{venue}/internal-reviews/.

No-overwrite rule: If outputs already exist, version them (comment-tracker-v2.md, REVISION_MASTER_PLAN-v2.md). Always flag before writing.

Protocol — 11 Phases

The skill runs 11 sequential phases. Detailed step-by-step procedure: references/phases.md.

#	Phase	Output	Source
1	Setup	Scaffolded directories + copied PDF	FB
2	Read Reviews	Structured per-reviewer data in memory	FB
3	Individual Reviewer Files	reviews/reviewer-{N}.md	FB
4	LaTeX Verbatim Transcription	reviewer-comments-verbatim.tex (compiled)	FB
5	Atomic Parsing	Every distinct request as own SourceID (R1.a3, EiC.2b)	JS
6	Classification	5-cat (STRUCTURAL/ARGUMENTATIVE/EMPIRICAL/CLARIFICATION/EDITORIAL) + R&R routing (NEW ANALYSIS / CLARIFICATION / DISAGREE / MINOR)	Both
7	Dependency Mapping (DAG)	Upstream Blockers + Collateral Risks tables → revision_tasks.json	JS
8	Structural DAG Validation	dag_validator.py --validate-only gate check	JS
9	Critical Path Sequencing	Execution Blocks A-E + GO/NO-GO gate after Block A	JS
10	Risk & Conflict Resolution + Coaching	Reviewer conflicts, process risks, interactive coaching (Major/Critical only)	Both
11	Computational Optimization + Review Analysis	Parallel batches, critical path, bottlenecks + venue strategy (CABS/CORE/SJR)	Both

JS = Sihvonen phases. FB = the user phases. Both = merged.

Phase Dependencies

• Phases 1-4 (ingestion) must complete before Phase 5 begins
• Phase 8 is a hard gate: cycles → return to Phase 7, do not advance to Phase 9
• Phase 11 requires the Phase 9 block assignments before running full DAG analysis
• Phase 10 coaching runs only on Major/Critical comments (skip Minor/Editorial)

DAG Validation Quick Reference

Phase 8 (structural gate):

cd correspondence/referee-reviews/{venue}-round{n}/plan
python dag_validator.py revision_tasks.json --validate-only

Phase 11 (full analysis):

python dag_validator.py revision_tasks.json
# Produces revision_dag_analysis.json

Copy dag_validator.py from skills/strategic-revision/scripts/ into the plan directory before running. Requires networkx (uv pip install networkx if missing).

Full validator documentation: references/dag-validation.md. Task JSON schema: references/task-schema.md. R&R routing rules: references/rr-routing.md.

Classification: Two Axes

Every atomic task gets both classifications recorded in the comment tracker:

Category (5-cat, Sihvonen): structural intent of the change

• 🔴 STRUCTURAL — moves, cuts, reorganizations
• 🟠 ARGUMENTATIVE — theory, narrative, logical framing
• 🟡 EMPIRICAL — new regressions, data work, robustness
• 🟢 CLARIFICATION — definitions, justifications, explanations
• 🔵 EDITORIAL — formatting, typos, figures, terminology

R&R Routing (FB): workflow routing

• NEW ANALYSIS — needs code/data work
• CLARIFICATION — textual fix only
• DISAGREE — author push-back with rebuttal
• MINOR — trivial or editorial

The two axes are orthogonal: a STRUCTURAL task is usually a CLARIFICATION routing; an EMPIRICAL task is usually NEW ANALYSIS; ARGUMENTATIVE with DISAGREE signals a rebuttal-heavy revision.

Strategic Coaching (Phase 10)

For each Major or Critical comment, walk the user through:

1. Understanding: reviewer's core concern — methodology, theory, or framing?
2. Position: Agree / Partially agree / Disagree (with core rebuttal if Disagree)
3. Risk: likelihood of reviewer escalation if pushed back on
4. Response sketch: one-sentence strategy (not full response)

Record in the comment tracker with two new columns: Position + Strategy.

Rules:

• Only Major/Critical get coaching. Minor/Editorial auto-classify as Agree.
• the user can say "skip coaching" to auto-classify all remaining as Agree.
• Maximum 2 rounds of dialogue per comment.
• Do not write the actual response letter — that remains the user's job.

Venue Strategy (Phase 11)

Populate the Publication Strategy section of review-analysis.md:

• Strategy A (minimal revision): venues that would accept the paper as-is despite reviewer concerns
• Strategy B (substantial revision): equal-or-higher prestige venues worth targeting if authors invest in addressing major concerns
• Conferences: check CORE rankings via .context/resources/venue-rankings.md (CSV: .context/resources/venue-rankings/core_2026.csv)
• Journals: check CABS AJG via .context/resources/venue-rankings.md (CSV: .context/resources/venue-rankings/abs_ajg_2024.csv). For SJR, query Elsevier Serial Title API (SCOPUS_API_KEY required). Flag journals below CABS 3 only with strong rationale.
• Recommendation table: 3-5 venues ranked with rationale. First option should always be "revise for current venue" if acceptance probability >~30%.
• Key Decision: frame the core trade-off (speed vs. impact, minimal vs. substantial effort).

Critical Rules

1. Verbatim means verbatim. Never paraphrase reviewer text in reviewer-comments-verbatim.tex. Copy exactly.
2. Every comment gets a SourceID. No reviewer concern is lost. If in doubt, give it its own ID.
3. Atomic tasks only. If a paragraph contains 3 distinct requests, create 3 rows — never collapse.
4. No invented requests. Every task traces to a verbatim quote.
5. Don't overwrite. Version outputs if present.
6. Compile the LaTeX. reviewer-comments-verbatim.tex must build cleanly before Phase 5.
7. Phase 8 is a hard gate. Cycles block Phase 9. Fix the DAG, re-run validation.
8. Phase 11 is mandatory. Do not skip computational optimization — parallel batches and critical path override manual sequencing where they conflict.
9. Don't write response letters. The skill produces plans and trackers; writing the rebuttal is the user's job.
10. GO/NO-GO gate after Block A. If empirical foundation changes key conclusions, escalate to authors before advancing.

Templates

Located in templates/referee-comments/:

• comment-tracker.md — atomic matrix with R&R columns
• review-analysis.md — strategic overview template
• reviewer-comments-verbatim.tex — LaTeX transcription template

Cross-References

• /proofread — proofread the response letter before submission
• /bib-validate — run after revision to check bibliography
• /pre-submission-report — full quality check before resubmission
• paper-critic agent — self-review of the revised paper
• /synthesise-reviews — merge internal review agent reports (different use case — not referee comments)
• references/phases.md — detailed 11-phase protocol
• references/rr-routing.md — R&R routing signal words
• references/dag-validation.md — DAG validator usage + Phase 6 details
• references/task-schema.md — revision_tasks.json JSON schema
• scripts/dag_validator.py — NetworkX-based DAG validator (copy to plan dir before running)