synthesis-patterns

Multi-Source Synthesis Patterns

When answering questions that require information from multiple Glean sources, use these patterns to combine and synthesize effectively.

When This Applies

Use this approach when:

• A question spans documents, meetings, people, and code
• You need to cross-reference information from different sources
• Results from one source need context from another
• Building a comprehensive answer from partial information
• Sources seem to conflict or overlap

BE SKEPTICAL

When synthesizing across multiple sources, aggressive vetting is essential:

Source Quality Test

• Is each source authoritative?
• ✅ INCLUDE: Official docs, code, recent meetings
• ⚠️ CONTEXT: Secondary sources, somewhat dated
• ❌ EXCLUDE: Hearsay, speculation, very old information

Recency vs Authority

• When sources disagree on recency, choose wisely:
• ✅ TRUST: Recent information from official source
• ⚠️ CAUTION: Very recent but unofficial vs stale but official
• ❌ AVOID: Treating old info as current just because it's "official"

Completeness Check

• Do you have the full picture?
• ✅ INCLUDE: 3+ sources align, comprehensive coverage
• ⚠️ CONTEXT: Limited sources, note gaps explicitly
• ❌ EXCLUDE: Single source for multi-faceted questions

Conflict Resolution

• When sources conflict, don't hide it:
• ✅ INCLUDE: Conflict + explanation of which is likely correct
• ❌ EXCLUDE: Picking one source without acknowledging disagreement

Filter Out:

• Unattributed claims
• Information older than 3 months (unless structure/architecture)
• Synthesis that glosses over fundamental disagreements
• "I synthesized this" without showing your work

Say "I don't know" when:

• Sources are missing or conflicting
• Information is too stale to be reliable
• You lack sufficient data to synthesize confidently

The Synthesis Framework

1. Identify Information Types Needed

Before querying, determine what types of information are needed:

Information Type	Glean Tool	Use When
Official documentation	search	Need authoritative specs, policies
Real-time context	meeting_lookup	Need recent discussions, decisions
People/org structure	employee_search	Need ownership, expertise
Code evidence	code_search	Need implementation truth
User's own context	memory, user_activity	Need personalization
AI synthesis	chat	Need reasoning across sources

2. Query in Optimal Order

Recommended order for comprehensive synthesis:

1. Start broad with chat - Get AI-synthesized overview
2. Verify with search - Find authoritative documents
3. Add recency with meeting_lookup - Get latest discussions
4. Clarify ownership with employee_search - Identify who to ask
5. Ground in reality with code_search - What's actually implemented

3. Cross-Reference Pattern

When you have results from multiple sources, cross-reference:

## Finding: [Topic]

### From Documentation
- [What docs say] - Source: [doc title] ([link])

### From Recent Meetings
- [What was discussed] - Source: [meeting date]

### From Code
- [What's implemented] - Source: [file/repo]

### Synthesis
Based on these sources: [Your synthesized answer]

### Confidence
- Documentation: [Current/Stale/Missing]
- Meeting Context: [Recent/Old/None]
- Code Evidence: [Present/Partial/None]

4. Handle Conflicts

When sources disagree:

## Conflicting Information Detected

| Topic | Source A Says | Source B Says |
|-------|---------------|---------------|
| [Topic] | [Claim from doc] | [Claim from meeting] |

**Most Likely Truth**: [Your assessment based on recency, authority]

**Recommendation**: Verify with [person/source]

Synthesis Patterns by Use Case

Pattern: "What is X?"

1. chat - Get overview
2. search - Find official definition
3. employee_search - Find owner to verify
4. Synthesize: Combine AI overview + official doc + owner context

Pattern: "Who should I talk to about X?"

1. employee_search - Find by role
2. code_search - Find by code activity
3. search - Find by doc authorship
4. Synthesize: Rank by multiple signal strength

Pattern: "What's the status of X?"

1. chat - Get current status summary
2. meeting_lookup - Find recent discussions
3. search - Find tracking docs (Jira, etc.)
4. Synthesize: Combine with recency weighting

Pattern: "How do we do X?"

1. search - Find process docs
2. code_search - Find implementation
3. meeting_lookup - Find recent changes
4. Synthesize: Doc process + code reality + recent updates

Output Best Practices

1. Cite every source - Include links for all claims
2. Note recency - When was this information last updated?
3. Flag uncertainty - Be clear about gaps
4. Suggest verification - Point to people who can confirm
5. Acknowledge conflicts - Don't hide disagreements

Example Synthesis Output

## [Question/Topic]

### Answer
[Direct answer to the question]

### Supporting Evidence

| Source | What It Says | Last Updated |
|--------|--------------|--------------|
| [Doc Title] | [Key info] | [Date] |
| [Meeting] | [Key info] | [Date] |
| [Code/Repo] | [Key info] | [Date] |

### Confidence Assessment
- **Overall Confidence**: [High/Medium/Low]
- **Data Freshness**: [Current/Mostly current/Some stale]
- **Source Agreement**: [Strong/Partial/Conflicting]

### Gaps & Recommendations
- [What's missing or uncertain]
- [Who to verify with if critical]

Relationship to Other Skills

This skill works with:

• glean-tools-guide - For tool selection
• confidence-signals - For noting data quality
• enterprise-search - For document searches
• meeting-context - For meeting queries
• people-lookup - For people queries