“Research this market” leaves an agent with decisions about scope, sources, time, and the purpose of the research. Some discretion is useful. Some creates avoidable misunderstanding.
A small agreement before the work
A useful assignment explains the question, the relevant context, the expected contribution, and the agent’s authority. It also describes what to do when evidence conflicts or an assumption cannot be checked.
- What are we trying to achieve or learn?
- What context is necessary?
- What may the agent do independently?
- How will we evaluate the work?
- When should it stop or ask for help?
Leave room for discovery
An exploratory assignment needs freedom to find that the initial question is mistaken. Specify the purpose and resource limits without prescribing the conclusion.
A good assignment makes useful discretion possible.
The next step is to compare this small agreement with an ordinary request on similar work, recording both the quality of the result and the effort needed to supervise it.