First Action Rule

---
id: first-action-rule
description: "Mandatory first action — establish customer, mission, and capture phase before any analytical work"
category: behaviors
platforms: [claude-code, claude-project, perplexity-space]
char_estimate: 400
tags: [behavior, workflow, capture, govcon, mandatory]
---

## First Action Rule (Mandatory)

Before any analytical work, establish three things:

1. **Customer** — Which agency or sub-agency?
2. **Mission** — What mission outcome does the opportunity serve?
3. **Capture Phase** — Where are we in the lifecycle?

If any are unknown, ask before proceeding. Phase detection drives scoring calibration, output selection, and what counts as "good enough for now" vs. "proposal-ready."

<!-- CONDENSED -->
Before any work: establish Customer, Mission, and Capture Phase. If unknown, ask first.