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slides/PLAN_2026-04-21: context-survival plan for the revision pass 



Checkpoint document for the 2026-04-21 review feedback from the
scientists on the pre-hack-a-thon deck.  Captures:

- the no-fabricated-reflectivity rule (now in global CLAUDE.md)
- ref_core as the agreed canonical name (formerly mr_core)
- threshold vs stretch messaging, two-instrument emphasis
- per-slide disposition (edit/cut/archive/new)
- environment notes (which pixi envs work, which IPTS has live data)
- execution order for the revisions

Written so any future session that resumes after context compaction
can pick up exactly where this one left off.

Co-Authored-By: default avatarClaude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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plan/quicknxsv2-modularization/slides/PLAN_2026-04-21.md

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# Pre-hack-a-thon slide revision plan — 2026-04-21



**User session:** 2026-04-21 review feedback after scientists saw

the initial 8-slide deck.  This file is a written plan so any future

session (including one that resumes after context compaction) can

pick up where we left off.



**Branch state:** `quicknxsv2-modularization-with-mantid-elaboration`

has been merged back into `quicknxsv2-modularization`; scientists

are reviewing from the latter.  Work should be committed on

`quicknxsv2-modularization-with-mantid-elaboration` unless

instructed otherwise.



## Golden feedback captured to memory



**Never fabricate reflectivity data.**  Added to

`~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` as a `[WHEN: this session produces a

reflectivity / R(Q) plot for a scientific audience]` rule.  Every

R(Q) plot in future slides must come from real reductions or be an

obvious hand-drawn cartoon.



## Naming change



- Everywhere: `mr_core` → `ref_core`.  Scientists have agreed on

  `ref_core` as the canonical name for the unified back-end.

  Applies to every `.md`, `.svg`, `.py` under

  `plan/quicknxsv2-modularization/`.



## Messaging updates (threshold vs stretch)



**Threshold goal (primary message) for the pre-hack-a-thon slides:**

*Is QuickNXSv2 conducive for refactoring/modularization into "front-end"

UI components and "back-end" reduction via mr_reduction?*  Yes, and

here's what would need to change.



**Stretch goal (secondary, aspirational):** unified `reduce()`

contract · equivalence test harness · actual code extraction.

Present these only when asked or when Day-1 discussion warrants.



**Two-instrument message:** the modularization must be done in a

way that will support *two instruments* (MR + LR) even if the

hackathon only works on one at a time.  The `ref_core` name reflects

this.



## Slide-by-slide disposition



| # | Title | Action |

|---:|---|---|

| 1 | Current vs ideal coupling | **Edit** — drop `lr_reduction (sibling)` box from TODAY side; label every arrow "Calls"; reduce density |

| 2 | API mapping | **Edit** — clarify `lr_reduction` means `next` branch (mantid-centric), NOT `new_workflow`; remove `new_workflow` references |

| 3 | 5 silent defaults | **Simplify** — keep Parameter / quicknxs / mr_reduction cols; replace physics/observable with icons; fix ErrorWeighted text per feedback |

| 3a–3e | Detail slides per parameter | **New** — one detail slide each for ErrorWeightedBackground, CropFirstAndLastPoints, RoundUpPixel, AcceptNullReflectivity, UseSANGLE |

| 4 | Curves disagree | **Rewrite** — real reductions only (no synthetic); demonstrate CropFirstAndLastPoints, ErrorWeightedBackground, RoundUpPixel; remove post-hoc scaling claim (it's wrong) |

| 5 | Peak drag sequence | **Edit** — move item 9 below item 8; indicate UI locked between 2 and 9 |

| 5a | Debt accumulation detail | **New** — extract the "where debt accumulates" bottom banner into its own slide for legibility |

| 6 | reduce() contract | **CUT** — discussion material for hack-a-thon, not pre-meeting |

| 7 | Debt triage matrix | **HIDE** (keep SVG but don't present) + **convert to .md table** in knowledge base |

| 8 | Equivalence harness | **HIDE** (keep SVG but don't present) — Day 4/5 material |

| NEW | Opening slide | **New** — "Battle of the Robots" theme; incorporate Rockem-Sockem-Robots imagery |

| NEW | Closing slide | **New** — playful tone, image-generated graphic reiterating threshold goals |



## Other artifacts



- **01-repo-structure.md** — add 4 live links (quicknxsv2,

  mr_reduction, lr_reduction, quicknxsv1:read_event_nexus); make

  assessment authoritative (remove hedging language).

- **Cross-ref doc** — new .md explaining mr_reduction ↔ lr_reduction

  (mantid-centric) relationship; keep `lr_reduction:new_workflow`

  and quicknxsv1 out of that discussion per user's wish to avoid

  muddling the message pre-hackathon.

- **Debt triage .md** — tabular format of the scatter plot data.

- **Every slide ships with an .md or .py** generator so content can

  be edited without SVG surgery.

- **PPTX packaging** — collect every live slide into a

  `Hack-A-Thon-Scientist-Assessment.pptx` file.



## Execution order (highest-fidelity → highest-risk last)



1. **Setup** (this doc committed + todo list + environments verified)

2. **Infrastructure text-only edits** — one commit:

   - rename `mr_core` → `ref_core` everywhere (sed-style)

   - update 01-repo-structure.md (links + authoritative tone)

   - create debt-triage.md from slide 7 content

   - create mr_lr_cross_reference.md (functional pairs, mantid-centric only)

3. **Slide 1 edits** — simplify, label arrows, drop lr_reduction box

4. **Slide 2 edits** — clarify lr_reduction identity

5. **Slide 3 simplification + 5 parameter detail slides**

6. **Slide 5 edits + debt accumulation detail slide**

7. **Slide 4 rewrite (real reductions)** — hardest; could delegate

   data-finding to an Agent.  Requires:

   - Run `mr_reduction.ReductionProcess.reduce()` on a real REF_M run

     via session-3 pixi env

   - Run the same reduction through quicknxs's parameter path

   - Overlay with matplotlib, real units, footer with run provenance

   - Find a run + options that exercises `RoundUpPixel` difference

     (requires `ConstantQBinning=True`)

8. **Opening slide** — Rockem-Sockem theme; fetch the Giphy asset or

   draw an equivalent cartoon

9. **Closing slide** — playful graphic reiterating threshold goals

10. **Hide slides 6/7/8** — move to `slides/archive/` (don't delete)

11. **Generate .md companion files for every slide**

12. **Generate PPTX** — `python-pptx` via venv; script in `slides/`

13. **Commit in layers; bump parent gitlink at end**



## Environment notes (verified 2026-04-21)



- `/media/ssd2/Projects/Claude/3/quicknxsv2` — pixi env with

  mr_reduction 2.17.0 + Mantid 6.14 + quicknxs.  Works.

- `/media/ssd2/Projects/Claude/3/mr_reduction` — pixi env with

  mr_reduction `next` + Mantid 6.15.  Works.

- `/SNS/REF_M/IPTS-37057/` — recent live IPTS with `nexus/*.nxs.h5`

  plus `shared/autoreduce/*.dat` and `*.ort` outputs already

  computed.  Good baseline.

- Runs 46685–46700 in IPTS-37057 are candidates for slide 4.

- `cairosvg` installed via `uv tool install` (for SVG → PNG).

- matplotlib/numpy installed at `/tmp/slides-venv` (may need

  recreation since /tmp is ephemeral).



## Context management



Working in main session unless a task is open-ended.  Likely Agent

delegations:

- "Find REF_M runs in /SNS/REF_M that would produce a visible

  CropFirstAndLastPoints vs ErrorWeightedBackground difference

  between mr_reduction and quicknxs paths."  — subagent=Explore.

- "Find a REF_M run with valid data where ConstantQBinning=True

  exposes the RoundUpPixel default difference." — subagent=Explore.



If context runs low before finishing, pick up from the checked-off

items in this plan.