---
type: rule
title: Items of one class are groomed together, never in parallel
summary: The manager grooms items of the same class in one plan, or one after another with the earlier plan in the next brief — never in parallel, where each builds its own copy of the mechanism.
created_by: claude
created_at: 2026-10-18
updated_at: 2026-10-18
status: accepted
targets: [project-manager]
brief: "Items of the same class in a batch — the same kind of mechanism: a log, a register, a launcher, a report — are groomed together in one plan, or one after another with the earlier plan linked in the next brief; never in parallel."
---

## Rule

Before launching grooms, sort the batch's items by class: the kind of mechanism each will need — a
log, a register, a launcher, a report, a mode. Items of one class are groomed together in one plan,
or one after another with the earlier plan linked in the next groom's brief. They are never groomed
in parallel. Items of different classes keep their own grooms.

## Follows from

- [Quality at a rational cost](../../vault/value/0012-quality-at-a-rational-cost.md) — two items of
  one class groomed together cost one design and one review, not two.
- [Prose or code probes](../../vault/reference/0009-prose-or-code-probes-2026-10.md) — grooming two
  same-shape items together gave one mechanism built from existing primitives; one after another
  gave one mechanism anchored on the first plan's; each groomed alone gave its own.