"In all practical work of our Party, correct leadership must come from the masses and go to the masses. That is to say, gather the opinions of the masses (scattered and unsystematic opinions), then through study, turn them into concentrated and systematic opinions, then go back to the masses to publicize and explain them, turn them into the opinions of the masses, so that the masses will adhere to them and put them into action, and test the correctness of these opinions in the actions of the masses. Such an infinite cycle makes the opinions more correct, more vivid and more abundant each time." —— Mao Zedong, Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership (1943)

For detailed original text references, see original-texts.md

• Single and complete task information source (the user provides all necessary context)
• Sufficient multi-source information collection has been completed and it is in the execution stage
• Emergency repair with clear problem source - no need for multi-source aggregation
• The user is the only information source and their input is accurate enough (e.g. "help me change the variable name on line 3")

• Need to collect opinions and requirements from users/consumers/relevant parties
• Need to solicit multi-party feedback after formulating a plan
• Feel that you are "working behind closed doors" and脱离了实际使用者的需求 (out of touch with the needs of actual users)
• Need to translate professional knowledge into solutions understandable by non-professionals
• The implementation effect of the plan is not good, and you need to go back to users to collect opinions again
• Need to integrate opinions from multiple different perspectives to form a unified plan

"Gather the opinions of the masses (scattered and unsystematic opinions)" —— Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership

• Actual needs and pain points
• Views and suggestions on the current situation
• Successful experiences and failed lessons
• Scattered ideas and intuitions

• Collected opinions are usually scattered, unsystematic, and even contradictory - this is normal
• Don't rush to judge or filter, collect comprehensively first
• Ask actively, don't wait passively for feedback
• "The masses are the real heroes" - respect the experience of practitioners

"Through research, turn them into concentrated and systematic opinions" —— Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership

• Classification and sorting - identify commonalities and differences
• Analysis and research - use contradiction analysis (call

  contradiction-analysis

  ) to find core problems
• Extraction and synthesis - systematize scattered opinions into coherent plans or strategies
• Discard the dross and select the essence - retain valuable insights and remove biases and misunderstandings

"Go back to the masses to publicize and explain them, turn them into the opinions of the masses" —— Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership

• Explain the plan in a way they can understand
• Explain how the plan is extracted from their opinions
• Solicit their feedback on the systematized plan
• Make them feel that their "own opinions" have been sorted out, rather than a "forced plan"

"Make the masses adhere to them and put them into action, and test the correctness of these opinions in the actions of the masses." —— Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership

• Does the plan solve the original problem?
• Do users think the plan is reasonable and feasible?
• What unexpected problems are there?
• Which parts work well, and which parts need adjustment?

"Such an infinite cycle makes the opinions more correct, more vivid and more abundant each time." —— Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership

• Grasping requirements more accurately
• Solving problems more effectively
• Understanding the situation more deeply

"If you are limited to general calls, and the leading personnel do not specifically and directly carry out the called work in-depth from several organizations, make a breakthrough, gain experience, and then use this experience to guide other units, you cannot test whether the general call you put forward is correct" —— Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership

• First implement it in-depth at a specific point to gain experience
• Use the experience of this point to verify and enrich the general plan
• Then promote it to a larger scope

• Formulate plans by yourself without soliciting user opinions
• Think "I know better than them"
• Do not collect feedback after the plan is implemented

• Do whatever the user says without analysis
• Do not integrate contradictory opinions, listen to whoever has the loudest voice
• Dare not put forward your own professional judgment

1. Identify the "masses" (list of information sources):
   • Explicit needs of users (what users said)
   • Current status of the codebase (what the actual situation is)
   • Operation results/logs (what the real feedback is)
   • Relevant documents/comments/git history (what the historical experience is)
2. Collect facts from each source (not interpretation, but facts): For each valid information source, extract key facts
3. Systematic sorting: Identify among various information sources:
   • Consistencies (can be used as credible facts)
   • Contradictions (call

     contradiction-analysis

     to handle)
   • Information gaps (mark "[X] needs further investigation")
4. Form and return judgment, in fixed format:

   综合各方信息后，我的判断是：……
   这个判断的依据是：[信息源1] + [信息源2] 共同指向……
   与用户原始描述有出入的地方：……（如有）

5. Verification closed loop: After the plan is implemented, check whether the result is consistent with the judgment in step 4; if not, indicate which information source provided misleading information.

• Investigation and Research: The "collection" stage in the mass line is a kind of investigation and research
• Contradiction Analysis: Need to use contradiction analysis to sort out contradictory opinions in the "concentration" stage
• Practical Epistemology: The mass line itself is the organized application of practical epistemology
• Criticism and Self-criticism: Receiving criticism from the masses is an important part of the mass line