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What are loops?

What an open loop is, why they matter, and how Astell tags and tracks them.

What a loop is

A loop is a group of related artifacts that needs action to close. The Slack thread where the promise was made, the ticket it created, the calendar event where it was discussed, the doc that specs it: together they form one loop, tied to a decision, promise, or request that hasn't been resolved yet. The pieces are usually all there; they just don't meet in time. Astell draws the arrows while the loop is still open.

Why loops matter

Every company has a memory. In most companies it's a person (a founder, a chief of staff, a PM), and the decisions, promises, and "we said we'd do this" live in their head, their inbox, or a Slack DM nobody else can search. By fifty people, the person can't hold it all. A promise that closes months late can cost you the customer who was waiting on it. Astell exists so a company's memory has somewhere to live that isn't a single person.

Loop tags

Loops are tagged by what kind of thing they are:

• Promise: something you committed to
• Decision: something you decided
• Approval: something waiting for someone's sign-off
• Customer: touches a customer relationship
• Drift: scope or ownership has shifted

A single loop can carry more than one tag.

Loop statuses

Every loop carries a status. While a loop is open (live), it's tracked as one of:

• On track: moving on schedule
• At risk: likely to break (deadline within reach, no recent motion)
• Broken: already past expected close
• Cold: went quiet without resolution

A loop leaves the open state as either:

• Closed: actually resolved
• Dead: ended without resolving the underlying need (for example, a customer chose a competitor)