Live Demo
The Guide agent is live as a conversational demo. Currently calls the Anthropic API directly from Vercel. Migration to OpenClaw (enabling skill invocation and multi-channel access) is in progress.
Talk to the Guide →
What the Guide Does
The Guide is the primary interface for the Understanding Workbench — both greeter and project manager. It helps people navigate complex challenges using structured thinking methods from The Understanding Group's 15 years of information architecture practice.
The Guide doesn't solve problems. It facilitates the user's thinking process so they can solve their own problems with greater clarity and confidence. Critically, the Guide is not just a conversational interface — it is the orchestration point that invokes capability skills when the user's situation calls for them.
Connection Architecture
The Guide runs through OpenClaw on a Mac Mini, giving it the ability to invoke skills (Library, Modeling, Research, etc.) and to be accessible from multiple channels — web, Slack, WhatsApp, and OpenClaw's built-in WebChat.
Current State (Demo):
Browser → Vercel /api/chat.js → Anthropic API → Claude
(Guide can talk but cannot invoke skills)
Target State:
Browser → Vercel /api/chat.js → Mac Mini (OpenClaw Gateway) → Claude
├── Guide skill dispatch
├── Library skills (FastAPI :8000)
├── Modeling skills (future)
└── Research skills (future)
Slack / WhatsApp → OpenClaw Gateway → same Guide + skills
OpenClaw WebChat → OpenClaw Gateway → same Guide + skills
Key change: Vercel /api/chat.js becomes a proxy to the Mac Mini
instead of calling the Anthropic API directly. The Guide gains
the ability to invoke capabilities, and users gain multi-channel
access to the same agent.
Guide Migration Plan
1
Guide demo on Vercel (direct Anthropic API)
Conversational Guide agent with system prompt. Can orient users and describe capabilities but cannot invoke them.
Done
2
Set up OpenClaw on Mac Mini
Install OpenClaw, configure as launchd daemon, copy bot/ workspace (AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md). Establish Tailscale Funnel for public HTTPS.
Next
3
Register Guide agent in OpenClaw
Load the Guide's soul.md and SKILL.md into OpenClaw. Configure Anthropic API key via 1Password. Verify Guide works through OpenClaw WebChat.
Next
4
Migrate Vercel chat to proxy through Mac Mini
Update /api/chat.js to forward messages to the Mac Mini's OpenClaw Gateway instead of calling the Anthropic API directly. The Vercel app becomes a presentation layer.
Next
5
Register capability skills
Register Library, Modeling, and other capability skills in OpenClaw so the Guide can dispatch to them. "Analyze my documents" triggers the Librarian Ingestion skill.
Next
6
Enable channel bridges
Configure Slack and WhatsApp channels in OpenClaw. The same Guide and skills become accessible from enterprise and community channels.
Next
Charter
Purpose: Help people navigate complex challenges using structured thinking methods — whether solving problems, making decisions, or designing agents and systems. Democratize professional facilitation methods beyond institutional boundaries.
In Scope:
- Initial contact, problem scoping, and project management
- PASS methodology guidance (Program → Analysis → Synthesis → Sustain)
- Agent coordination and routing to specialist capabilities
- Skill invocation — triggering Library, Modeling, Research, and other capabilities when the user's situation calls for them
- Multi-channel access — web, Slack, WhatsApp, OpenClaw WebChat
- User feedback collection (adapted to current development phase)
Out of Scope:
- Domain expertise (routes to specialist capabilities)
- Executing research, modeling, or synthesis work directly
- Payments and billing
Stakeholders:
- Primary users — People with complex challenges of any type
- Administrators — Receive reports on system usage and issues
- Capability agents — Coordinated and routed to by the Guide
- Development team — Receive feedback for system improvement
Success: Users gain clarity about their situation, feel confident about next steps, and get routed to appropriate capabilities. The Guide invokes the right skill at the right time — or gets out of the way when the user knows what they need.
PASS Methodology
The Guide navigates users through TUG's four-phase process:
- Program — Clarify strategy, align stakeholders, define success criteria
- Analysis — Map the as-is environment through systematic observation (Observe → Model → Align)
- Synthesis — Iteratively develop and test new concepts, design the to-be state
- Sustain — Operationalize solutions, build governance, plan for ongoing evolution
Core Tensions
The Guide navigates these fundamental tensions in every engagement:
- Helpful vs. Agency-Preserving — Illuminate options while letting users make decisions
- Thorough vs. Efficient — Balance depth with user time constraints
- Instrument vs. Scaffold — The Agency Dial determines how much the Guide does for vs. with the user
Capability Dispatch
The Guide routes work to capability skills. After OpenClaw migration, this dispatch happens through skill invocation rather than just conversational suggestion:
- Library — Corpus analysis, document organization, content audit (4 skills working)
- Modeling — Visual object modeling, Clean Questioning, model facilitation (deployed)
- Research — Interview design, facilitation, observation frameworks (chartered)
- Systems Modeling — Causal loops, feedback analysis, scenario exploration (planned)
- Communication — Story, argument, presentations for specific audiences (planned)
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