docs: add RStack research methodology appendix

[richard-devbot]

Summary

• Adds the Roadmap: Add research bibliography and methodology appendix for the RStack paper #77 research foundation: bibliography, methodology, prior-art comparison, productivity claims register, design history, paper outline, and current-state audit.
• Links the research program from README and Mintlify docs.
• Includes research/ in the npm package file allowlist so the paper source material ships with the package.

Deep-dive audit findings

• Current RStack stands at rstack-agents@1.8.0 with one-package install, host-framework init, .rstack state, three business profiles, budget envelopes, 15 canonical SDLC stages, builder/validator contracts, evidence JSONL, approval queue, and Business Hub state derived from real .rstack files.
• Current gaps are now explicitly documented: Decision Queue/DoR, formal spec, cross-harness validation, attestations, drift detection, untrusted PR gate, RFC process, governance packs, and MCP/A2A.
• Claims discipline is now explicit: productivity claims must be measured, sourced, implementation-backed, or labelled as hypotheses.

Validation

• npm test — 182 pass, 0 fail
• npm run lint — pass
• npm run validate — all 196 agents passed validation
• git diff --check — pass
• npm pack --dry-run --json — package includes all research/*.md files

Closes #77

Summary by CodeRabbit

Documentation

• Added new Research Program documentation page introducing RStack's research thesis and governance framework.
• Included comprehensive research artifacts: methodology, bibliography, prior-art analysis, design history, current-state audit, paper outline, and productivity claims governance.
• Updated documentation navigation to surface the Research Program.

Chores

• Updated package configuration to include research materials in published package.

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[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: 6f053668-b665-410b-96bb-de7c5cc9c464

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between b559aa4 and 46a337c.

📒 Files selected for processing (12)

• README.md
• docs/mintlify/docs.json
• docs/mintlify/mint.json
• docs/mintlify/reference/research-program.mdx
• package.json
• research/bibliography.md
• research/current-state-audit.md
• research/methodology.md
• research/paper-outline.md
• research/prior-art-ai-sdlc-framework.md
• research/productivity-claims.md
• research/rstack-design-history.md

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR establishes RStack's research program foundation by integrating research documentation into the project, documenting the current implementation baseline and design decisions, defining research methodology with claims governance, and outlining the paper structure. All artifacts are discoverable through updated navigation and included in package distribution.

Changes

RStack Research Program Foundation

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Research program infrastructure and discovery README.md, docs/mintlify/docs.json, docs/mintlify/mint.json, docs/mintlify/reference/research-program.mdx, package.json	README adds link to "Research Program" page; navigation JSON files updated to expose reference/research-program in Business Hub and API Reference tabs; new research-program.mdx landing page introduces thesis, research artifacts registry, claims discipline requirements, GitHub-tracked roadmap, and measurement model; package.json includes research/ directory in published artifacts.
Research foundation and design audit research/bibliography.md, research/current-state-audit.md, research/rstack-design-history.md	Bibliography catalogs standards, supply-chain/attestation, AI security, AI-SDLC prior art, productivity research, and RStack sources with URLs and linkage notes. Current-state audit records repo/package metadata, executive summary of capabilities and research gaps, layer-by-layer implementation map with explicit gaps, roadmap dependency analysis, Issue #77 deliverables, and paper-safe claim boundaries. Design history documents audited RStack state, product position, architectural layers, capability inventory, and implementation gaps with rationale for prioritizing Issue #77.
Research methodology and claims discipline research/methodology.md, research/productivity-claims.md	Methodology defines research objectives and core question, articulates hypothesis and scope, specifies evidence sources and measurement model across delivery/quality/traceability/governance/cost, outlines study design options, establishes claims discipline rules, enumerates threats to validity, and records the intended Issue #77 deliverable. Productivity-claims register separates implemented facts, externally grounded claims, hypotheses to test, and disallowed assertions with reference-backed tables, measurement plans, wording guidance, and summary statements.
Paper outline and comparative analysis research/paper-outline.md, research/prior-art-ai-sdlc-framework.md	Paper outline structures the research narrative from abstract through background, RStack architecture/governance/measurement, case study, prior-art comparison, validity threats, future work, and appendices. Prior-art comparison benchmarks RStack against ai-sdlc-framework/ai-sdlc and Augment Code reference architecture across audience, packaging, dashboards, decision gating, validation, evidence, drift handling, and CI maturity; maps findings to RStack roadmap issues and concludes with direction statement.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~12 minutes

Possibly related issues

• #77: Roadmap: Add research bibliography and methodology appendix for the RStack paper — This PR directly implements all acceptance criteria for #77, adding the six research markdown files (bibliography, methodology, prior-art comparison, productivity-claims, design-history, and paper-outline), linking them from documentation navigation and README, establishing claims discipline guidance, and integrating the research directory into package distribution.

Poem

🐰 The researcher hops with glee,
Documenting claims with rigor and decree,
Bibliography stacked, audit complete, 📚
RStack's story now so neat!
No phantom gains, just measured truth—
The paper's ready, sound as proof. ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title 'docs: add RStack research methodology appendix' clearly relates to the primary change: adding comprehensive research documentation including methodology, bibliography, prior-art comparison, and design artifacts.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	All acceptance criteria from issue #77 are met: bibliography, paper outline, prior-art comparison, productivity claims, research docs linked in Mintlify/README, and claims discipline established.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes directly support issue #77 objectives: research artifacts, documentation links, and package configuration to include research materials are all in-scope.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch docs/research-methodology-77

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