[omh] Research operations department - coordinate Scout, Analyst, and Briefer work with source-inbox and status boundaries; for one decision brief use research-brief, and for typed candidates before research starts use source-finder.
SkillScore91Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/18/2026
What it changes
Passed 20 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 9 of 22 without it.
Without skill41%
With skill91%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The category is research.
The Hermes role is researcher.
The Briefer lane maps to report-package.
and 22 more in the full report
12 fixed8 passed either way1 still failing1 broke
Pass-rate lift
+50 pp
Tokens
+22%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-46%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/18/2026v320 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 12 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 12
Prompt
What is the designated Hermes role and category for this skill in the system catalog?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The Hermes role is researcher.
Missed
Passed
The category is research.
Missed
Passed
case-22 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/18/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md113 linessingle file
Research Department
This is a Hermes-native research-department workflow skill.
Why This Exists
research-department exists so Hermes users can start complex research-ops patterns without manually designing profiles, cron, knowledge storage, synthesis tooling, and delivery glue, while OMH keeps every runtime claim observed-only.
Do Not Use When
The user only needs a one-off current-source lookup; use research.
The user only needs a one-off business synthesis; use research-brief.
The request is pure scheduling with no source collection or synthesis; use automation-blueprint.
The user asks for coding implementation; prepare a selected executor/runtime handoff after the research plan is accepted.
Examples
Good example:
Prompt: Set up a Scout, Analyst, and Briefer research flow for daily competitor and market changes.
Expected behavior: Prepare research_department_plan/v1 with Scout/Analyst/Briefer lanes, source inbox buckets, briefing status, knowledge-store and synthesis-tool readiness, and observed-only evidence requirements.
Why: The request is recurring, source-backed, and operational; a single research brief would miss the ongoing workflow/status boundary.
Bad example:
Prompt: research-department prove the synthesis tool queried the knowledge base and posted the Slack brief.
Expected behavior: Ask for observed synthesis-tool and gateway delivery evidence or mark those states as not_observed.
Why: The workflow pack can prepare the operating pattern, but it cannot prove external tool execution or delivery.
Completion Checklist
The research question, source boundaries, recency assumptions, and confidence level are named.
Observed sources, inference, synthesis, and unresolved retrieval gaps are separated.
Follow-up planning or handoff uses the research summary without calling it execution evidence.
Recovery Notes
If sources cannot be accessed, state the retrieval gap and use only observed local context.
If evidence is thin or one-sided, lower confidence and ask for a narrower source boundary.