# Requirements: v1.74 Hypothesis Branch Routing Surface

## Milestone Goal

Close the next post-`v1.73` research-control gap so AITP can keep branch intent
explicit per competing hypothesis, instead of forcing operators to reconstruct
which hypothesis should stay local, which should be deferred, and which should
open a follow-up branch from separate runtime artifacts.

## Completed Requirements

### Hypothesis Routing Surface

- [x] `REQ-HROUTE-01`: the research-question contract can record bounded
  branch-routing metadata per competing hypothesis, including route kind and
  target surface summary.
- [x] `REQ-HROUTE-02`: runtime/replay surfaces expose the active branch
  hypothesis plus parked branch routes directly instead of leaving branch
  intent implicit.

### Coexistence Rule

- [x] `REQ-HROUTE-03`: the hypothesis-routing surface coexists cleanly with
  innovation-direction steering, deferred candidates, and follow-up subtopics
  instead of replacing those execution-level mechanisms.

### Verification

- [x] `REQ-VERIFY-01`: the milestone closes with one bounded isolated
  hypothesis-routing acceptance path plus targeted regression coverage for the
  new routing surface.

## Requirement Outcomes

- `REQ-HROUTE-01`: validated through normalized per-hypothesis route metadata
  on `research_question.contract.json|md` plus schema coverage.
- `REQ-HROUTE-02`: validated through `status --json`, runtime protocol, and
  replay visibility for active versus parked hypothesis routes.
- `REQ-HROUTE-03`: validated through the bounded acceptance lane that keeps
  steering, deferred parking, and follow-up subtopics visible alongside the new
  routing surface.
- `REQ-VERIFY-01`: validated through the dedicated isolated acceptance lane and
  targeted replay/schema/runtime regression slices.

## Traceability

| Requirement | Phase | Status |
|-------------|-------|--------|
| REQ-HROUTE-01 | Phase 148 | Complete |
| REQ-HROUTE-02 | Phase 148 | Complete |
| REQ-HROUTE-03 | Phase 148 | Complete |
| REQ-VERIFY-01 | Phase 148 | Complete |
