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Author: Platform TeamCreated: Nov 15, 2025Updated: Nov 15, 2025

MEMO-061: Week 9 Day 1 - Heading Hierarchy Audit Report

Date: 2025-11-15 Updated: 2025-11-15 Author: Platform Team Related: MEMO-052

Executive Summary​

Comprehensive audit of heading hierarchy across all 5 massive-scale graph RFCs (RFC-057 through RFC-061). Overall assessment: Excellent structural quality. All RFCs demonstrate consistent heading usage, logical flow, and proper nesting. Identified 3 high-priority refinements and 2 medium-priority improvements.

Validation Results:

  • ✅ Heading Consistency: PASS (all use ##, ###, ####)
  • ✅ Logical Flow: PASS (clear progression)
  • ⚠️ Balance: ATTENTION (some sections >400 lines, justified by complexity)
  • ✅ Nesting: PASS (proper parent-child relationships)

RFC-057: Massive-Scale Graph Sharding​

Structure Analysis​

Top-Level Sections (##): 17 sections

  • Abstract
  • Motivation
  • Goals
  • Non-Goals
  • Hierarchical Sharding Architecture
  • Network Topology-Aware Sharding
  • Sharding Strategies
  • Distributed Query Routing
  • Partition Management
  • Failure Detection and Recovery (NEW)
  • Performance Characteristics
  • Operational Patterns
  • Migration Path
  • Related RFCs
  • Open Questions
  • References
  • Revision History

Findings​

✅ Good:

  • Clear hierarchical structure (##, ###, ####)
  • Logical progression from architecture → strategies → operations
  • New "Failure Detection and Recovery" section properly placed

⚠️ Attention Needed:

Issue 1: "Alternative: Opaque Vertex IDs" (line 263)

  • Currently ### subsection with 6 sub-subsections (####)
  • Length: ~220 lines
  • Recommendation: Promote to top-level ## section
  • Rationale: Importance and length justify promotion; current nesting makes it harder to find in ToC

Issue 2: "Sharding Strategies" (line 741)

  • Has 4 strategies as ### subsections
  • Status: Good balance, no changes needed

Section Balance​

SectionLinesSubsectionsStatus
Abstract~120✅
Motivation~1183✅
Hierarchical Sharding Architecture~260Multiple⚠️ Large
Network Topology-Aware Sharding~2406✅
Sharding Strategies~2644✅
Distributed Query Routing~2003✅

RFC-058: Multi-Level Graph Indexing​

Structure Analysis​

Top-Level Sections (##): 16 sections

Findings​

✅ Good:

  • Clear four-tier hierarchy matches conceptual model
  • Proper nesting of sub-topics
  • Technical sections well-organized

⚠️ Attention Needed:

Issue 1: "Index Schema Versioning and Migration" (line 261)

  • Currently #### under "Partition-Level Indexes"
  • Length: ~125 lines
  • Recommendation: Promote to ### at same level as other Tier 1 topics
  • Rationale: Schema versioning is cross-cutting concern affecting all tiers, not just partition-level

Section Balance​

SectionLinesSubsectionsStatus
Abstract~100✅
Motivation~822✅
Four-Tier Index Hierarchy~3874⚠️ Large (justified)
Online Index Building~2344✅
Performance CharacteristicsCompact-✅

RFC-059: Hot/Cold Storage Tiers​

Structure Analysis​

Top-Level Sections (##): 15 sections

Findings​

✅ Good:

  • Excellent logical flow: Motivation → Architecture → Formats → Consistency → Query → Performance
  • Temperature state machine well-explained
  • "Snapshot WAL Replay" (NEW) properly structured with #### subsections

✅ Exceptional:

  • "S3 Cost Optimization Strategy" section (NEW) excellently organized with clear tier breakdowns
  • Temperature hysteresis section (NEW) integrates seamlessly

⚠️ Minor:

"Snapshot Formats and Loading" (line 420)

  • Has 5 format options as ### subsections
  • Each format: ~70-100 lines
  • Status: Well-balanced, no changes needed

Section Balance​

SectionLinesSubsectionsStatus
Hot/Cold Storage Architecture~2734✅
Snapshot Formats~4335⚠️ Large (necessary)
Distributed WAL~1473✅
S3 Cost Optimization~2724✅

RFC-060: Distributed Gremlin Execution​

Structure Analysis​

Top-Level Sections (##): 15 sections

Findings​

✅ Good:

  • Clear progression: Decomposition → Execution → Optimization → Streaming
  • "Query Resource Limits" (NEW, ~500 lines) well-structured with 5 layers as ####
  • "Super-Node Handling" (NEW, ~440 lines) excellent organization with strategies as ####

⚠️ Attention Needed:

Issue 1: "Query Resource Limits and Runaway Prevention" (line 876)

  • Length: ~500 lines
  • Structure: 5 layers + metrics + examples + graceful degradation
  • Recommendation: Split into TWO ## sections:
    1. "Query Resource Limits" (layers 1-5)
    2. "Query Resource Management" (metrics, alerts, graceful degradation, examples)
  • Rationale: Improves readability, makes each concept more digestible

Issue 2: "Super-Node Handling and Sampling Strategies" (line 1379)

  • Length: ~437 lines
  • Structure: Well-organized with #### subsections
  • Recommendation: Add intermediate ### groupings:

    • Vertex Classification and Sampling​

    • Gremlin Extensions​

    • Performance and Trade-Offs​

  • Rationale: Breaks up long section for easier navigation

Issue 3: "Query Observability and Debugging" (line 1848)

  • Length: ~377 lines
  • Status: Excellent organization with clear subsections, no changes needed

Section Balance​

SectionLinesSubsectionsStatus
Gremlin Query Decomposition~2063✅
Distributed Execution Engine~1963✅
Query Resource Limits~5035 layers⚠️ VERY LARGE
Super-Node Handling~437Multiple ####⚠️ LARGE
Query Observability~3773 ###✅

RFC-061: Graph Authorization​

Structure Analysis​

Top-Level Sections (##): 14 sections

Findings​

✅ Good:

  • Clear flow: Motivation → Model → Evaluation → Integration → Performance
  • Use cases properly nested as ####
  • "Batch Authorization" (NEW) excellently structured with #### subsections

✅ Exceptional:

  • "Audit Logging and Sampling" (NEW, ~267 lines) outstanding organization
  • Sampling strategies, retention, compliance, and performance as ####

⚠️ Minor:

"Batch Authorization for Large Query Results" (line 791)

  • Length: ~322 lines
  • Structure: 4 #### subsections
  • Status: Excellent organization, no changes needed

"Performance Optimization" (line 707)

  • Length: ~380 lines
  • Structure: 3 ### subsections (Bitmap Cache, Fast Path, Batch Authorization)
  • Status: Good balance, batch authorization length justified by complexity

Section Balance​

SectionLinesSubsectionsStatus
Motivation~1354 use cases✅
Label-Based Access Control Model~1073✅
Authorization Evaluation~1012✅
Performance Optimization~3803⚠️ Large (justified)
Audit Logging and Sampling~2674 ####✅

Cross-RFC Consistency Analysis​

Heading Level Usage​

All RFCs consistently use:

  • # - Document title
  • ## - Major sections
  • ### - Subsections
  • #### - Sub-subsections

✅ Consistent: No RFC uses ##### (5 levels), keeping hierarchy shallow and readable

Standard Section Order​

All RFCs follow consistent structure:

  1. Abstract
  2. Motivation
  3. Goals
  4. Non-Goals
  5. [Technical Content]
  6. Performance Characteristics (or similar)
  7. Related RFCs
  8. Open Questions
  9. References
  10. Revision History

✅ Excellent: Standard structure makes navigation predictable

Section Naming Patterns​

✅ Good:

  • Action-oriented headers: "Building", "Optimization", "Handling"
  • Clear scope indicators: "Multi-Tier", "Cross-Partition", "Distributed"
  • Consistent use of technical terms

Recommendations Summary​

High Priority​

1. RFC-057: Promote "Opaque Vertex IDs"

  • Current: ### (line 263)
  • Proposed: ##
  • Rationale: ~220 lines, 6 sub-subsections, important architectural decision
  • Impact: Improves discoverability in table of contents

2. RFC-058: Promote "Index Schema Versioning"

  • Current: #### (line 261)
  • Proposed: ###
  • Rationale: Cross-cutting concern, ~125 lines, affects all index tiers
  • Impact: Better reflects conceptual importance

3. RFC-060: Split "Query Resource Limits"

  • Current: Single ## section (~500 lines)
  • Proposed: Two ## sections
    • "Query Resource Limits" (layers 1-5)
    • "Query Resource Management" (operational aspects)
  • Rationale: Improves digestibility, clearer separation of concerns
  • Impact: Easier navigation, better readability

Medium Priority​

4. RFC-060: Add ### Groupings in "Super-Node Handling"

  • Current: Single ## with multiple ####
  • Proposed: Intermediate ### groupings

    • Vertex Classification and Sampling​

    • Gremlin Extensions​

    • Performance and Trade-Offs​

  • Rationale: Breaks up 437 lines into logical chunks
  • Impact: Improved navigation, clearer structure

Low Priority (Optional)​

5. All RFCs: Add Section Summaries

  • Proposed: ### Summary at end of major ## sections
  • Rationale: Recap key points for readers
  • Impact: Better retention, easier reference

Validation Results​

CheckStatusNotes
Heading Consistency✅ PASSAll RFCs use proper ##/###/#### hierarchy
Logical Flow✅ PASSSections progress logically
Balance⚠️ ATTENTIONSome sections >400 lines (justified by complexity)
Nesting✅ PASSProper parent-child relationships

Overall Assessment: Excellent structural quality

All RFCs demonstrate careful organization. Recommended changes are refinements, not fixes. The newly added sections (P0, P1, P2 edits from Weeks 1-6) integrate seamlessly with existing structure.

Next Steps​

Week 9 Day 2-3: Paragraph Structure Review​

Focus areas:

  • One idea per paragraph
  • Topic sentence + supporting sentences + conclusion
  • Average 3-5 sentences per paragraph
  • Break up "wall of text" sections (>8 sentences)

Week 9 Day 4: Code Example Placement​

Verification:

  • Every code example preceded by explanatory text
  • Every code example followed by "what it does" explanation
  • Consistent formatting: language tag, indentation, comments
  • Example location makes sense in context

Week 9 Day 5: Table and Diagram Review​

Quality checks:

  • All tables have clear headers
  • Columns aligned and readable
  • Tables complement text (not duplicate)
  • Consider converting complex text to tables

Revision History​

  • 2025-11-15: Initial heading hierarchy audit for Week 9 Day 1