Align general policies and contributor guidance

docs/development.md

@@ -4,22 +4,41 @@ This is the first-read landing page for people and LLM coding agents working on
 Notarius. It provides a concise repository orientation and routes each kind of
 change to its canonical documentation.
 
-Notarius is a Go CLI for configured structured extraction workflows. Start with
-the [README](../README.md) for product context, [Architecture](policy/architecture.md)
-for system boundaries, and [Internal Overview](internal/overview.md) for the
-implemented component map.
+Notarius is a Go CLI for configured structured extraction workflows. The
+[README](../README.md) provides product context; [Architecture](policy/architecture.md)
+describes system boundaries, and [Internal Overview](internal/overview.md) maps
+implemented components. Read the documents applicable to your task.
 
 Read [Agent Policy](policy/agents.md) before recommending, planning, or
 implementing changes. It owns implementation discipline and local commit rules.
 
+## Policy Reading Guide
+
+| Policy | Read before… |
+| --- | --- |
+| [Policy set provenance](policy/meta.md) | Adopting policies, checking upstream revisions, or updating the adopted policy set. |
+| [Agents](policy/agents.md) | Recommending, planning, or implementing repository changes. |
+| [Architecture](policy/architecture.md) | Planning or changing application code or its structure. |
+| [Testing](policy/testing.md) | Selecting validation for code changes, or adding, changing, removing, or evaluating tests. |
+| [Documentation](policy/documentation.md) | Writing, revising, or reorganizing documentation. |
+| [OSS](policy/oss.md) | Adding or updating dependencies or incorporated third-party material, or changing licensing or attribution. |
+| [Release](policy/release.md) | Preparing or publishing a release, changing release procedures, or making versioning and compatibility decisions. |
+
+- Read applicable policies before making decisions they govern; multiple policies
+  may apply.
+- Select policies using the task triggers above. Follow cross-references to
+  relevant sections when needed to resolve a concrete question.
+- Reuse policies already available in context; reread when changed or no longer
+  available.
+- Expand reading when the task's scope expands.
+- When revising a policy itself, read that policy and any provisions elsewhere
+  affected by the revision.
+
 ## What To Read
 
 | When working on | Read | Why |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | Finding the package or component that owns current behavior | [Internal Overview](internal/overview.md) | It is the implemented component inventory and routes to focused internals. |
-| Application shape, package boundaries, contracts, dependency direction, runtime guarantees, or safety properties | [Architecture](policy/architecture.md) and relevant [ADRs](adr/) | Architecture defines the intended system and its invariants; ADRs preserve significant decision rationale. |
-| Any documentation addition or revision | [Documentation Policy](policy/documentation.md) | It defines canonical homes, audiences, current-behavior rules, and maintenance requirements. |
-| Adding, changing, reviewing, or deleting tests | [Testing Policy](policy/testing.md) | It defines risk-based sufficiency, durable test boundaries, test-double guidance, and criteria for retaining tests. |
 | CLI composition or command behavior | [CLI Internals](internal/cli.md) and [CLI Reference](cli.md) | The internal guide owns composition and command flow; the reference owns public syntax. |
 | Building a subprocess caller or changing its result protocol | [Subprocess Consumer Guide](consumers/subprocess.md), [Complete D&D Consumer Guide](consumers/dnd-pipeline.md), [Run Result Receipt](integrations/run-result.md), and [CLI Internals](internal/cli.md) | These separate generic caller workflow, the complete D&D workflow, the durable receipt contract, and CLI implementation behavior. |
 | Configuration loading, resolution, or user-visible configuration behavior | [Configuration Internals](internal/configuration.md) and [Configuration](config.md) | The internal guide owns loading and resolution mechanics; the reference owns the configuration contract. |
@@ -28,7 +47,7 @@ implementing changes. It owns implementation discipline and local commit rules.
 | LLM clients, prompts, schemas, profiles, or scheduling | [LLM Runtime](internal/llm.md) | It documents the transport boundary and PromptKit integration. |
 | Output, cache, resume, or debug artifacts | [Run State Internals](internal/state.md), [Operations](operations.md), and [Configuration](config.md) | These separate implementation details, operator behavior, and configuration contracts. |
 | External input formats, artifact schemas, or durable output files | [Integration Contracts](integrations/) | Integration documents define external and durable data contracts. |
-| Release preparation, tagging, publication, or optional diagnostics | [Release Policy](policy/release.md) and [Source Releases](release.md) | Policy owns release requirements and completion; the runbook supplies the publication command and recovery procedure. |
+| Repository-specific release commands or diagnostics | [Source Releases](release.md) | The runbook supplies publication commands and recovery procedures. |
 | Proposed or unimplemented behavior | [Roadmap](roadmap/) | Future work belongs only in roadmap documentation until implemented. |
 
 For an existing subsystem, also inspect its focused tests and the package-local