Problem
The journalist's primary agent interface is Claude Desktop/Cowork via MCP. Tool descriptions, parameter names, and output formats need to be optimized for conversational use — not just programmatic correctness.
Scope
Tool Descriptions
Write tool descriptions as capabilities: "Search for events involving a person or organization" not "Query investigation_event entries by actor field"
Include example invocations in descriptions
Group related tools logically for tool-use selectionOutput Formatting
Structured but human-readable (not raw JSON dumps)
Include natural language summaries alongside structured data
Truncate long results with "showing 10 of 247 — use limit parameter for more"
Include action suggestions: "3 claims are unverified — use investigation_claims to review them"Contextual Defaults
`kb_name` defaults to the most recently used investigation KB
Date ranges default to investigation's active period
Importance thresholds default based on investigation sizeSession Continuity
MCP tools should support a "continue" pattern: "Show me more results" or "Now filter by actor X"
Investigation context persists across tool calls within a sessionAcceptance Criteria
Tool descriptions are conversational and include examples
Output includes natural language summaries
Defaults reduce parameter verbosity for common operations
Journalist can work fluidly via Claude Desktop without knowing internal field names