---
id: "framework-migration-decision"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["00:00:00"]
tags: ["migration", "decision-making", "deployment"]
related: ["concept-agentic-persistence", "concept-literal-instruction-following"]
sources: ["s12-opus-47"]
sourceVaultSlug: "s12-opus-47"
originDay: 12
---
# Opus 4.6 to 4.7 Migration Decision Tree

## Purpose

A framework for deciding whether an engineering team should migrate their existing workloads from [[entity-claude-opus-4-7-d12|Claude Opus 4.6 to 4.7]], based on the nature of the tasks and the required level of model inference.

## The Five-Step Decision Tree

### Step 1 — Assess Task Type
> Is the workload a long-running, multi-step **agentic pipeline**, or a casual, single-turn **chat/summarization** task?

- Agentic pipeline → continue to Step 2.
- Casual chat → likely stay on 4.6 unless persistence is the bottleneck.

### Step 2 — Evaluate Inference Needs
> Does the current prompt rely on the model to infer formatting, tone, or unstated instructions, or is it strictly deterministic and literal?

- Inference-dependent → **stay on 4.6**.
- Strictly deterministic → upgrade-eligible for 4.7. See [[concept-literal-instruction-following]].

### Step 3 — Analyze Cost Sensitivity
> Can the project absorb a **30–50% increase in token costs** due to the new tokenizer and adaptive thinking?

- No → **stay on 4.6**.
- Yes → continue. See [[concept-tokenizer-tax]] and [[concept-adaptive-thinking]].

### Step 4 — Test Literal Adherence
> Run existing prompts through 4.7. If the output breaks because 4.7 strips inferred formatting, **rewrite prompts to be exhaustively explicit before migrating**.

Apply [[action-front-load-intent]] systematically.

### Step 5 — Deploy for Persistence
> If the primary failure mode on 4.6 is the model **quitting mid-task**, upgrade to 4.7 immediately — the [[concept-agentic-persistence|persistence]] gains outweigh the cost and prompting friction.

## Default Recommendation

The speaker's implicit default: **stay on 4.6 unless your specific bottleneck is premature quitting in agentic workflows**.

## Cross-References

- Concept: [[concept-agentic-persistence]], [[concept-literal-instruction-following]], [[concept-tokenizer-tax]], [[concept-adaptive-thinking]]
- Action: [[action-front-load-intent]]
- Claim: [[claim-fixes-quitting]], [[claim-cost-increase]]