An analyst is working in a long Claude conversation.

Option D most directly corrects the observed drift while preserving the work already completed. The conversation contains valuable requirements, validated data findings, and drafting decisions, but those elements are distributed across approximately 60 turns. A structured summary consolidates the authoritative working state and brings the most important instructions back into Claude’s immediate attention.

The summary should distinguish confirmed requirements from abandoned ideas, record the principal findings from the data review, identify the current draft version, and restate outstanding work. Reasserting that summary as the governing context gives Claude a clearer foundation for subsequent revisions.

Option A assumes that context-window size alone resolves drift. A larger window can retain more tokens, but it does not automatically remove contradictory instructions or emphasize the correct requirements. Option B preserves the draft but discards the reasoning and requirements needed to evaluate it. Option C could support future recurring work, particularly when sources must persist across conversations, but restructuring the workflow into a Project is not the most direct initial response to the current drift.

If the summarized context does not restore output quality, the analyst can start a new conversation using that validated summary and the necessary source materials.