The Ferguson Method
Named for Daniel M. Ferguson — a pioneer in electronic commerce research and publishing.
Origin
The methodology is named for Daniel M. Ferguson, one of my mentors and a pioneer in electronic commerce research and publishing.
Dan headed the EDI Research Group. I worked with him as managing editor of his initial publication, EDI Forum, and its successor, The Journal of Electronic Commerce. I first encountered him as a cub reporter for Cashflow magazine, when I edited his article on an electronic payments system for General Motors developed by the First National Bank of Chicago.
From Dan I learned how to structure primary research, how to hold editorial independence inside a sponsored publication, and how to synthesize findings across sources that don't speak the same language. The Ferguson Method applies those principles to AI-assisted research and docs-as-code publishing.
The Three Components
1. Human editorial direction
Every research question, framing decision, and editorial judgment call originates with the editor — Collin Canright. This includes:
- The five demand vectors structuring the Field Guide
- The deployment tag system ([PRODUCTION] / [PILOT] / [ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE] / [CONCEPTUAL])
- The sources selected for analysis
- The editorial position when sources contradict each other
- What qualifies as a named deployment vs. an announcement
The agent does not determine what matters. It surfaces evidence for conclusions the editor is positioned to evaluate.
2. Multi-model retrieval-augmented agent
Perplexity Computer provides parallel search across primary sources — research reports, regulatory filings, company announcements, on-chain data — and applies the Ferguson Research Report Framework to compare findings across methodologically dissimilar sources.
It also maintains a running knowledge base across research sessions, tracking what has been documented and flagging only net-new developments. This is the foundation for the two automated monitoring crons (deployment scan and regulatory scan) that run each weekday morning.
3. Docs-as-code publishing
Research outputs are written in Markdown, version-controlled in a private GitHub repository, and compiled for publication using MkDocs Material. This means:
- Each article in the series builds directly on prior research files without manual re-entry
- The methodology is documented alongside the content it produces
- Versioning is transparent — changes are tracked in git, not lost in a CMS
- The Field Guide can be updated in minutes when a named deployment changes status
Why This Approach
Most stablecoin content in 2026 falls into two categories: promotional material produced by or for industry participants, and academic or regulatory analysis written for specialist audiences. Neither is designed for the institutional practitioner — the corporate treasurer, the bank innovation team lead, the fintech platform evaluating infrastructure options.
The Ferguson Method is designed to fill that gap: editorial independence from industry, primary-source rigor borrowed from academic practice, and practitioner relevance as the organizing principle.
Dan Ferguson's original insight — that you can hold editorial independence inside a sponsored publication if the methodology is explicit and the criteria are public — applies equally here. The Field Guide accepts no sponsorship that influences editorial classification. Sponsored research is used, not deferred to. The methodology is published alongside the findings so readers can evaluate it.
Contact
Questions about research methodology or the Field Guide series: ferguson@fintechrising.co
The U.S. Stablecoin Field Guide for Institutions is published by FinTech Rising and Canright Communications.
Page History
2 reader-facing changes since 2026-05-29; last change 2026-07-12 (v0.8 refresh).
Show all changes
| Date | Release | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-12 | v0.8 refresh | Added Use Case Overview, Updated Use Case pages, and a Roadmap section. |
| 2026-05-29 | v0.7 | v0.6: initial commit - 1st MkDocs build, all docs as of 05-14-2026 |
Infrastructure and formatting commits are omitted. Release-level detail is in the Release Notes.