Phase Gate Checklist

Print this page. Post it. Every phase gate must pass before the pipeline advances. No exceptions.

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Phase −1: Discovery Engine

Purpose: Align stakeholders and establish the domain foundation.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
Product Vision Statement agreed	✅ Mandatory	PO + TL
Persona definitions complete (specific actors, not "user")	✅ Mandatory	PO
Feature list prioritized and sliced	✅ Mandatory	PO + TL
MVP canvas complete	✅ Mandatory	PO
Bounded Context map produced	✅ Mandatory	TL
Ubiquitous Language session completed	✅ Mandatory	TL
domain-model.md seed created	✅ Mandatory	TL
context-map.md created	✅ Mandatory	TL
All discovery artifacts consistent with stated mission	✅ Mandatory	PO + TL

Owner: PO + TL jointly
Output blocking next phase: All discovery artifacts must exist. Inconsistencies must be resolved.

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Phase 0: Product Intent Approval

Purpose: Formalize strategic purpose and obtain PO sign-off.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
intent.md contains: mission, capabilities, success metrics, non-goals	✅ Mandatory	PO
Entry mode declared (NEW_PRODUCT / IMPROVEMENT / BUG_FIX / REFACTOR)	✅ Mandatory	PO
Bounded context and domain entities listed	✅ Mandatory	TL
PO confidence score ≥ 0.85	✅ Mandatory	PO
No open questions blocking intent clarity	✅ Mandatory	PO + TL

Owner: Product Owner
Output blocking next phase: PO-approved intent.md.

danger

No Phase 1 work begins without an approved intent.md. A "mostly done" intent document will produce hallucinated specs downstream.

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Phase 1: AI-Augmented Discovery (Spec Validation Gate)

Purpose: Transform intent into validated, machine-interpretable requirements.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
All requirements categorized (FEATURE/BUG/IMPROVEMENT)	✅ Mandatory	Spec Agent → CI
All requirements assigned to a slice (MVP/V1/V2)	✅ Mandatory	Spec Agent
EARS syntax compliance	✅ Mandatory (automated)	CI linter
All domain terms resolved in domain-model.md	✅ Mandatory (automated)	Validation Agent
Testability score ≥ 0.80 per requirement	✅ Mandatory	Validation Agent
Risk score assigned to every requirement	✅ Mandatory	Validation Agent
QA Agent peer review completed	✅ Mandatory	QA Agent (Mode C)
No open dissent notices against any MUST requirement	✅ Mandatory	TL
Validation Agent confidence ≥ 0.90	✅ Mandatory	Validation Agent
TL sign-off	✅ Mandatory	Tech Lead

Owner: Tech Lead
Output blocking next phase: All MUST requirements in the active slice passed the Spec Validation Gate.

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Phase 2: Domain Contracts

Purpose: Produce and approve the schema-compliant domain model.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
domain-model.md conforms to YAML schema	✅ Mandatory (automated)	CI gate
All entities referenced in Phase 1 requirements exist in model	✅ Mandatory	Domain Agent
All invariants documented per entity	✅ Mandatory	TL
Ubiquitous Language section covers all new terms	✅ Mandatory	TL
No backward-incompatible entity changes without ADR	✅ Mandatory	TL
Domain Agent confidence ≥ 0.85	✅ Mandatory	Domain Agent
TL sign-off	✅ Mandatory	Tech Lead

Owner: Tech Lead
Output blocking next phase: TL-approved, CI-validated domain-model.md.

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Phase 3: Architecture Design

Purpose: Synthesize architecture from domain contracts and requirements.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
design.md contains: overview, component boundaries, DB schema, sequence diagrams	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
Every design element traceable to ≥1 requirement	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
Security surface analysis included	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
Non-functional requirements addressed	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
ADRs produced for all significant decisions	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
Design Agent Reasoning Trace produced	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
TL has acknowledged the Reasoning Trace	✅ Mandatory	Tech Lead
Design Agent confidence ≥ 0.80	✅ Mandatory	Design Agent
TL sign-off on design.md	✅ Mandatory	Tech Lead

Owner: Tech Lead
Output blocking next phase: TL-approved design.md with acknowledged Reasoning Trace.

warning

Signing off on the artifact without reviewing the Reasoning Trace is rubber-stamping. The Reasoning Trace is part of the gate, not an optional appendix.

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Phase 4: Agentic Implementation

Purpose: Generate spec-compliant code through parallel execution waves.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
tasks.md wave plan approved	✅ Mandatory	TL
All wave tasks trace to a spec requirement	✅ Mandatory	Task Planning Agent
No UNDOCUMENTED_BEHAVIOR flagged	✅ Mandatory	Implementation Agent
All TDD tests pass (RED → GREEN → REFACTOR)	✅ Mandatory	QA Agent
Spec Coverage = 100% for this slice	✅ Mandatory	QA Agent (Mode B)
Test coverage ≥ minimum threshold	✅ Mandatory	QA Agent (Mode B)
Implementation Agent Reasoning Traces acknowledged	✅ Mandatory	TL + Engineer
Human code review completed (when confidence < 0.75)	✅ Conditional	Engineer

Owner: Tech Lead + Engineers
Output blocking next phase: All tasks complete, TDD green, QA gate passed, Reasoning Traces acknowledged.

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Phase 5: Autonomous CI/CD

Purpose: Automated validation of the full integrated system.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
All CI pipeline stages green	✅ Mandatory	DevOps Agent
Security Agent scan completed	✅ Mandatory	Security Agent
Security Agent confidence ≥ 0.95	✅ Mandatory	Security Agent
Security scan artifact attached to pipeline	✅ Mandatory	CI
No force-bypass of any CI gate	✅ Mandatory	CI
All specification coverage checks passed	✅ Mandatory	CI
TL sign-off (if any pipeline failure occurred)	✅ Conditional	Tech Lead

Owner: DevOps Agent + Tech Lead
Output blocking next phase: All CI gates green; no force-bypass; security scan artifact attached.

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Phase 6: Observability

Purpose: Ensure the deployed system is measurable and errors are detectable.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
telemetry-plan.md created	✅ Mandatory	Observability Agent
API latency telemetry emitting (p50/p95/p99)	✅ Mandatory	Observability Agent
Error rate by type emitting	✅ Mandatory	Observability Agent
Transaction success/failure counts emitting	✅ Mandatory	Observability Agent
Business event counts mapped to domain events	✅ Mandatory	Observability Agent
All new components confirmed emitting	✅ Mandatory	Observability Agent
TL sign-off	✅ Mandatory	Tech Lead

Owner: Tech Lead
Output blocking next phase: Observability Agent confirms telemetry emission from all new components.

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Phase 7: Production Learning Loop

Purpose: Close the loop between production and specifications.

Checklist Item	Required?	Verified by
Knowledge Agent failure pattern analysis completed	✅ Mandatory	Knowledge Agent
Any steering proposals include: pattern data (≥3 incidents), rule text, predicted outcome, rollback plan	✅ Conditional	Knowledge Agent
TL + Engineer have reviewed all DRAFT steering proposals	✅ Conditional	TL + Engineer
Approved proposals merged to .asdd/steering/	✅ Conditional	TL
Self-Healing PRs (if any): TL + Engineer approved, CI passed, rollback documented	✅ Conditional	TL + Engineer
lessons-learned.md updated	✅ Mandatory	TL
All open Self-Healing PRs reviewed	✅ Mandatory	TL

Owner: Tech Lead + Product Owner
Gate closes when: Knowledge Agent proposals reviewed; approved updates applied; no open Self-Healing PRs pending review.

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Agent failure quick reference

Situation	Immediate Action	Owner
Agent confidence below threshold	Block phase gate; log; escalate to TL	Automated + TL
CCS < 0.65	Halt entire slice pipeline; full human review	TL
Conflicting agent outputs	Pause pipeline; Knowledge Agent arbitrates; TL resolves	TL
Agent timeout or crash	Retry once; if still failed, escalate to TL	Automated + TL
Dissent notice filed	Log in dissent log; TL resolves within SLA	TL
Self-Healing PR proposed	Mandatory TL + Engineer review; CI must pass	TL + Engineer
Self-Healing PR reverted	Knowledge Agent flags steering update for re-analysis	Knowledge Agent + TL
Discovery Re-entry triggered	Slice resets to Phase −1; PO + TL notified	PO + TL