Verification Before Completion

Overview

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule.

The Iron Law

NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE

If you haven't run the verification command in this message, you cannot claim it passes.

The Gate Function

BEFORE claiming any status or expressing satisfaction:

1. IDENTIFY: What command proves this claim?
2. RUN: Execute the FULL command (fresh, complete)
3. READ: Full output, check exit code, count failures
4. VERIFY: Does output confirm the claim?
   - If NO: State actual status with evidence
   - If YES: State claim WITH evidence
5. ONLY THEN: Make the claim

Skip any step = lying, not verifying

Common Failures

Red Flags - STOP

• Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
• Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", etc.)
• About to commit/push/PR without verification
• Trusting agent success reports
• Relying on partial verification
• Thinking "just this once"
• Tired and wanting work over
• ANY wording implying success without having run verification

Rationalization Prevention

Key Patterns

Tests:

OK: [Run test command] [See: 34/34 pass] "All tests pass"
BAD: "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

OK: Write -> Run (pass) -> Revert fix -> Run (MUST FAIL) -> Restore -> Run (pass)
BAD: "I've written a regression test" (without red-green verification)

Build:

OK: [Run build] [See: exit 0] "Build passes"
BAD: "Linter passed" (linter doesn't check compilation)

Requirements:

OK: Re-read plan -> Create checklist -> Verify each -> Report gaps or completion
BAD: "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

OK: Agent reports success -> Check VCS diff -> Verify changes -> Report actual state
BAD: Trust agent report

Why This Matters

From past failures:

• User said "I don't believe you" - trust broken
• Undefined functions shipped - would crash
• Missing requirements shipped - incomplete features
• Time wasted on false completion -> redirect -> rework
• Violates: "Honesty is a core value. If you lie, you'll be replaced."

When To Apply

ALWAYS before:

• ANY variation of success/completion claims
• ANY expression of satisfaction
• ANY positive statement about work state
• Committing, PR creation, task completion
• Moving to next task
• Delegating to agents

Rule applies to:

• Exact phrases
• Paraphrases and synonyms
• Implications of success
• ANY communication suggesting completion/correctness

Preserving Evidence

What to preserve: Test output, build logs, command output, screenshots of UI states.

Where to save:

• Commit messages - include key metrics (e.g., "34/34 tests pass")
• PR descriptions - summarize verification results
• .harness/ docs - detailed logs for complex verifications

Retention: Keep until PR merged, minimum. Complex changes: keep longer.

Why: Supports "evidence over claims" - reviewers can verify your verification.

When Verification Fails

Immediate actions:

1. STOP - don't push, don't commit
2. Preserve evidence (copy error output, save state)
3. Don't claim partial success

Rollback options:

• git reset --soft HEAD~1 - undo commit, keep changes staged
• git revert <sha> - create reverting commit (safe for pushed code)
• Feature flags - disable broken feature without code rollback

Rollback vs fix forward:

• Rollback: broken in production, unclear cause, complex fix needed
• Fix forward: simple fix, cause is obvious, not yet deployed

Post-failure checklist:

• Document what failed and why
• Add systemic issues to backlog
• Update tests to catch this failure mode

Finishing Work

After verification passes, present completion options:

Implementation complete. What would you like to do?

1. Merge back to <base-branch> locally
2. Push and create a Pull Request
3. Keep the branch as-is (I'll handle it later)
4. Discard this work

Which option?

Option Handling

Option 1: Merge Locally

git checkout <base-branch>
git pull
git merge <feature-branch>
<run tests again>  # verify merged result
git branch -d <feature-branch>

Option 2: Push and Create PR

git push -u origin <feature-branch>
gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "## Summary
<bullets>

## Test Plan
- [ ] <verification steps>"

Option 3: Keep As-Is Report: "Keeping branch ."

Option 4: Discard Require typed confirmation: "Type 'discard' to confirm."

git checkout <base-branch>
git branch -D <feature-branch>

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.

This is non-negotiable.