Executing Checker Workflow

Common workflow pattern for all checker agents in the maker-checker-fixer three-stage quality pipeline.

When This Skill Loads

This Skill auto-loads for checker agents that need standardized workflow for validating content and generating audit reports.

Core Checker Workflow

Checker agents follow a consistent 5-step workflow:

Step 0: Initialize Report
    ↓
Step 1-N: Validate Content (domain-specific)
    ↓
Final Step: Finalize Report

Step 0: Initialize Report File

CRITICAL FIRST STEP - Execute before any validation begins:

See wow-generating-validation-reports Skill for complete UUID chain generation and report initialization.

Quick Implementation:

# 1. Generate 6-char UUID
MY_UUID=$(uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | head -c 6)

# 2. Determine UUID chain (scope-based)
SCOPE="${EXECUTION_SCOPE:-agent-family}"
CHAIN_FILE="generated-reports/.execution-chain-${SCOPE}"

if [ -f "$CHAIN_FILE" ]; then
  read PARENT_TIME PARENT_CHAIN < "$CHAIN_FILE"
  CURRENT_TIME=$(date +%s)
  TIME_DIFF=$((CURRENT_TIME - PARENT_TIME))

  if [ $TIME_DIFF -lt 300 ]; then
    UUID_CHAIN="${PARENT_CHAIN}_${MY_UUID}"
  else
    UUID_CHAIN="$MY_UUID"
  fi
else
  UUID_CHAIN="$MY_UUID"
fi

echo "$(date +%s) $UUID_CHAIN" > "$CHAIN_FILE"

# 3. Generate UTC+7 timestamp
TIMESTAMP=$(TZ='Asia/Jakarta' date +"%Y-%m-%d--%H-%M")

# 4. Create report filename
REPORT_FILE="generated-reports/${AGENT_FAMILY}__${UUID_CHAIN}__${TIMESTAMP}__audit.md"

# 5. Initialize report with header
cat > "$REPORT_FILE" << 'HEADER'
# Validation Report: {Agent Name}

**Status**: In Progress
**Agent**: {agent-name}
**Scope**: {scope-description}
**Timestamp**: {YYYY-MM-DD--HH-MM UTC+7}
**UUID Chain**: {uuid-chain}

---

## Findings

[Findings will be written progressively during validation]
HEADER

Why Initialize Early?

• Creates file before validation begins (survives context compaction)
• Enables progressive writing (append findings as discovered)
• Provides audit trail even if validation interrupted
• File is readable throughout execution

Steps 1-N: Validate Content (Domain-Specific)

Pattern: Each checker has domain-specific validation steps, but all follow progressive writing.

Common Validation Step Structure:

### Step {N}: {Validation Type}

**Objective**: {What this step validates}

**Process**:

1. {Discovery action - e.g., "Find all markdown files"}
2. {Extraction action - e.g., "Extract code blocks"}
3. {Validation action - e.g., "Verify against standards"}
4. **Write findings immediately** (progressive writing)

**Success Criteria**: {How to know step completed}

**On Failure**: {Error handling}

Progressive Writing Requirements:

• Write each finding to report file immediately after discovery
• Don't buffer findings in memory
• Use append mode for file writes
• Include all finding details (file, line, criticality, issue, recommendation)

Finding Format:

### Finding {N}: {Title}

**File**: path/to/file.md
**Line**: {line-number} (if applicable)
**Criticality**: {CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW}
**Category**: {category-name}

**Issue**: {Description of what's wrong}

**Recommendation**: {How to fix it}

---

Common Validation Steps by Checker Type

Content Quality Checkers (docs, readme, tutorial):

1. Step 1: Discovery - Find files to validate
2. Step 2: Structure - Check heading hierarchy, frontmatter
3. Step 3: Content Quality - Verify active voice, accessibility, formatting
4. Step 4: Standards Compliance - Check against conventions
5. Step 5: Cross-References - Validate internal links

Factual Accuracy Checkers (docs, facts):

1. Step 1: Discovery - Find files with verifiable claims
2. Step 2: Extraction - Extract commands, versions, code examples
3. Step 3: Verification - Check claims against authoritative sources (WebSearch/WebFetch)
4. Step 4: Classification - Mark as [Verified]/[Error]/[Outdated]/[Unverified]
5. Step 5: Confidence Assessment - Assign confidence levels

Link Checkers (link-general, link-specific):

1. Step 1: Discovery - Find all markdown files
2. Step 2: Extraction - Extract internal and external links
3. Step 3: Internal Validation - Check internal references exist
4. Step 4: External Validation - Check external URLs accessible
5. Step 5: Cache Management - Update link cache

Structure Checkers (structure, navigation):

1. Step 1: Discovery - Find folder structure
2. Step 2: Organization - Validate folder patterns
3. Step 3: Weights - Check weight ordering system
4. Step 4: Navigation - Verify prev/next links
5. Step 5: Completeness - Check for missing files

Final Step: Finalize Report

Final update to existing report file:

# Update report status
cat >> "$REPORT_FILE" << 'SUMMARY'

## Summary

**Total Findings**: {N}

**By Criticality**:
- CRITICAL: {count}
- HIGH: {count}
- MEDIUM: {count}
- LOW: {count}

**Status**: Complete
**Completed**: {YYYY-MM-DD--HH-MM UTC+7}
SUMMARY

Finalization Checklist:

1. Update status: "In Progress" → "Complete"
2. Count findings by criticality level
3. Add completion timestamp
4. Ensure all findings written to file (progressive writing)
5. Report file path to user

Tool Requirements

Checkers typically need:

• Read: Read files to validate
• Glob: Find files by pattern
• Grep: Extract content patterns (code blocks, commands, etc.)
• Write: Initialize and update report file
• Bash: Generate UUID, timestamp, file operations
• WebFetch: (Optional) Access official documentation
• WebSearch: (Optional) Find authoritative sources

Bash Tool Critical: Required for UUID generation and report initialization.

Integration with Other Skills

Required Skills (should be in checker's skills: frontmatter):

• wow-generating-validation-reports - UUID chain, report format, progressive writing
• wow-assessing-criticality-confidence - Criticality level assessment
• Domain-specific Skills (e.g., docs-validating-factual-accuracy, docs-validating-links)

Related Documentation:

• Temporary Files Convention
• Maker-Checker-Fixer Pattern
• Criticality Levels Convention

Progressive Writing Methodology

CRITICAL REQUIREMENT: All checkers MUST write findings progressively.

Why Progressive Writing?

• Context compaction during long validation runs can lose buffered findings
• Progressive writing ensures audit history survives
• File is readable during execution (monitoring)
• Findings preserved even if validation interrupted

Implementation Pattern:

Step 0: Initialize Report File
→ Create file immediately with header

Steps 1-N: Validate Content
→ For each validation check: 1. Perform validation 2. Immediately append finding to report file 3. Continue to next check
→ DO NOT buffer findings in memory

Final Step: Finalize Report
→ Update status and add summary
→ File already contains all findings

Anti-Pattern (Don't Do This):

# ❌ BAD: Buffering findings in memory
findings = []
for file in files:
    issue = validate(file)
    findings.append(issue)  # Buffered in memory!

# Write all at end (lost if context compacts)
write_report(findings)

Correct Pattern:

# ✅ GOOD: Progressive writing
initialize_report()
for file in files:
    issue = validate(file)
    append_to_report(issue)  # Written immediately!

finalize_report()

Common Validation Patterns

Pattern 1: File-Based Validation

Step 1: Discover files using Glob
Step 2: For each file:

- Read content
- Check against standards
- Write findings immediately
  Step 3: Finalize with summary

Pattern 2: Content Extraction and Verification

Step 1: Discover files
Step 2: Extract verifiable claims using Grep
Step 3: For each claim:

- Verify against source (WebFetch/WebSearch)
- Assess correctness
- Write finding immediately
  Step 4: Finalize with summary

Pattern 3: Cross-Reference Validation

Step 1: Build index of all valid targets
Step 2: Discover files with references
Step 3: For each reference:

- Check against index
- Verify target exists
- Write finding if broken
  Step 4: Finalize with summary

Criticality Assessment

See wow-assessing-criticality-confidence Skill for complete guidance.

Quick Guidelines:

• CRITICAL: Breaks functionality, renders content unusable
• HIGH: Significant impact, misleads users, violates core standards
• MEDIUM: Quality issues, minor violations, subjective improvements
• LOW: Cosmetic issues, suggestions, optional improvements

Domain-Specific Examples (add to checker agent, not this Skill):

Each checker should include domain-specific criticality examples relevant to its validation scope.

Best Practices

1. Initialize Early: Create report file before any validation
2. Write Progressively: Append findings immediately, don't buffer
3. Use Bash Tools: Required for UUID and timestamp generation
4. Follow Naming: Use 4-part pattern with UUID chain
5. Update Status: "In Progress" during validation, "Complete" when done
6. Count Findings: Provide summary by criticality level
7. Be Specific: Include file paths, line numbers, clear recommendations
8. Assess Criticality: Use consistent criteria across checkers

Example Workflow Execution

Step 0: Initialize Report
→ UUID: a1b2c3
→ Timestamp: 2025-12-14--20-45
→ File: docs**a1b2c3**2025-12-14--20-45\_\_audit.md
→ Status: In Progress

Step 1: Discover Files
→ Found 15 markdown files in docs/

Step 2: Validate Structure
→ File 1: Check heading hierarchy → MEDIUM finding → Write immediately
→ File 2: Check frontmatter → HIGH finding → Write immediately
→ ...continue for all files

Step 3: Validate Content
→ File 1: Check active voice → LOW finding → Write immediately
→ ...continue validation

Step 4: Validate Links
→ Extract 50 links
→ Validate each → 3 CRITICAL findings → Write immediately

Final Step: Finalize Report
→ Update status: Complete
→ Add summary: 1 CRITICAL, 2 HIGH, 4 MEDIUM, 3 LOW
→ Total: 10 findings

Key Takeaways

• Initialize first: Create report before validation begins
• Write progressively: Append findings immediately during validation
• Use consistent format: Follow 4-part naming with UUID chains
• Be domain-specific: Customize Steps 1-N for validation type
• Finalize completely: Update status and add summary statistics
• Require Bash: Essential for UUID and timestamp generation
• Trust the pattern: All checkers follow this workflow structure

This workflow ensures consistent, auditable, and resilient validation across all checker agents.