Skip to main content

GOV 04 QUALITY

A cyan glass sphere fits precisely within a metal quality gauge.

This page embeds the canonical rule text and adds rule-specific commentary to explain why each section exists.

Governance: Quality​

Commentary: Frames quality as a governed delivery outcome, not subjective polish.

Quality Gate Principle​

Quality is part of delivery, not a final phase.

Every meaningful change should satisfy:

  1. correctness (does it work as intended?)
  2. consistency (does it fit existing patterns/constraints?)
  3. maintainability (can another person safely evolve it?)

Commentary: Requires every meaningful change to pass the checks that fit its risk and surface.

Quality Scaffolding Principle​

Quality scaffolding is the supporting artifact layer that makes work trustworthy, reviewable, maintainable, and releasable.

Typical quality scaffolding includes:

  • issue clarity
  • spec/requirement binding
  • tests and validation evidence
  • documentation updates
  • traceability links
  • PR and handoff clarity
  • release-readiness or operational evidence
  • explicit residual risk and follow-up debt

AI should help teams maintain this scaffolding, not just accelerate implementation.

Commentary: Requires missing safety rails to be added before high-risk changes depend on them.

Minimum Quality Checklist​

  • Scope is explicit and respected
  • Acceptance criteria are testable
  • Evidence exists (tests/checks/manual proof where appropriate)
  • Documentation/spec updates reflect behavior changes
  • OpenSpec requirements are updated before claiming behavior changes complete
  • Known trade-offs are recorded
  • Missing completeness is captured as explicit follow-up work rather than left invisible

Commentary: Defines the baseline review lens for scope, behavior, tests, docs, and maintainability.

Change Hygiene​

  • Prefer minimal, cohesive diffs
  • Avoid unrelated refactors in feature/fix commits
  • Keep naming and structure stable unless change is intentional
  • Preserve frontmatter and metadata in .mdc files

Commentary: Keeps diffs small, readable, and tied to the tracked reason for change.

Verification Expectations​

Run verification appropriate to work type and risk:

  • low-risk doc/content changes: lint/structure/link/build checks
  • behavior changes: targeted + regression checks
  • contract/API changes: contract verification + compatibility review
  • release-critical or operationally risky changes: strongest operational evidence available

Verification should be proportional, but never replaced by presentation quality or activity volume.

Commentary: Links validation strength to the surfaces and risks touched by the change.

Anti-Fake-Completion Principle​

Do not confuse these with trustworthy completion:

  • passing build == verified behavior
  • merged PR == done
  • long summary == evidence
  • generated tests == meaningful coverage
  • closed issue == complete work

AI makes it easier to generate the appearance of completeness. Governance must distinguish appearance-of-completion from trustworthy completion.

Verification review should also make explicit:

  • which scenario classes were exercised
  • what proof is direct vs surrogate-only
  • what remains unverified, blocked, or deferred
  • what follow-up artifact was created for missing completeness

Commentary: Blocks completion claims that rely on happy-path confidence or missing evidence.

Definition of Done (Quality View)​

Done means:

  • acceptance criteria satisfied
  • verification evidence captured
  • docs/traceability updated
  • residual risks documented
  • missing completeness converted into tracked follow-up work where relevant

Commentary: Converts quality from a vague approval feeling into concrete done criteria.