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feat: add Phase 0 (Align on Verification Criteria) to systematic-debugging#1921

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jacksang6:feat/phase0-align-verification-criteria
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feat: add Phase 0 (Align on Verification Criteria) to systematic-debugging#1921
jacksang6 wants to merge 1 commit into
obra:mainfrom
jacksang6:feat/phase0-align-verification-criteria

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@jacksang6

@jacksang6 jacksang6 commented Jul 4, 2026

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Summary

Adds a new Phase 0: Align on Verification Criteria to the systematic-debugging skill, before the existing Phase 1 (Root Cause Investigation).

Motivation

The current 4-phase process starts at "Root Cause Investigation" but skips a critical prerequisite: aligning with your human partner on what you are actually verifying. Without this alignment:

  • You write tests that verify the wrong thing
  • You investigate without knowing when to stop
  • You waste rounds on misaligned expectations

This pattern emerged from repeated debugging sessions where the AI jumped to writing tests before confirming what "pass" meant with the human partner, leading to false RED→GREEN cycles and wasted investigation.

Changes

Section Change
Phase 0 New phase: Define target dimension → Establish expected baseline → Define "success" → Get sign-off
Title "Four Phases" → "Five Phases"
Red Flags + "Writing test code before aligning on what pass means"
Partner Signals + "Grill first / Let's align first" → Phase 0
Rationalizations + "I know what to verify, no need to align"
Quick Reference + Phase 0 row
Real-World Impact + "With Phase 0 alignment: Near-zero wasted investigation rounds"

Testing

Applied in real debugging sessions. Phase 0 alignment reduced investigation from multiple wasted rounds to a single targeted round.

Design Decisions

  • Phase numbering: Uses "Phase 0" (not "Phase 1.5") because this step is a prerequisite gate — it must complete before any investigation begins, similar to how Phase 0 in other frameworks means "pre-requisite alignment"
  • Sign-off requirement: Explicit "do NOT proceed to Phase 1" guard, matching the existing Iron Law pattern
  • Concrete examples: Uses generic e-commerce/database examples rather than domain-specific ones, to keep the skill broadly applicable

…gging

Before writing any test code or investigating, align with your human
partner on: (1) target dimension, (2) expected baseline, (3) what
'success' means. Get explicit sign-off before proceeding.

This prevents wasted investigation rounds where you verify the wrong
thing or investigate without knowing when to stop.

Also updates:
- Title: Four Phases → Five Phases
- Red Flags: add 'writing test code before aligning on what pass means'
- Partner Signals: add 'grill first / let's align first' → Phase 0
- Rationalizations: add 'I know what to verify, no need to align'
- Quick Reference: add Phase 0 row
- Real-World Impact: add Phase 0 alignment benefit
@jacksang6 jacksang6 force-pushed the feat/phase0-align-verification-criteria branch from 7420fe6 to 8a62084 Compare July 4, 2026 13:08
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