dor-gate

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[BLOCKING] Execute skill steps in declared order. NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval. [BLOCKING] Before each step or sub-skill call, update task tracking: set in_progress when step starts, set completed when step ends. [BLOCKING] Every completed/skipped step MUST include brief evidence or explicit skip reason. [BLOCKING] If Task tools are unavailable, create and maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with the same status transitions.

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Quick Summary

Goal: Validate a PBI artifact against the Definition of Ready (DoR/M1-M7) checklist so that only grooming-ready PBIs pass the gate — every failure is caught with its concrete section/line citation, blocking ambiguous, untestable, or unimplementable stories from reaching the team.

Summary:

• Purpose: an automated quality gate (NOT a collaborative review — /pbi-challenge is for that) running two checklists — the 7 Required DoR criteria (story template, testable AC, wireframes, UI design, AI pre-review, story points, dependencies) AND the M1-M7 compliance gate; ANY single failure across either set returns FAIL.
• Main steps (run in order): (1) Locate PBI in team-artifacts/pbis/ or active plan; (2) apply the self-contained DoR 7-criteria checklist; (3) parse each PBI section against all 7 items (template format, GIVEN/WHEN/THEN AC ×3+, wireframes, UI design, AI pre-review, story-point frontmatter, dependencies table); (4) run the M1-M7 mandate gate; (5) verify estimation frontmatter; (6) classify PASS/FAIL; (7) emit the DoR Gate Result template, then route via AskUserQuestion.
• The DoR is self-contained here (BA Refinement Context section) — no external protocol file needed; every verdict MUST cite the concrete PBI section + line/AC, and a PASS over any M1-M5 or M7 violation is itself defective.
• Verify story-point estimation frontmatter (Fibonacci 1-21 + complexity, man-days range, blast-radius) per the SYNC estimation framework; story points >13 trigger a SHOULD-SPLIT WARN (NOT a FAIL).
• Carriers are EXEMPT from M1/M2 — flag source-identifier leakage ONLY in narrative prose, never inside [Source: ...] / **Evidence** / frontmatter / ```mermaid``` carriers.

Key distinction: Automated quality gate (not collaborative review — use /pbi-challenge for that).

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Workflow

1. Locate PBI — Find PBI artifact in team-artifacts/pbis/ or active plan context. If not found, ask user for path.
2. Load DoR protocol — Apply DoR 7-criteria checklist (story template, testable AC, wireframes, UI design, AI pre-review, story points, dependencies)
3. Evaluate each criterion — Parse PBI sections against 7 DoR items:
   • Check user story template format ("As a... I want... So that...")
   • Scan AC for vague language ("should", "might", "TBD", "etc.", "various")
   • Verify GIVEN/WHEN/THEN format (min 3 scenarios)
   • Check for wireframe/mockup references (or explicit "N/A" for backend-only)
   • Check for UI design status (incl. design-spec link or inline UI specs for UI PBIs)
   • Verify story_points and complexity fields present with valid values
   • Verify dependencies table with correct columns
4. Classify result:
   • PASS — All 7 criteria pass → ready for grooming
   • FAIL — Any criterion fails → blocked, list fixes needed
5. Output verdict — Use the DoR Gate Output Template from protocol

Checklist (from protocol)

Required (ALL must pass)

• MUST ATTENTION verify User story template — "As a {role}, I want {goal}, so that {benefit}" present
• MUST ATTENTION verify AC testable — All AC use GIVEN/WHEN/THEN, no vague language, min 3 scenarios
• MUST ATTENTION verify Wireframes/mockups — Present or explicit "N/A" for backend-only
• MUST ATTENTION verify UI design ready — Completed incl. design-spec linked (/design-spec artifact or inline UI specs in ## UI Layout) for UI PBIs; or "N/A" for backend-only
• MUST ATTENTION verify AI pre-review — /artifact-review --type=pbi or /pbi-challenge result is PASS or WARN
• MUST ATTENTION verify Story points — Valid Fibonacci (1-21) + complexity (Low/Medium/High)
• MUST ATTENTION verify Dependencies table — Complete with Type column (must-before/can-parallel/blocked-by/independent)

M1-M7 Compliance Gate (BLOCKING — each check FAILs the gate)

Contract: See .claude/skills/shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md → "AI-SDD Mandates (M1-M7)". DoR enforces M6: a PBI that violates any of M1-M5 or M7 is NOT ready for grooming — return FAIL and name the violated mandate ID with its concrete PBI section + line/AC citation. A DoR PASS over an M1-M5 or M7 violation is itself defective.

M1 governs vocabulary; M7 governs subject matter. A technical case written in impeccably tech-free prose satisfies M1 while violating M7 — that gap is the most common way business specs rot. Passing M1 is NEVER evidence of passing M7; run both.

Carriers are EXEMPT from M1/M2 — source identifiers are CORRECT inside [Source: ...], **Evidence**, **IntegrationTest** fields, YAML frontmatter, and ```mermaid ``` blocks. Only flag leakage in PBI narrative prose (problem statement, AC text, scope, rule descriptions). Banned prose token list: spec-principles.md §3.2.

• MUST ATTENTION verify M1 — Tech-agnostic prose — FAIL if problem statement, AC, or rule prose names a framework/product, language-native type, or product/design-pattern class name (banned list in spec-principles.md §3.2). Cite section + token.
• MUST ATTENTION verify M2 — No source code in prose — FAIL if a requirement is expressed as a class/method/file-path/namespace instead of a business operation. Source identifiers belong only in evidence carriers. Cite section + line.
• MUST ATTENTION verify M3 — Abstract-IDs-first — FAIL if a requirement/rule lacks a logical ID (FR-/BR-/OP-), has a logical ID but no [Source: namespace/service/id] abstract-anchor evidence, uses physical code coordinates or repository-root paths instead of an abstract anchor, or makes the anchor its primary citation. Evidence is REQUIRED and KEPT, but SECONDARY to the logical ID (physical coordinates live only in the provenance sidecar).
• MUST ATTENTION verify M4 — Unambiguous AC — FAIL if any AC uses vague language ("handle appropriately", "process normally", "as needed"), two engineers could implement it differently while both claiming conformance, or no observable completion state / named error condition exists. (Reinforces the "AC testable" required criterion above.)
• MUST ATTENTION verify M5 — Implementable from artifact alone — FAIL if a competent team with ZERO codebase knowledge could not implement the PBI on a different stack from the PBI alone (relies on reading source to understand it). Cite section + missing detail.
• MUST ATTENTION verify M7 — Business-visibility — apply the demo test to each case's BODY: "what would a stakeholder SEE change?" — no answer → FAIL as TECHNICAL-ONLY. Every Given = a state a user could arrange; every When = an action a user could take; every Then = an outcome a user could see. FAIL a When that is an invocation (a handler runs, a consumer receives, a job fires, data syncs) or a Then asserting schema/type/nullability/call-count. Judge the BODY, never the title or ID. Cite section + the offending Given/When/Then line.

If ANY box fails → DoR result is FAIL; list each violated mandate ID with its concrete section/line citation in the Blocking Items.

BA Refinement Context (canonical DoR)

Applies to Writes under team-artifacts/pbis/. Mirrored for Codex via SYNC:refinement-dor-checklist / SYNC:ba-team-decision-model in AGENTS.md (do not hand-edit the mirror). This is the self-contained DoR source — no external protocol-file dependency required to run the gate.

Decision Model: 2/3 majority vote (UX BA + Designer BA + Dev BA PIC). Dev BA PIC has technical veto. Disagree-and-commit after decision. Grooming override requires >75% remaining-team vote.

DoR Gate (ALL must pass before grooming):

• User story template (As a... I want... So that...)
• AC testable (GIVEN/WHEN/THEN, no vague language; min 3 scenarios + 1 auth scenario)
• Wireframes attached (UX BA) + UI design ready (Designer BA) — incl. design-spec linked (/design-spec artifact or inline UI specs in ## UI Layout) for UI PBIs; backend-only → explicit "N/A"
• AI pre-review passed (/artifact-review --type=pbi or /pbi-challenge returned PASS or WARN)
• Story points estimated (Fibonacci 1-21 + complexity); >13 SP → recommend split
• Dependencies table complete (Dependency · Type must-before/can-parallel/blocked-by/independent · Status)

Failure fixes: Vague AC → specify exact CRUD + roles. Missing auth → add roles × CRUD table. No wireframes → UX BA creates. TBD in AC → replace with decision.

Output

## DoR Gate Result

**PBI:** {PBI filename}
**Status:** PASS | FAIL
**Date:** {date}

### Checklist Results

| #   | Criterion                   | Status    | Evidence / Issue |
| --- | --------------------------- | --------- | ---------------- |
| 1   | User story template         | ✅/❌     | {evidence}       |
| 2   | AC testable and unambiguous | ✅/❌     | {evidence}       |
| 3   | Wireframes/mockups          | ✅/❌/N/A | {evidence}       |
| 4   | UI design ready             | ✅/❌/N/A | {evidence}       |
| 5   | AI pre-review passed        | ✅/❌     | {evidence}       |
| 6   | Story points estimated      | ✅/❌     | {evidence}       |
| 7   | Dependencies complete       | ✅/❌     | {evidence}       |

### Blocking Items (if FAIL)

1. {Fix instruction}

### Verdict

**{READY_FOR_GROOMING | FIX_REQUIRED}**

Key Rules

• FAIL blocks grooming — If ANY required criterion fails, PBI cannot enter grooming. List specific fixes.
• No guessing — Every check must reference specific content (line numbers) in the PBI artifact.
• Protocol is source of truth — Always reference refinement-dor-checklist-protocol.md for criteria definitions.
• Story points >13 — Flag recommendation to split (not a FAIL, but a strong WARN).

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Next Steps

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS after completing this skill, you MUST ATTENTION use AskUserQuestion to present these options. Do NOT skip because the task seems "simple" or "obvious" — the user decides:

• "/prioritize (Recommended)" — If PASS: PBI is grooming-ready; prioritize into the backlog
• "/refine" — If FAIL: revise PBI
• "/pbi-challenge" — If collaborative review needed before re-checking DoR
• "Skip, continue manually" — user decides

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.

Evidence Gate: MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — every claim requires file:line proof or traced evidence with confidence percentage (>80% to act).

<!-- SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention -->

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect. Before changing or reporting a constant, limit, flag, cutoff, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history, the CALLER's ordering, and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Assert the outcome your system owns, not the intermediate state your infrastructure owns. When verifying async work, assert the final business state — never the delivery/retry bookkeeping held in shared infrastructure that any co-running process can write. Such a check passes when run alone and flakes the moment anything else shares that infrastructure. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

<!-- /SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention --> <!-- SYNC:estimation-framework -->

Estimation Framework — Bottom-up first; SP DERIVED; output min-max range when likely ≥3d. Stack-agnostic. Baseline: 3-5yr dev, 6 productive hrs/day. AI estimate assumes Claude Code + project context.

Method:

1. Blast Radius pass (below) — drives code AND test cost
2. Decompose phases → hours/phase → bottom_up_hours = Σ phase_hours
3. likely_days = ceil(bottom_up_hours / 6) × productivity_factor
4. Sum Risk Margin (base + add-ons) → max_days = likely_days × (1 + margin)
5. min_days = likely_days × 0.9
6. Output as range when likely_days ≥3; single point allowed <3 (still record margin)
7. man_days_ai = same range × AI speedup
8. story_points DERIVED from likely_days via SP-Days — NEVER driver. Disagreement >50% → trust bottom-up

Productivity factor: 0.8 strong scaffolding+codegen+AI hooks · 1.0 mature default · 1.2 weak patterns · 1.5 greenfield

Cost Driver Heuristic (apply BEFORE work-type row):

• UI dominates in CRUD/business apps — 1.5-3x backend (states, validation, responsive, a11y, polish)
• Backend dominates ONLY: multi-aggregate invariants, cross-service contracts, schema migrations, heavy query/perf, new event flows

Reuse-vs-Create axis (PRIMARY lever, per layer):

UI tier	Cost
Reuse component on existing screen	0.1-0.3d
Add control/column to existing screen	0.3-0.8d
Compose components into NEW screen	1-2d
NEW screen, custom layout/states/validation	2-4d
NEW shared/common component (themed, tested)	3-6d+

Backend tier	Cost
Reuse query/handler from new place	0.1-0.3d
Small update existing handler/entity	0.3-0.8d
NEW query on existing repo/model	0.5-1d
NEW command/handler on existing aggregate (additive)	1-2d
NEW aggregate/entity (repo, validation, events)	2-4d
NEW cross-service contract OR schema migration	2-4d each
Multi-aggregate invariant / heavy domain rule	3-5d

Rule: Sum tiers across UI+backend+tests, apply productivity factor. Reuse short-circuits tiers — call out.

Test-Scope drivers (compute test_count EXPLICITLY — "+tests" hand-wave is #1 failure):

Driver	Count
Happy-path journeys	1 per story / AC main flow
State-machine transitions	reachable transitions × allowed actors
Multi-entity state combos	state(A) × state(B) — REACHABLE only, not Cartesian
Authorization matrix	(owner, non-owner, elevated, unauth) × each mutation
Validation rules	1 per required field / boundary / format / cross-field
UI states (per new screen/dialog)	happy, loading, empty, error, partial — present only
Negative paths / invariants	1 per violatable business rule

Test tier (Trad, incl. setup+assert+flake)	Cost
1-5 cases, fixtures reused	0.3-0.5d
6-12 cases, 1 new fixture	0.5-1d
13-25 cases, multi-entity setup	1-2d
26-50 cases OR new state-machine coverage	2-3d
>50 cases OR full E2E journey	3-5d

Test multipliers: new fixture/seed harness +0.5d · cross-service/bus assertion +0.3d each · UI E2E ×1.5 · each new role +1-2 cases

Blast Radius (mandatory pre-pass — affects code AND test):

1. Files/components directly modified — count
2. Of those, "complex" (>500 LOC, multi-handler, central, frequently-modified) — count
3. Downstream consumers (callers, event subscribers, cross-service) — list
4. Shared/common code touched (multi-app blast) — yes/no
5. Regression scope — areas needing re-test

Rule: Complex touch → add risk_factors. Each downstream consumer → +1-3 regression cases. Blast >5 areas OR >2 complex → re-evaluate SPLIT before estimating.

Risk Margin (drives max bound):

likely_days	Base margin
<1d trivial	+10%
1-2d small additive	+20%
3-4d real feature	+35%
5-7d large	+50%
8-10d very large	+75%
>10d	+100% AND flag SHOULD SPLIT

Risk-factor add-ons (additive — enumerate in risk_factors):

Factor	+margin
touches-complex-existing-feature (>500 LOC, multi-handler, central)	+20%
cross-service-contract change	+25%
schema-migration-on-populated-data	+25%
new-tech-or-unfamiliar-pattern	+30%
regression-fan-out (≥3 downstream areas re-test)	+20%
performance-or-latency-critical	+20%
concurrency-race-event-ordering	+25%
shared-common-code (multi-consumer/multi-app)	+25%
unclear-requirements-or-design	+30%

Collapse rule: total margin >100% → STOP, split (padding past 2x is dishonesty). Margin <15% on likely_days ≥5 → under-estimated, widen.

Work-Type Caps (hard ceilings on likely_days):

Work type	Max SP	Max likely
Single field / config flag / style fix	1	0.5d
Add property to existing model + bind to existing UI	2	1d
Additive endpoint + minor UI control (button/menu/column), reuses fixtures	3	2-3d
Additive endpoint + NEW UI surface OR additive multi-layer + new domain rule + 2+ test files	5	3-5d
NEW model/aggregate OR migration OR cross-module contract OR heavy test (>1.5d) OR NEW UI + non-trivial backend	8	5-7d
NEW UI surface + (NEW aggregate OR migration OR cross-service contract)	13	SHOULD split
Cross-service contract + migration combined	13	SHOULD split
Beyond	21	MUST split

SP→Days (validation only): 1=0.5d/0.25d · 2=1d/0.35d · 3=2d/0.65d · 5=4d/1.0d · 8=6d/1.5d · 13=10d/2.0d (Trad/AI likely) AI speedup: SP 1≈2x · 2-3≈3x · 5-8≈4x · 13+≈5x. AI cost = (code_gen × 1.3) + (test_gen × 1.3) (30% review overhead).

MANDATORY frontmatter:

story_points: <n>
complexity: low | medium | high | critical
man_days_traditional: '<min>-<max>d' # range when likely ≥3d; '<N>d' when <3d
man_days_ai: '<min>-<max>d'
risk_margin_pct: <n> # base + add-ons
risk_factors: [touches-complex-existing-feature, regression-fan-out] # closed-list from add-ons; [] if none
blast_radius:
    touched_areas: <n>
    complex_touched: <n>
    downstream_consumers: [list or count]
    shared_common_code: yes | no
estimate_scope_included: [code, integration-tests, frontend, i18n, docs]
estimate_scope_excluded: [unit-tests, e2e, perf, deployment, code-review-rounds]
estimate_reasoning: |
    5-7 lines covering:
    (a) UI tier — row applied
    (b) Backend tier — row applied
    (c) Test scope — case breakdown by driver, file count, fixtures, tier row
    (d) Cost driver — dominant tier + why
    (e) Blast radius — touched, complex, regression scope
    (f) Risk factors — list driving margin; why not larger/smaller
    Example: "UI: compose Form/Table/Dialog → NEW screen (~1.5d). Backend: NEW command on existing aggregate,
    reuses validation+repo (~1d). Tests: 4 transitions × 2 actors + 3 validation + 2 UI states = 13 cases,
    1 new fixture → tier 13-25 ~1.5d. Driver: UI composition + new states. Blast: 4 areas, 1 complex.
    Risk: base 35% + touches-complex +20% = 55% → max 3.9d → range 2.5-4d."

Sanity self-check:

• likely_days ≥3d and single-point? → reject, must be range
• Margin <15% on likely_days ≥5d? → under-estimated, widen
• Margin >100%? → STOP, split instead of buffer
• Complex existing feature touched, no regression budget in (c)? → reject
• Blast >5 areas OR >2 complex, no split discussion? → reject
• Purely additive on existing model AND existing UI? → cap SP 3 unless tests >1.5d
• NEW UI surface (page/complex form/dashboard)? → SP 5+ even if backend one endpoint
• Backend cross-service / migration / multi-aggregate? → SP 8+ regardless of UI
• bottom_up_hours / 6 vs SP-Days disagreement >50%? → trust bottom-up, downgrade SP
• Without tests, SP drops ≥1 bucket? → tests dominate; state explicitly
• Reasoning called out UI vs backend vs blast vs risk factors? → if missing, add

<!-- /SYNC:estimation-framework --> <!-- SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset -->

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

<!-- /SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset --> <!-- SYNC:estimation-framework:reminder -->

• MANDATORY MUST ATTENTION estimation: bottom-up phase hours drive man_days_traditional (Σh/6 × productivity_factor); SP DERIVED. UI cost usually dominates — bump SP one bucket if NEW UI surface (page/complex form/dashboard). Frontmatter MUST include story_points, complexity, man_days_traditional, man_days_ai, estimate_scope_included, estimate_scope_excluded, estimate_reasoning (UI vs backend cost driver). Cap SP 3 for additive-on-existing-model+existing-UI unless test scope >1.5d. SP 13 SHOULD split, SP 21 MUST split. <!-- /SYNC:estimation-framework:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset:reminder -->

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

<!-- /SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset:reminder --> <!-- SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention:reminder -->

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

<!-- /SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention:reminder --> <!-- PROMPT-ENHANCE:STEP-TASK-CLOSING:START -->

Prompt-Enhance Closing Anchors

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION follow declared step order for this skill; NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION for every step/sub-skill call: set in_progress before execution, set completed after execution IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION every skipped step MUST include explicit reason; every completed step MUST include concise evidence IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION if Task tools unavailable, maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with synchronized statuses

<!-- PROMPT-ENHANCE:STEP-TASK-CLOSING:END --> <!-- SYNC:project-protocol-overlay -->

Project Protocol Overlay — Before executing this skill, resolve any PROJECT overlay rules layered onto it: match this skill's name against the Target column of the project's skill-protocol index (docs/project-reference/skill-protocols-reference.md by default; a referenceDocs entry in docs/project-config.json overrides the path), taking the most specific matching tier ONLY — exact name > glob > *. That precedence orders overlays against EACH OTHER, never against this skill. Read ONLY the matched bodies, resolved as <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a row's Body link is display text, never a read path. A matched body that is missing or malformed is REPORTED and skipped — never reconstructed from the index Description. No index, or no match -> proceed with no overlay, silently. Full contract: .claude/skills/project-skill-protocol/references/registry.md.

Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY: they ADD rules on top of this skill's own protocol and NEVER replace, override, disable, or reinterpret a rule it already states — removing every overlay must return this skill to exactly its documented behavior. An overlay is a BRIEF, not an authority escalation: it can NEVER waive a workflow gate, git discipline, a review gate, or a user-confirmation gate. A genuine overlay-vs-skill conflict, or two equally-specific overlays that directly contradict -> surface both to the user; NEVER resolve silently.

<!-- /SYNC:project-protocol-overlay --> <!-- SYNC:project-protocol-overlay:reminder -->

MUST ATTENTION resolve project protocol overlays for this skill BEFORE executing — most specific matching tier only (exact > glob > *, which ranks overlays against each other, NEVER against this skill), read only matched bodies at <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a missing or malformed body is reported, never reconstructed. Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY (they never replace this skill's own rules) and are a brief, NEVER an authority escalation; an equal-specificity contradiction goes to the user.

<!-- /SYNC:project-protocol-overlay:reminder -->

Closing Reminders

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Goal: Only grooming-ready PBIs pass the gate — every DoR/M1-M7 failure caught with its concrete section/line citation, so no ambiguous, untestable, or unimplementable story reaches the team.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries; each is a signpost to its canonical body above, NEVER a replacement):

• AI Mistakes: holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surgical diff, verify all outputs.
• Estimation: bottom-up phase hours drive man-days; SP derived; >13 SHOULD-SPLIT.
• Critical Thinking: traced proof per claim, confidence >80% to act, never guess.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION run the gate steps in order — Locate PBI → apply self-contained DoR 7-criteria → evaluate each criterion against the PBI → run the M1-M7 mandate gate → verify estimation frontmatter → classify PASS/FAIL → emit result template → route AskUserQuestion; NEVER skip the M1-M7 gate or the estimation check. — why: a skipped sub-check silently passes an unready story. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION FAIL blocks grooming — ANY of the 7 required criteria OR any M1-M5 or M7 mandate fails → return FAIL, name the violated ID with its concrete PBI section + line/AC citation. NEVER PASS over an M1-M5 or M7 violation — a PASS over one is itself defective. — why: an unready story poisons grooming and ships ambiguity downstream. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION automated quality gate, NOT collaborative review — run both checklists (7 required + M1-M7); route /pbi-challenge for collaborative review. — why: conflating gate with review lets soft-pass judgments through a hard gate. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line/section evidence for EVERY verdict (confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT decide) — every check references the concrete PBI section + line/AC; NEVER guess a criterion's status. — why: an uncited PASS/FAIL is unauditable and pattern-matched, not verified. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION carriers EXEMPT from M1/M2 — source identifiers are CORRECT inside [Source: ...], **Evidence**, **IntegrationTest**, YAML frontmatter, ```mermaid ```; flag leakage ONLY in PBI narrative prose (banned tokens: spec-principles.md §3.2). — why: flagging a carrier as a violation is a false FAIL that blocks a ready PBI. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION verify story-point frontmatter per the SYNC estimation framework — Fibonacci 1-21 + complexity, bottom-up man_days range, blast-radius; story points >13 → SHOULD-SPLIT WARN, NOT a FAIL. — why: a WARN escalated to a FAIL wrongly blocks a groomable large story. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks via TaskCreate BEFORE starting; add a final review todo verifying every verdict cites its PBI section/line. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION emit the DoR Gate Result template (checklist table + Blocking Items + Verdict), then route via AskUserQuestion — never auto-decide the next step.

Anti-Rationalization:

Evasion	Rebuttal
"AC looks testable enough, pass it"	Show GIVEN/WHEN/THEN ×3 + 1 auth scenario, no vague tokens. No proof = FAIL.
"M1-M5 is minor, the rest passes — PASS overall"	ANY M1-M5 or M7 violation = FAIL. A PASS over one is itself defective.
"No tech words in it — M7 passes"	M1 ≠ M7. Apply the demo test to the BODY: what would a stakeholder SEE change? No answer → FAIL, however clean the prose.
"Source name in [Source: ...] — flag it M1/M2"	Carriers are EXEMPT. Flag leakage ONLY in narrative prose, never in evidence carriers.
"Story points >13, fail the gate"	>13 SP = SHOULD-SPLIT WARN, not a FAIL. Do not escalate a WARN to a FAIL.
"Skip AskUserQuestion, result is obvious"	NEVER auto-decide. Emit the result template, then route via AskUserQuestion — the user decides.

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.

[IMPORTANT] Analyze how big the task is and break it into many small todo tasks systematically before starting — this is very important.

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IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION FAIL blocks grooming on ANY required-criterion or M1-M5/M7 failure — name the violated ID + cite PBI section/line; NEVER PASS over an M1-M5 or M7 violation. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line/section for EVERY verdict (>80% confidence to act); NEVER guess a check's status. IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION emit the DoR Gate Result template, then route via AskUserQuestion — never auto-decide.