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

Claim Requires Not Sufficient

Tests pass Test command output: 0 failures Previous run, "should pass"

Linter clean Linter output: 0 errors Partial check, extrapolation

Build succeeds Build command: exit 0 Linter passing, logs look good

Bug fixed Test original symptom: passes Code changed, assumed fixed

Regression test works Red-green cycle verified Test passes once

Agent completed VCS diff shows changes Agent reports "success"

Requirements met Line-by-line checklist Tests passing

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

Excuse Reality

"Should work now" RUN the verification

"I'm confident" Confidence != evidence

"Just this once" No exceptions

"Linter passed" Linter != compiler

"Agent said success" Verify independently

"I'm tired" Exhaustion != excuse

"Partial check is enough" Partial proves nothing

"Different words so rule doesn't apply" Spirit over letter

Key Patterns

Tests:

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

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

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

Build:

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

Requirements:

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

Agent delegation:

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

Why This Matters

From real failure patterns:

• Users 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

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

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

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

This is non-negotiable.