Comment Backcheck

Comment Disposition — Backcheck (Step 2)

Overview

Verifies that the comments captured in Step 1 were actually incorporated into the revised document, so the package is ready for the checker's backcheck and the approver. The value is traceability and catching missed comments before another review cycle — not judging engineering correctness. This skill is read-only over the documents and never approves: it prepares an auditable record; a person decides.

When to Use

• "Backcheck the revised document" / "did I address the checker's comments?"
• "Verify the markup was incorporated" / "disposition these against the revised doc"
• "Check the comments before approval" / "finish the disposition form"
• A revised document and the Step 1 disposition matrix exist and each comment needs a verified status.

When NOT to Use

• Building / extracting the initial matrix from raw markup → use comment-disposition-build.
• Authoring or technically reviewing the document → the engineer's job.
• Judging technical correctness of a resolution, or approving/signing → always a human.
• Rendering the file (Word/Excel mechanics) → the docx / xlsx skills.

Inputs

1. The completed Step 1 disposition matrix (comment numbers + sections).
2. The revised document (the originator's incorporated version).
3. The original checker/reviewer comments (the markup), for comparison.

Quick Start

User: "Backcheck the revised spec against my disposition matrix"
1. Load the Step 1 matrix, the revised document, and the original comments.
2. For each comment, search the revised doc at its cited section for the change.
3. Set status: Incorporated (cite where) / Not Incorporated (state rationale) /
   Needs Clarification.
4. Flag comments with no traceable change; draft disposition language.
5. Fill the Disposition column and deliver the completed form (docx / xlsx).

Core Instructions (Step 2 — Backcheck)

1. Load the Step 1 form, the revised document, and the original markup.
2. For each comment, search the revised document at the cited section/reference for evidence the requested change was made. Use the pdf skill to read a PDF revision, or read the source file directly.
3. Set a status per comment:
   • Incorporated — cite where in the revised document the change appears.
   • Not Incorporated — transcribe the originator's stated rationale; never invent one.
   • Needs Clarification — evidence is ambiguous or absent.
4. Draft disposition language where appropriate (e.g., "Incorporated — see revised §2.3.3"), for the originator/checker to confirm.
5. Flag mismatches — comments with no traceable change, and changes with no matching comment — for human review.
6. Never mark resolved on inference. If the evidence is not clearly present, mark Needs Clarification, not Incorporated. Conservative is the key requirement.
7. Approval-readiness closeout. Summarize open items — any Needs Clarification or Not Incorporated without accepted rationale — so nothing unresolved slips to the approver. Do not approve; route to the human gate.
8. Fill the Disposition column and render the completed form (docx / xlsx), preserving the Step 1 numbering 1:1. See references/Comment Disposition Step 2.docx.

Output Contract — Completed IDC Disposition Form

Same header and five-column table as Step 1, with Disposition / Dispositioned by now filled:

Each disposition cell carries the status, the evidence/location (or rationale), and who dispositioned it. Add a short closeout summary listing any open comments.

Shared Contract (hand-off from Step 1)

Consume the Step 1 register unchanged — same header, same stable comment numbering. Comment 30 in Step 1 is comment 30 here. Do not renumber, drop, or merge comments; if a comment is missing from the matrix, flag it rather than silently skipping it.

Guardrails

• Read-only, never approve. Never edit, sign, or approve the source or revised document; prepare the record and route approval to a human.
• Never fabricate. Do not invent resolution rationale, evidence, or section numbers. Transcribe what is present; mark gaps [NOT STATED].
• Conservative verification. Never mark Incorporated on inference — when unsure, Needs Clarification.
• Traceability first. Every comment keeps its Step 1 number and ends with a status.
• Human gate. Technical correctness and final approval always stay with the engineer/reviewer.