Verification Before Completion

Verification Before Completion

Overview

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

The Iron Law: NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE

Violating the letter of this rule IS violating the spirit of this rule.

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

When To Apply

ALWAYS before:

• ANY variation of success/completion claims
• ANY expression of satisfaction ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!")
• 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

Verification Requirements

Key Verification 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 item -> 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 without verification

Red Flags - STOP Immediately

• Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
• Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!")
• About to commit/push/PR without verification
• Trusting agent success reports blindly
• Relying on partial verification
• Thinking "just this once"
• Tired and wanting work to be over
• ANY wording implying success without having run verification

Rationalization Prevention

Verification Commands by Project Type

Node.js / TypeScript

# Tests
npm test
npm run test:coverage

# Build
npm run build
npm run typecheck

# Lint
npm run lint

Python

# Tests
pytest
pytest --cov

# Type check
mypy .

# Lint
ruff check .

Go

# Tests
go test ./...

# Build
go build ./...

# Lint
golangci-lint run

Rust

# Tests
cargo test

# Build
cargo build

# Lint
cargo clippy

Verification Checklist

Before claiming completion:

• Identified the verification command(s)
• Ran command(s) in current session (not stale output)
• Read full output (not just "passed")
• Checked exit code is 0
• Counted failures/errors (must be 0)
• No warnings that indicate problems
• Evidence quoted in completion message

Example: Correct Verification

I've implemented the retry logic. Let me verify:

$ npm test

PASS  src/__tests__/retry.test.ts
  retryOperation
    ✓ retries failed operations 3 times (15 ms)
    ✓ returns immediately on success (2 ms)
    ✓ throws after max retries exceeded (8 ms)

Test Suites: 1 passed, 1 total
Tests:       3 passed, 3 total

All 3 tests pass. Build verification:

$ npm run build
Build succeeded (exit 0)

Implementation complete. Ready to commit.

Example: Incorrect (Do NOT Do This)

I've implemented the retry logic. The tests should pass now.
Ready to commit!

Why wrong: No actual test run. No evidence. "Should pass" is not verification.

Why This Matters

From real failures:

• User said "I don't believe you" - trust broken
• Undefined functions shipped - would crash in production
• Missing requirements shipped - incomplete features
• Time wasted on false completion -> redirect -> rework

Honesty is a core value. If you lie, you'll be replaced.

Multi-Stage Verification

For complex completions, verify each stage:

# Stage 1: Unit tests
npm test

# Stage 2: Integration tests
npm run test:integration

# Stage 3: Build
npm run build

# Stage 4: Type check
npm run typecheck

# Stage 5: Lint
npm run lint

All must pass before claiming complete.

Agent Verification Protocol

When delegating to sub-agents:

1. Agent reports success
2. YOU verify with git diff or git status
3. YOU run verification commands
4. YOU confirm changes match requirements
5. Only then report completion

Never trust agent reports without independent verification.

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

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

This is non-negotiable.

Integration

Always loaded: This is a Process skill, loaded at session start.

Pairs with:

• tdd - Verification is built into TDD cycle
• git-expert - Verify before commits and PRs
• execute - Verify each phase before proceeding