Readiness assessment
Assess whether enough is known to proceed on a decision or action.
Contract
| Field |
Bound contract |
| Trigger |
User asks for a gut-check on a decision or action, or asks whether enough is known to proceed. |
| Authority |
Reversible local on explicit request; otherwise read-only. A named local file is written only if the user explicitly requests one and the path does not already exist; an existing path is refused, not overwritten, and the user is asked for a different path. Rollback is deleting that file. No VCS, credential, paid, published, deployed, or remote mutation. |
| Side effect |
Normally none. If the user explicitly requests an output file, write only a named local artifact; otherwise produce no persistent state. |
| Done |
A prose-only assessment names concrete knowns and unknowns, classifies each gap as Executable or Blocked, and returns one terminal recommendation: Proceed, Proceed with caveat, Pause, or Blocked. |
Refusals
- Numeric confidence scores: rejected. The assessment is prose-only, never numeric.
- Fabricated confidence: rejected. Do not call a gap "likely" or "probably resolvable" to avoid a Pause or Blocked recommendation. If confidence is insufficient, say so.
- Scope widening: rejected. Do not assess dimensions outside the user's stated question.
Inputs
- User question or statement (required): the natural-language question or observation that frames the decision, plan, or action to assess.
- Workspace context: read by the model to identify concrete knowns and unknowns. No credential, remote, or deployed resource access.
Procedure
- Identify the decision/action, confirmed facts, and missing concrete dependencies. Name the specific decision, plan, or action framed by the user's question. List concrete facts available in the current session: confirmed source evidence, direct tool outputs, and explicit user assertions. Do not infer facts or assume what is unstated. Name concrete gaps: missing credentials, absent files, unverified assumptions, required human input, or blocked tool access. Done when: the decision is named, each fact is listed with its evidence source, and each gap is named specifically.
- Classify each gap as Executable or Blocked. Executable: resolvable by a concrete next step the user can perform immediately. Blocked: requires external dependency or capability not currently available. Done when: every gap has a classification.
- Emit prose evaluation of Knowns and Unknowns. Produce a two-part prose assessment with no numeric score: Known (name each concrete fact that bears on the decision) and Unknown (name each gap specifically, do not generalize or hedge). Done when: both parts are written with no numeric score.
- Return terminal recommendation based on gaps. State exactly one of:
- Proceed: no gaps or only trivial gaps.
- Proceed with caveat: gaps are Executable and the caveat is named as a fact.
- Pause: at least one Executable gap is decisive and its resolution is named.
- Blocked: at least one decisive gap is Blocked (missing capability or external dependency). Name the blocked dependency.
Done when: one terminal recommendation is stated with its justification.
Failure and recovery
- Missing actionable question: state what is needed to frame a specific decision or action and stop without producing an assessment.
- Inaccessible workspace: name exactly what is missing and stop; do not simulate presence of the data.
- Blocked gap: when the decisive unknown is a Blocked gap, return the Blocked recommendation naming the missing capability or external dependency. Do not downgrade to Pause.
Output
A prose-only assessment with Known, Unknown, and Recommendation (Proceed, Proceed with caveat, Pause, or Blocked), ordered as listed. Written to a file only if the user explicitly requested one.
1---2name: readiness-assessment3description: Use when a user asks for a gut-check on a decision or action, or asks whether enough is known to proceed. Not for numeric confidence scoring.4---56# Readiness assessment78Assess whether enough is known to proceed on a decision or action.910## Contract1112| Field | Bound contract |13|---|---|14| Trigger | User asks for a gut-check on a decision or action, or asks whether enough is known to proceed. |15| Authority | Reversible local on explicit request; otherwise read-only. A named local file is written only if the user explicitly requests one and the path does not already exist; an existing path is refused, not overwritten, and the user is asked for a different path. Rollback is deleting that file. No VCS, credential, paid, published, deployed, or remote mutation. |16| Side effect | Normally none. If the user explicitly requests an output file, write only a named local artifact; otherwise produce no persistent state. |17| Done | A prose-only assessment names concrete knowns and unknowns, classifies each gap as Executable or Blocked, and returns one terminal recommendation: Proceed, Proceed with caveat, Pause, or Blocked. |1819## Refusals2021- Numeric confidence scores: rejected. The assessment is prose-only, never numeric.22- Fabricated confidence: rejected. Do not call a gap "likely" or "probably resolvable" to avoid a Pause or Blocked recommendation. If confidence is insufficient, say so.23- Scope widening: rejected. Do not assess dimensions outside the user's stated question.2425## Inputs2627- **User question or statement** (required): the natural-language question or observation that frames the decision, plan, or action to assess.28- Workspace context: read by the model to identify concrete knowns and unknowns. No credential, remote, or deployed resource access.2930## Procedure31321. **Identify the decision/action, confirmed facts, and missing concrete dependencies.** Name the specific decision, plan, or action framed by the user's question. List concrete facts available in the current session: confirmed source evidence, direct tool outputs, and explicit user assertions. Do not infer facts or assume what is unstated. Name concrete gaps: missing credentials, absent files, unverified assumptions, required human input, or blocked tool access. Done when: the decision is named, each fact is listed with its evidence source, and each gap is named specifically.332. **Classify each gap as Executable or Blocked.** Executable: resolvable by a concrete next step the user can perform immediately. Blocked: requires external dependency or capability not currently available. Done when: every gap has a classification.343. **Emit prose evaluation of Knowns and Unknowns.** Produce a two-part prose assessment with no numeric score: Known (name each concrete fact that bears on the decision) and Unknown (name each gap specifically, do not generalize or hedge). Done when: both parts are written with no numeric score.354. **Return terminal recommendation based on gaps.** State exactly one of:36 - Proceed: no gaps or only trivial gaps.37 - Proceed with caveat: gaps are Executable and the caveat is named as a fact.38 - Pause: at least one Executable gap is decisive and its resolution is named.39 - Blocked: at least one decisive gap is Blocked (missing capability or external dependency). Name the blocked dependency.40 Done when: one terminal recommendation is stated with its justification.4142## Failure and recovery4344- Missing actionable question: state what is needed to frame a specific decision or action and stop without producing an assessment.45- Inaccessible workspace: name exactly what is missing and stop; do not simulate presence of the data.46- Blocked gap: when the decisive unknown is a Blocked gap, return the Blocked recommendation naming the missing capability or external dependency. Do not downgrade to Pause.4748## Output4950A prose-only assessment with Known, Unknown, and Recommendation (Proceed, Proceed with caveat, Pause, or Blocked), ordered as listed. Written to a file only if the user explicitly requested one.
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