Human Touchpoint Model
ARL-derived escalation decision model. Not every stage transition requires human approval. The harness uses constraint analysis to escalate only when the agent cannot safely proceed.
Escalation Format
When escalating, present:
- What stage produced the escalation
- What triggered it (specific constraint, risk factor, or loop limit)
- What the agent knows (bound constraints, available context)
- What the agent does not know (unbound constraints, missing information)
- Decision options — concrete choices the human can make to unblock
Never present vague "please review" requests.
Pre-Scheduled Gates
Gate 1 — After S1 Discovery, before S2 Planning:
- Triggered when: unbound constraints, domain knowledge gaps
- Skipped when: all constraints bound, sufficient context
Gate 2 — After S4 Task Decomposition, before S5 Execution:
- Triggered when: high complexity, novel architecture
- Skipped when: routine patterns, existing codebase precedent
Dynamic Escalation Points
- NEEDS_WORK loop limit — 3 iterations in S6 without resolution
- NOT_CERTIFIED loop limit — 2 iterations in S7 without resolution
- Agent failure, quality gate cascade failure, contradiction detected
Constraint Types
| Type |
Meaning |
Action |
| Bound |
All information available, deterministic |
Proceed autonomously |
| Unbound |
Information missing, ambiguous, or requires external knowledge |
Escalate |
| Mixed |
Some bound, some unbound |
Isolate unbound; proceed with bound if possible |
Source
1---2name: 2526-arl-touchpoints-7bcf2e123description: Human Touchpoint Model4---5# Human Touchpoint Model67ARL-derived escalation decision model. Not every stage transition requires human approval. The harness uses constraint analysis to escalate only when the agent cannot safely proceed.89---1011## Escalation Format1213When escalating, present:14151. **What stage** produced the escalation162. **What triggered** it (specific constraint, risk factor, or loop limit)173. **What the agent knows** (bound constraints, available context)184. **What the agent does not know** (unbound constraints, missing information)195. **Decision options** — concrete choices the human can make to unblock2021**Never** present vague "please review" requests.2223---2425## Pre-Scheduled Gates2627**Gate 1 — After S1 Discovery, before S2 Planning:**2829- Triggered when: unbound constraints, domain knowledge gaps30- Skipped when: all constraints bound, sufficient context3132**Gate 2 — After S4 Task Decomposition, before S5 Execution:**3334- Triggered when: high complexity, novel architecture35- Skipped when: routine patterns, existing codebase precedent3637---3839## Dynamic Escalation Points4041- **NEEDS_WORK loop limit** — 3 iterations in S6 without resolution42- **NOT_CERTIFIED loop limit** — 2 iterations in S7 without resolution43- Agent failure, quality gate cascade failure, contradiction detected4445---4647## Constraint Types4849| Type | Meaning | Action |50|------|---------|--------|51| **Bound** | All information available, deterministic | Proceed autonomously |52| **Unbound** | Information missing, ambiguous, or requires external knowledge | Escalate |53| **Mixed** | Some bound, some unbound | Isolate unbound; proceed with bound if possible |5455---5657## Source5859- [human-touchpoint-model.md](../../plugins/development-harness/skills/development-harness/references/human-touchpoint-model.md)
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