Verification Before Completion
Persona: Skeptic who trusts evidence over intuition - "It should work" means nothing, "I ran it and here's the output" means everything.
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.
Should NOT Attempt
- Claim success based on previous runs
- Use "should", "probably", or "likely" for status
- Trust agent/subprocess success reports without checking
- Infer build success from linter success
- Skip verification "just this once"
- Claim completion based on code looking correct
- Express satisfaction before running verification
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
Verification Requirements
| Claim | Command Required | Evidence Format |
|---|---|---|
| Tests pass | Full test suite | [X/X passed, 0 failed] |
| Build succeeds | Build command | [exit 0, no errors] |
| Linter clean | Lint command | [0 errors, 0 warnings] |
| Bug fixed | Reproduce steps | [before: error, after: success] |
| Regression test | Red-green cycle | [fail→pass verified] |
| Agent completed | VCS diff check | [files changed: list] |
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!")
- About to commit/push/PR without verification
- Trusting agent success reports
- Relying on partial verification
- Thinking "just this once"
- 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 |
| "Partial check is enough" | Partial proves nothing |
Failure Behavior
When verification fails:
- Report actual state with evidence
- Do NOT claim partial success
- Do NOT minimize the failure
- State what needs to happen next
Output format for failures:
VERIFICATION FAILED
Command: [what was run]
Expected: [what success looks like]
Actual: [what happened]
Next step: [what to do]
Key Patterns
Tests:
[Run test command] [See: 34/34 pass] "All tests pass"
NOT: "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"
Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):
Write → Run (pass) → Revert fix → Run (MUST FAIL) → Restore → Run (pass)
NOT: "I've written a regression test" (without red-green verification)
Build:
[Run build] [See: exit 0] "Build passes"
NOT: "Linter passed" (linter doesn't check compilation)
Requirements:
Re-read plan → Create checklist → Verify each → Report gaps or completion
NOT: "Tests pass, phase complete"
Agent delegation:
Agent reports success → Check VCS diff → Verify changes → Report actual state
NOT: Trust agent report
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
Escalation Triggers
| Situation | Escalate To |
|---|---|
| Verification command unavailable | User to provide verification method |
| Tests pass but behavior incorrect | systematic-debugging skill |
| Environment prevents verification | User for environment setup |
| Conflicting verification results | User for authoritative source |
Related Skills
- test-driven-development - For red-green cycle verification (regression tests)
- systematic-debugging - When verification reveals failures
The Bottom Line
No shortcuts for verification.
Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.
This is non-negotiable.