msd-core/get-shit-done/workflows/verify-phase.md

Verify phase goal achievement through goal-backward analysis. Check that the codebase delivers what the phase promised, not just that tasks completed.

Executed by a verification subagent spawned from execute-phase.md.

<core_principle> Task completion ≠ Goal achievement

A task "create chat component" can be marked complete when the component is a placeholder. The task was done — but the goal "working chat interface" was not achieved.

Goal-backward verification:

1. What must be TRUE for the goal to be achieved?
2. What must EXIST for those truths to hold?
3. What must be WIRED for those artifacts to function?
4. What must TESTS PROVE for those truths to be evidenced?

Then verify each level against the actual codebase. </core_principle>

<required_reading> @/.claude/get-shit-done/references/verification-patterns.md @/.claude/get-shit-done/templates/verification-report.md </required_reading>

Load phase operation context:

INIT=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" init phase-op "${PHASE_ARG}")
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi

Extract from init JSON: phase_dir, phase_number, phase_name, has_plans, plan_count.

Then load phase details and list plans/summaries:

node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" roadmap get-phase "${phase_number}"
grep -E "^| ${phase_number}" .planning/REQUIREMENTS.md 2>/dev/null || true
ls "$phase_dir"/*-SUMMARY.md "$phase_dir"/*-PLAN.md 2>/dev/null || true

Load full milestone phases for deferred-item filtering (Step 9b):

node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" roadmap analyze

Extract phase goal from ROADMAP.md (the outcome to verify, not tasks), requirements from REQUIREMENTS.md if it exists, and all milestone phases from roadmap analyze (for cross-referencing gaps against later phases).

**Option A: Must-haves in PLAN frontmatter**

Use gsd-tools to extract must_haves from each PLAN:

for plan in "$PHASE_DIR"/*-PLAN.md; do
  MUST_HAVES=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" frontmatter get "$plan" --field must_haves)
  echo "=== $plan ===" && echo "$MUST_HAVES"
done

Returns JSON: { truths: [...], artifacts: [...], key_links: [...] }

Aggregate all must_haves across plans for phase-level verification.

Option B: Use Success Criteria from ROADMAP.md

If no must_haves in frontmatter (MUST_HAVES returns error or empty), check for Success Criteria:

PHASE_DATA=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" roadmap get-phase "${phase_number}" --raw)

Parse the success_criteria array from the JSON output. If non-empty:

1. Use each Success Criterion directly as a truth (they are already written as observable, testable behaviors)
2. Derive artifacts (concrete file paths for each truth)
3. Derive key links (critical wiring where stubs hide)
4. Document the must-haves before proceeding

Success Criteria from ROADMAP.md are the contract — they override PLAN-level must_haves when both exist.

Option C: Derive from phase goal (fallback)

If no must_haves in frontmatter AND no Success Criteria in ROADMAP:

1. State the goal from ROADMAP.md
2. Derive truths (3-7 observable behaviors, each testable)
3. Derive artifacts (concrete file paths for each truth)
4. Derive key links (critical wiring where stubs hide)
5. Document derived must-haves before proceeding

For each observable truth, determine if the codebase enables it.

Status: ✓ VERIFIED (all supporting artifacts pass) | ✗ FAILED (artifact missing/stub/unwired) | ? UNCERTAIN (needs human)

For each truth: identify supporting artifacts → check artifact status → check wiring → determine truth status.

Example: Truth "User can see existing messages" depends on Chat.tsx (renders), /api/chat GET (provides), Message model (schema). If Chat.tsx is a stub or API returns hardcoded [] → FAILED. If all exist, are substantive, and connected → VERIFIED.

Use gsd-tools for artifact verification against must_haves in each PLAN:

for plan in "$PHASE_DIR"/*-PLAN.md; do
  ARTIFACT_RESULT=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" verify artifacts "$plan")
  echo "=== $plan ===" && echo "$ARTIFACT_RESULT"
done

Parse JSON result: { all_passed, passed, total, artifacts: [{path, exists, issues, passed}] }

Artifact status from result:

• exists=false → MISSING
• issues not empty → STUB (check issues for "Only N lines" or "Missing pattern")
• passed=true → VERIFIED (Levels 1-2 pass)

Level 3 — Wired (manual check for artifacts that pass Levels 1-2):

grep -r "import.*$artifact_name" src/ --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx"  # IMPORTED
grep -r "$artifact_name" src/ --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" | grep -v "import"  # USED

WIRED = imported AND used. ORPHANED = exists but not imported/used.

Exists	Substantive	Wired	Status
✓	✓	✓	✓ VERIFIED
✓	✓	✗	⚠️ ORPHANED
✓	✗	-	✗ STUB
✗	-	-	✗ MISSING

Export-level spot check (WARNING severity):

For artifacts that pass Level 3, spot-check individual exports:

• Extract key exported symbols (functions, constants, classes — skip types/interfaces)
• For each, grep for usage outside the defining file
• Flag exports with zero external call sites as "exported but unused"

This catches dead stores like setPlan() that exist in a wired file but are never actually called. Report as WARNING — may indicate incomplete cross-plan wiring or leftover code from plan revisions.

Use gsd-tools for key link verification against must_haves in each PLAN:

for plan in "$PHASE_DIR"/*-PLAN.md; do
  LINKS_RESULT=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" verify key-links "$plan")
  echo "=== $plan ===" && echo "$LINKS_RESULT"
done

Parse JSON result: { all_verified, verified, total, links: [{from, to, via, verified, detail}] }

Link status from result:

• verified=true → WIRED
• verified=false with "not found" → NOT_WIRED
• verified=false with "Pattern not found" → PARTIAL

Fallback patterns (if key_links not in must_haves):

Pattern	Check	Status
Component → API	fetch/axios call to API path, response used (await/.then/setState)	WIRED / PARTIAL (call but unused response) / NOT_WIRED
API → Database	Prisma/DB query on model, result returned via res.json()	WIRED / PARTIAL (query but not returned) / NOT_WIRED
Form → Handler	onSubmit with real implementation (fetch/axios/mutate/dispatch), not console.log/empty	WIRED / STUB (log-only/empty) / NOT_WIRED
State → Render	useState variable appears in JSX ({stateVar} or {stateVar.property})	WIRED / NOT_WIRED

Record status and evidence for each key link.

If REQUIREMENTS.md exists: ```bash grep -E "Phase ${PHASE_NUM}" .planning/REQUIREMENTS.md 2>/dev/null || true ```

For each requirement: parse description → identify supporting truths/artifacts → status: ✓ SATISFIED / ✗ BLOCKED / ? NEEDS HUMAN.

Extract files modified in this phase from SUMMARY.md, scan each:

Pattern	Search	Severity
TODO/FIXME/XXX/HACK	grep -n -E "TODO|FIXME|XXX|HACK"	⚠️ Warning
Placeholder content	grep -n -iE "placeholder|coming soon|will be here"	🛑 Blocker
Empty returns	grep -n -E "return null|return \{\}|return \[\]|=> \{\}"	⚠️ Warning
Log-only functions	Functions containing only console.log	⚠️ Warning

Categorize: 🛑 Blocker (prevents goal) | ⚠️ Warning (incomplete) | ℹ️ Info (notable).

**Verify that tests PROVE what they claim to prove.**

This step catches test-level deceptions that pass all prior checks: files exist, are substantive, are wired, and tests pass — but the tests don't actually validate the requirement.

1. Identify requirement-linked test files

From PLAN and SUMMARY files, map each requirement to the test files that are supposed to prove it.

2. Disabled test scan

For ALL test files linked to requirements, search for disabled/skipped patterns:

grep -rn -E "it\.skip|describe\.skip|test\.skip|xit\(|xdescribe\(|xtest\(|@pytest\.mark\.skip|@unittest\.skip|#\[ignore\]|\.pending|it\.todo|test\.todo" "$TEST_FILE"

Rule: A disabled test linked to a requirement = requirement NOT tested.

• 🛑 BLOCKER if the disabled test is the only test proving that requirement
• ⚠️ WARNING if other active tests also cover the requirement

3. Circular test detection

Search for scripts/utilities that generate expected values by running the system under test:

grep -rn -E "writeFileSync|writeFile|fs\.write|open\(.*w\)" "$TEST_DIRS"

For each match, check if it also imports the system/service/module being tested. If a script both imports the system-under-test AND writes expected output values → CIRCULAR.

Circular test indicators:

• Script imports a service AND writes to fixture files
• Expected values have comments like "computed from engine", "captured from baseline"
• Script filename contains "capture", "baseline", "generate", "snapshot" in test context
• Expected values were added in the same commit as the test assertions

Rule: A test comparing system output against values generated by the same system is circular. It proves consistency, not correctness.

4. Expected value provenance (for comparison/parity/migration requirements)

When a requirement demands comparison with an external source ("identical to X", "matches Y", "same output as Z"):

• Is the external source actually invoked or referenced in the test pipeline?
• Do fixture files contain data sourced from the external system?
• Or do all expected values come from the new system itself or from mathematical formulas?

Provenance classification:

• VALID: Expected value from external/legacy system output, manual capture, or independent oracle
• PARTIAL: Expected value from mathematical derivation (proves formula, not system match)
• CIRCULAR: Expected value from the system being tested
• UNKNOWN: No provenance information — treat as SUSPECT

5. Assertion strength

For each test linked to a requirement, classify the strongest assertion:

Level	Examples	Proves
Existence	toBeDefined(), != null	Something returned
Type	typeof x === 'number'	Correct shape
Status	code === 200	No error
Value	toEqual(expected), toBeCloseTo(x)	Specific value
Behavioral	Multi-step workflow assertions	End-to-end correctness

If a requirement demands value-level or behavioral-level proof and the test only has existence/type/status assertions → INSUFFICIENT.

6. Coverage quantity

If a requirement specifies a quantity of test cases (e.g., "30 calculations"), check if the actual number of active (non-skipped) test cases meets the requirement.

Reporting — add to VERIFICATION.md:

### Test Quality Audit

| Test File | Linked Req | Active | Skipped | Circular | Assertion Level | Verdict |
|-----------|-----------|--------|---------|----------|----------------|---------|

**Disabled tests on requirements:** {N} → {BLOCKER if any req has ONLY disabled tests}
**Circular patterns detected:** {N} → {BLOCKER if any}
**Insufficient assertions:** {N} → {WARNING}

Impact on status: Any BLOCKER from test quality audit <20><><EFBFBD> overall status = gaps_found, regardless of other checks passing.

**Always needs human:** Visual appearance, user flow completion, real-time behavior (WebSocket/SSE), external service integration, performance feel, error message clarity.

Needs human if uncertain: Complex wiring grep can't trace, dynamic state-dependent behavior, edge cases.

Format each as: Test Name → What to do → Expected result → Why can't verify programmatically.

Classify status using this decision tree IN ORDER (most restrictive first):

1. IF any truth FAILED, artifact MISSING/STUB, key link NOT_WIRED, blocker found, or test quality audit found blockers (disabled requirement tests, circular tests): → gaps_found

2. IF the previous step produced ANY human verification items: → human_needed (even if all truths VERIFIED and score is N/N)

3. IF all checks pass AND no human verification items: → passed

passed is ONLY valid when no human verification items exist.

Score: verified_truths / total_truths

Before reporting gaps, cross-reference each gap against later phases in the milestone using the full roadmap data loaded in load_context (from `roadmap analyze`).

For each potential gap identified in determine_status:

1. Check if the gap's failed truth or missing item is covered by a later phase's goal or success criteria
2. Match criteria: The gap's concern appears in a later phase's goal text, success criteria text, or the later phase's name clearly suggests it covers this area
3. If a clear match is found → move the gap to a deferred list with the matching phase reference and evidence text
4. If no match in any later phase → keep as a real gap

Important: Be conservative. Only defer a gap when there is clear, specific evidence in a later phase. Vague or tangential matches should NOT cause deferral — when in doubt, keep it as a real gap.

Deferred items do NOT affect the status determination. Recalculate after filtering:

• If gaps list is now empty and no human items exist → passed
• If gaps list is now empty but human items exist → human_needed
• If gaps list still has items → gaps_found

Include deferred items in VERIFICATION.md frontmatter (deferred: section) and body (Deferred Items table) for transparency. If no deferred items exist, omit these sections.

If gaps_found:

1. Cluster related gaps: API stub + component unwired → "Wire frontend to backend". Multiple missing → "Complete core implementation". Wiring only → "Connect existing components".

2. Generate plan per cluster: Objective, 2-3 tasks (files/action/verify each), re-verify step. Keep focused: single concern per plan.

3. Order by dependency: Fix missing → fix stubs → fix wiring → fix test evidence → verify.

```bash REPORT_PATH="$PHASE_DIR/${PHASE_NUM}-VERIFICATION.md" ```

Fill template sections: frontmatter (phase/timestamp/status/score), goal achievement, artifact table, wiring table, requirements coverage, anti-patterns, human verification, gaps summary, fix plans (if gaps_found), metadata.

See ~/.claude/get-shit-done/templates/verification-report.md for complete template.

Return status (`passed` | `gaps_found` | `human_needed`), score (N/M must-haves), report path.

If gaps_found: list gaps + recommended fix plan names. If human_needed: list items requiring human testing.

Orchestrator routes: passed → update_roadmap | gaps_found → create/execute fixes, re-verify | human_needed → present to user.

<success_criteria>

• Must-haves established (from frontmatter or derived)
• All truths verified with status and evidence
• All artifacts checked at all three levels
• All key links verified
• Requirements coverage assessed (if applicable)
• Anti-patterns scanned and categorized
• Test quality audited (disabled tests, circular patterns, assertion strength, provenance)
• Human verification items identified
• Overall status determined
• Deferred items filtered against later milestone phases (if gaps found)
• Fix plans generated (if gaps_found after filtering)
• VERIFICATION.md created with complete report
• Results returned to orchestrator </success_criteria>