agw-compliance-review

Analysis-Gated Workflow — Compliance & Review Skill

COMPLIANCE & REVIEW PHASE

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Purpose

This skill governs the Compliance & Review Phase of the Analysis-Gated Workflow. It is an iterative phase that runs as many times as the Architect requires. Its purpose is to ensure the analysis fully reflects the Architect's intent — incorporating ADR annotations, resolving open questions, and deepening domain-specific understanding until the Architect is satisfied that the analysis is ready to drive an Implementation Plan.

Phase 03 is the gate that protects Phase 04 and Phase 05 from being entered prematurely.

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Inputs

• The completed Phase 01 and Phase 02 output in the ANALYSIS document
• ADR annotations added by the Architect (may be present at Phase 03 entry, or added during iteration)
• Any additional prompts or clarifications provided by the Architect

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COMPLIANCE & REVIEW PHASE Execution

Step 1 — Log the prompt

Append the Phase 03 initiating prompt (or iteration prompt) to the ## Prompt Log section, verbatim.

Step 2 — Read all ADRs

Scan the entire ANALYSIS document for ADR annotations:

**ADR YYYY-MM-DD:**

|     | Info |
| --- | --- |
| **Subject** | [topic] |
| **Status** | DECIDED / PENDING |
| **Context** | [background and considerations] |
| **Decision** | [what was decided] |
| **Consequences** | DO: ... <br/> NOT: ... |

For each ADR found without a corresponding Compliance response:

• Record it in your working understanding as an authoritative constraint
• Never dispute, reframe, or work around an ADR
• Treat it as a permanent correction to the analysis

Step 3 — Assess compliance gaps

For each unresolved ADR, identify:

• Which section of the analysis it affects
• What needs to change in that section to comply
• Whether the ADR introduces new analysis requirements not yet covered

For open questions carried forward from Phase 01 or Phase 02:

• Has the Architect's input resolved any of them?
• If yes, document the resolution
• If no, escalate them explicitly before proceeding

Step 4 — Iterate the analysis

Update the affected sections of the ANALYSIS document to reflect full compliance with each ADR. Then, immediately below each ADR, add the compliance response:

**Compliance YYYY-MM-DD:**

|     | Info |
| --- | --- |
| **Analysis Updates** | [How the analysis was updated in response] |
| **Sections Affected** | [Which sections were changed] |

The ADR itself is never modified. The compliance response documents what changed and why, so the reasoning chain is fully traceable.

Step 5 — Deepen domain-specific understanding

Beyond ADR compliance, Phase 03 is the opportunity to deepen analysis in areas that Phase 02 may not have fully explored:

• Domain-specific constraints not visible from the code alone
• Business rules that shape the expected behaviour
• Edge cases identified through the Architect's annotations
• Cross-cutting concerns (security, resilience, observability) if raised by the Architect
• Constraints imposed by the technology stack, framework, or third-party libraries

Only go as deep as the Architect's annotations and prompts indicate is needed. Do not speculate beyond what the evidence and ADRs support.

Step 6 — Assess readiness for Implementation Planning Phase

After completing the iteration, evaluate against the Definition of Ready for Phase 04.

Definition of Ready — Gate to Phase 04

The analysis is ready to proceed to Implementation Planning when ALL of the following criteria are met:

• All ADRs in the document have a compliance response directly below them
• All open questions from Phase 01 and Phase 02 are resolved or explicitly escalated
• Project Conventions Confirmation table exists and is complete (from Phase 02)
• The domain understanding is sufficient to write a detailed, phase-structured Implementation Plan without further analysis
• No unresolved ambiguities remain that could cause the Implementation Plan to be based on incorrect assumptions
• The Architect has explicitly signalled readiness to proceed to Implementation Planning Phase

Handling unresolved open questions:

If any open questions remain unresolved when assessing Definition of Ready, the AI must convert them into placeholder ADRs in the ## Architecture Decision Records section. This is the only circumstance where the AI may write to the ADR section (normally ADRs are Architect-only).

Format for placeholder ADRs:

**ADR YYYY-MM-DD:**

|     | Info |
| --- | --- |
| **Subject** | [Question text / topic requiring decision] |
| **Status** | PENDING ARCHITECT INPUT |
| **Context** | [Summary of the issue, why it matters, and what the options are] |
| **Decision** | [Most likely options, if known, or "TBD based on Architect input"] |
| **Consequences** | DO: [accepted options] <br/> NOT: [rejected options] |

These placeholder ADRs become blocking — the workflow cannot advance to Phase 04 until the Architect replaces the placeholder content with actual decisions, or deletes the placeholder if it's no longer relevant.

If ANY criterion is not met, document what is missing in ## Open Questions or convert to placeholder ADRs as appropriate. Do not proceed until the Definition of Ready is satisfied.

If ALL criteria are met, state clearly:

"Definition of Ready satisfied. All criteria met. Ready for Phase 04 upon Architect approval."

Then wait for the Architect's explicit go signal before advancing.

Step 7 — Update Workflow State

After each iteration:

Current Phase:           PHASE 03
Phase Status:            AWAITING ARCHITECT REVIEW
Last Updated:            YYYY-MM-DD
Pending Architect Action: Review compliance updates.
                          Add further ADR annotations if needed,
                          or signal readiness for Implementation Planning Phase.

Step 8 — Notify the Architect

"Compliance & Review Phase iteration is complete. All current ADRs have compliance responses. Please review the updates. Add further ADR annotations if corrections are needed, or signal when you are ready to proceed to Implementation Planning Phase."

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Iteration Loop

Phase 03 repeats as follows:

Architect adds ADR annotation
       ↓
AI reads ADR, updates analysis, adds compliance response
       ↓
AI assesses readiness for Implementation Planning Phase
       ↓
If not ready → notify Architect, wait for next annotation or signal
If ready     → notify Architect, wait for explicit go signal
       ↓
Architect signals: "proceed to Implementation Planning Phase"
       ↓
Governing Workflow advances to Phase 04

There is no limit on the number of iterations. The Architect controls the exit.

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What Phase 03 Does NOT Do

• Does not propose an implementation approach
• Does not write or modify any code
• Does not overwrite, delete, or modify any ADR
• Does not self-declare readiness and advance to Phase 04
• Does not skip ADR compliance because the change seems minor
• Does not add analysis beyond what ADRs and prompts indicate is needed

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Quality Criteria

Each Compliance & Review Phase iteration is complete when:

• All ADRs in the document have a compliance response directly below them
• All open questions are resolved or explicitly escalated
• Affected analysis sections are updated to reflect ADR constraints
• Domain-specific understanding is deepened where ADRs indicate it is needed
• Definition of Ready is explicitly evaluated against all six criteria
• Workflow State reflects AWAITING ARCHITECT REVIEW