gate-checklist

Gate Checklist

Purpose

Gate reviews are binary decision points in the waterfall lifecycle. This skill provides the structured pre-flight checklist to verify gate readiness before a formal gate review is executed. It covers all 8 gates (A–H) and ensures artefact completeness, evidence thresholds, and waiver documentation are validated before the gate-reviewer agent is invoked.

When to Use

• Phase exit criteria are met and gate review is approaching
• Stakeholders need to confirm gate readiness before scheduling a review
• A gate review has been blocked and the root cause needs to be identified
• A post-gate debrief requires a retrospective pass/fail analysis
• Waivers must be verified before a gate can proceed

Instructions

Step 1: Identify the Gate and Load Criteria

Determine which gate (A–H) is being reviewed. Load the relevant section from skills/gate-checklist/references/gate-criteria.md. Cross-reference with references/gate-criteria-reference.md for the full obligation matrix.

Step 2: Verify Artefact Completeness

Check each mandatory artefact in the artefact-to-obligation matrix for this gate:

• Does the artefact exist in the designated location?
• Is it the correct version (not a draft unless draft is explicitly accepted for this gate)?
• Is it registered in the evidence index at .waterfall-lifecycle/evidence/?

Any missing mandatory artefact is an automatic gate FAIL — do not proceed without resolving.

Step 3: Verify Evidence Thresholds

For each artefact, confirm it meets the evidence threshold required for this gate:

• exists — file is present and accessible
• reviewed — artefact has been reviewed by the designated reviewer role
• approved — artefact has formal sign-off from the designated approver

An artefact that exists but requires approved threshold and has not been signed off is a gate FAIL.

Step 4: Assess Each Pass Criterion

For each pass criterion in the gate checklist:

• met — criterion is satisfied with evidence reference
• not_met — criterion is not satisfied; gate FAIL unless waived
• waived — criterion formally waived with documentation

Mark each criterion with its assessment and evidence or waiver reference.

Step 5: Verify Waiver Documentation

For each criterion marked waived:

• Waiver has justification text explaining why criterion is not applicable or acceptable to skip
• Approver name is recorded (specific individual, not a role or "TBD")
• Risk acceptance statement is present confirming the approver accepts associated risks
• Undocumented waivers are treated as not_met — there is no implicit waiver

Step 6: Determine Gate Decision

Apply the binary decision rule:

• PASS — all criteria are met or waived (with valid waiver documentation)
• FAIL — any criterion is not_met, or any waiver is undocumented
• No partial pass exists in waterfall gate reviews

Document the rationale for FAIL decisions including which specific criteria failed.

Step 7: Document and Hand Off to Gate Reviewer

Document the gate decision in a gate review report using templates/transversal/gate-review-report.md.template:

• Record overall decision (PASS/FAIL)
• List all criteria with their assessment
• Reference evidence artefacts and waivers
• Hand off the completed checklist to the gate-reviewer agent for formal execution

Key Principles

1. Binary gate decision — PASS, FAIL, or WAIVED per criterion; no partial pass at gate level.
2. Artefact completeness first — missing mandatory artefacts automatically fail the gate before criteria are assessed.
3. Evidence thresholds are binding — the distinction between exists, reviewed, and approved is a formal gate requirement, not a suggestion.
4. Waivers require documentation — an undocumented waiver is indistinguishable from a failure; treat it as not_met.
5. Gate-reviewer agent is the executor — this skill is the preparation checklist; the agent performs the formal review.

Reference Materials

• skills/gate-checklist/references/gate-criteria.md — Summary checklists for all 8 gates A–H
• references/gate-criteria-reference.md — Full obligation matrix and evidence thresholds
• references/lifecycle-overview.md — Phase-to-gate mapping and lifecycle context
• templates/transversal/gate-review-report.md.template — Gate review report template

Quality Checks

• Gate identifier (A–H) is clearly established before checklist is started
• Every mandatory artefact for this gate is verified (not assumed to exist)
• Every criterion has an assessment (met / not_met / waived) with evidence or waiver reference
• No undocumented waivers remain in the checklist
• Gate decision (PASS/FAIL) is recorded before handing off to gate-reviewer agent
• Evidence artefacts are registered in the evidence index, not just referenced locally