verification-methodology git:20260721.c7c4d3bA

Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/b3f4360b5abb0d7d.

---
name: verification-methodology
description: Verify work against explicit criteria using evidence, reproducible checks, and clear pass, conditional, or blocked verdicts. Use before declaring an artifact, implementation, or claim complete.
license: MIT
compatibility: No runtime dependency.
metadata:
  source_repo: https://github.com/magnus919/hermes-profiles
  source_commit: 867a555
---


# Verification Methodology

Pass/fail assessment against pre-defined criteria.

## The Verification Protocol

1. **Receive** — restate the artifact, claim, or implementation being verified and the decision it will support.
2. **Assess criteria** — convert requirements into observable pass/fail conditions; identify what would disprove each claim.
3. **Investigate** — collect direct, reproducible evidence and record commands, source locations, or source URLs. Own this collection when the source is accessible: do not ask the user to relay evidence you can retrieve yourself. Ask only for access you genuinely lack.
4. **Decide** — mark each criterion passed, failed, blocked, or not applicable. Do not convert missing evidence into a pass.
5. **Report** — use the verdict template to distinguish verified facts, assumptions, and remaining work.

Stop when every criterion has direct evidence or an explicit blocked/not-applicable verdict. Escalate when the criterion is ambiguous, evidence conflicts, or the required access is unavailable.

## Reference Files

| Reference | When to load |
|-----------|-------------|
| `references/criteria-assessment.md` | You need to evaluate whether work meets completion criteria |
| `references/evidence-standards.md` | You need to judge whether evidence supports the claims made |
| `references/magnus919-refine-to-ship-gate.md` | You are running the Magnus919 Refine-to-Ship verifier gate — 12 criteria, editorial change verification, output structure |
| `references/verdict-template.md` | You need to produce a structured pass/fail/hold verdict |

## Magnus919 Refine-to-Ship Gate Criteria

12 criteria for the verifier profile. Each criterion maps to an observable, reproducible check.

### All 12 Criteria

| # | Criterion | How to Verify |
|---|-----------|---------------|
| 1 | **Dash scan** — zero em dash (U+2014), en dash (U+2013), horizontal bar (U+2015), or visible prose double-hyphen | `search_files` for `[\u2014\u2013\u2015]` and `\-\-`. Double-hyphens in YAML frontmatter delimiters are OK. |
| 2 | **Fact-check** — all methodology claims map to source; no fabricated numbers, chronology, or universal claims | Cross-reference article claims to source document sections. Search for `\d+%`, `percent`, `average of`, `illustrative`. Search for `research proves`, `studies demonstrate`. |
| 3 | **Voice-check** — Magnus fingerprint: conversational first-person, contractions, "But" pivots (not formal transitions), colons over semicolons, no consultant cadence | Search for `Furthermore`, `Moreover`, `Nevertheless`, `Consequently`, `Therefore`, `not only.*but also`, triplet parallelism. Count colons vs semicolons (should skew heavily toward colons). |
| 4 | **Oxford commas, spelling, grammar** — American English, Oxford commas in series, no spelling errors | Manual read of series. Check for consistent formatting. |
| 5 | **No formulaic AI closing** — zero "In conclusion", "To summarize", "In this article", generic motivational advice | `search_files` for `In conclusion`, `Ultimately,`, `To summarize`, `In this article`, `In this post`. |
| 6 | **Methodology-first** — personal frame ≤ ~10% of article; rest is methodology | Count paragraphs in frame vs body. |
| 7 | **Human stake integrated** — cognitive burden, expertise formation, transferred work, anti-surveillance, accountable authority | Verify dedicated section or dispersed coverage of all dimensions. |
| 8 | **Privacy/anonymization** — zero company identifiers, role titles, named people, source filename, proprietary domain examples | `search_files` for company name, product names, domain-specific terminology from source. |
| 9 | **Frontmatter** — title, slug, date, byline correct and value-identical to specification | `read_file` lines 1–11. |
| 10 | **Links resolve** — each distinct URL appears once at first meaningful mention; all return 200 | `curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}"` each URL. Verify link text is at first meaningful mention. |
| 11 | **Hugo build + routes** — build exit 0; new route returns 200; old take-home-title route returns 404 | `hugo --quiet && echo EXIT:$?`. `curl` both routes. |
| 12 | **No duplicate source bundle** — single directory, single `index.md`; no stale `*take-home*` directories | `ls` the page bundle directory. `find` in content/posts for duplicate slug patterns. |

### Parent-Requested Editorial Changes

When the parent profile specifies editorial changes during gate recovery, verify each one is present before proceeding with the full criteria scan:

| Change Type | Verification Method |
|-------------|-------------------|
| Fabricated illustrative numbers removed | `search_files` for `\d+%`, `percent`, `PRs? per`, `average of` → zero hits |
| Tense correction | `search_files` for the exact parent-specified phrase |
| Closing replacement | `search_files` for the first and last sentence of the parent-specified closing |

### Verdict Rules

- **PASS:** All 12 criteria met. Produce 00-index.md, 01-summary/verdict.md, 02-analysis/per-criteria-results.md.
- **BLOCK:** Any criterion fails. Produce gap-details.md with specific fix instructions. See `verifier-gate-recovery` skill for remediation patterns.

### Output Structure

```
/private/tmp/verifier-gate/<slug>-refine/
  00-index.md              — verdict, links to artifacts
  01-summary/verdict.md    — per-criterion pass/fail table
  02-analysis/
    per-criteria-results.md  — detailed evidence per criterion
    gap-details.md           — only if BLOCK, with remediation instructions
```

## Portability

This skill is intentionally host-neutral. Use your agent's normal mechanisms to load the references, templates, and scripts listed here. Do not assume a particular profile system, task orchestrator, memory service, or response-handoff format.