verification-before-completion

Verification Before Completion

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.

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

Common Failures

C# .NET Specific (ECTSystem):

Red Flags - STOP

• Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
• Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", etc.)
• About to commit/push/PR without verification
• Trusting agent success reports
• Relying on partial verification
• Thinking "just this once"
• Tired and wanting work over
• ANY wording implying success without having run verification

Rationalization Prevention

Key Patterns

Tests:

✅ [Run dotnet test] [See: X passed] "All tests pass"
$ dotnet test --no-build --logger "console;verbosity=minimal"
  34 test(s) passed
❌ "Linter passed" (linter ≠ tests)

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

✅ Write test → Run (FAIL) → Fix code → Run (PASS) → Revert fix → Run (FAIL) → Restore → Run (PASS)
$ dotnet test AF.ECT.Tests --filter "MethodName" --no-build
  FAIL: MethodName
[Fix code]
$ dotnet test AF.ECT.Tests --filter "MethodName" --no-build
  1 passed
❌ "I've written a test" (without watching it fail then pass)

Build:

✅ [Run build] [See: exit 0] "Build passes"
$ dotnet build ElectronicCaseTracking.sln --no-restore
Building solution configuration 'Release|Any CPU'.
  All projects are up to date for restoration.
  All projects are up to date for generation.
  All projects are up to date for compilation.

❌ "Restore passed" (restore ≠ build)

C# .NET Specific (ECTSystem):

gRPC service verification:

✅ Test written for both success AND exception paths
[Fact]
public async Task GetWorkflow_WithValidId_ReturnsWorkflow() { ... }  ✓ PASS

[Fact]
public async Task GetWorkflow_WithNullId_ThrowsRpcException() { ... }  ✓ PASS

❌ "Only tested success path" (missing exception test)

EF Core verification:

✅ Test uses InMemoryDatabase AND actual SQL Server connection tested
// Test with InMemory
var options = new DbContextOptionsBuilder<EctDbContext>()
    .UseInMemoryDatabase("test")
    .Options;
using var context = new EctDbContext(options);
// Verify query logic works

// Integration test with actual SQL Server connection
dotnet test AF.ECT.Tests/Integration --filter "GetWorkflow_Integration" --no-build

❌ "InMemory test passes" (without integration test)

Build warning verification:

✅ dotnet build ElectronicCaseTracking.sln /p:TreatWarningsAsErrors=true
Build succeeded. 0 errors, 0 warnings

❌ "Build succeeded" (with CS warnings present)

Why This Matters

From 24 failure memories:

• your human partner said "I don't believe you" - trust broken
• Undefined functions shipped - would crash
• Missing requirements shipped - incomplete features
• Time wasted on false completion → redirect → rework
• Violates: "Honesty is a core value. If you lie, you'll be replaced."

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

Rule applies to:

• Exact phrases
• Paraphrases and synonyms
• Implications of success
• ANY communication suggesting completion/correctness

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.

This is non-negotiable.