Step 01
Recover the promises.
We read the code and write down what it promises, one sentence each, in plain words.
You keep · the promises, written down, in your repo
Fig. 01 · Promises found in the code, written down.
How it works
Six steps. Each one leaves an artifact you keep.
01Recover02Sign03Worst case04Obligations05Evidence06The gate
Step 01
We read the code and write down what it promises, one sentence each, in plain words.
You keep · the promises, written down, in your repo
Fig. 01 · Promises found in the code, written down.
Step 02
A promise counts only when a person who owns the code signs it.
You keep · signed promises, a name on each
Fig. 02 · Three signed. One agent draft waits for a person.
Step 03
For each promise, what happens if it fails, and how bad.
You keep · a worst case for every promise
Fig. 03 · A worst case per promise. The bigger diamond hurts more.
Step 04
What must be true, and what test shows it.
You keep · obligations, each tied to a test
Fig. 04 · Under each promise, what must be true, and the test for it.
Step 05
Every obligation carries its evidence: the test that ran, and which conditions in the code it exercised.
You keep · the evidence, per condition, per commit
Fig. 05 · Each condition is shown to matter on its own, not just that the test passed.
The formal name for this measure is MC/DC, modified condition/decision coverage.
Step 06
The same checks run on every change. A broken promise blocks the merge.
You keep · the gate, in your CI
Fig. 06 · Four commits. Three pass. The broken one stops.
Who decides
Machines check everything, every time. People decide what a machine must not decide alone.
Swipe sideways to see the whole figure.
Fig. 07 · Above the line, machines run every check on every commit. Below it, people sign the promise and validate the finding.
Agents
Do the crunching: every check, every commit, at a volume no person could reach.
A person
Validates every finding before it reaches you, and signs the promises, the bar, and our misses.
Your engineers
Sign the promises. Anything an agent drafts is marked as a draft, and an agent cannot approve its own requirement.
The line between what a machine decides and what a person decides is written into the configuration, and you can move it.
After a fix
When a break is fixed, its test stays. The class cannot come back without the gate saying so.
Swipe sideways to see all ten releases.
Fig. 08 · One class of break, ten releases. Once its test is in your suite, the release that would bring it back turns the gate red instead.
KI-3 on jsonparser is one: fixed upstream, its test red before the fix and green since.See the register →
Start
Pick the one you would least like to be asked about. We onboard it with your engineers, then the map and the gate are yours.
How onboarding works →Prefer a call? 20 minutes with Leonid →
Leonid Bugaev
founder · signs the promises, the bar, and the misses