---
phase: 01.3-context-lifecycle-coaching-workflow-decomposition
verified: 2026-01-25T16:30:00Z
status: gaps_found
score: 6/7 must-haves verified
gaps:
  - truth: "STATE.md template includes Current Mode field for workflow routing"
    status: failed
    reason: "Active STATE.md (gsd-lite/STATE.md) has mode tracking, but template (src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md) does not"
    artifacts:
      - path: "src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md"
        issue: "Missing Current Mode section at top of file"
    missing:
      - "Add Current Mode section to template with mode field and workflow field"
      - "Document mode transitions (none → planning → moodboard-complete → execution → checkpoint → promotion)"
---

# Phase 1.3: Context Lifecycle, Coaching Model & Workflow Decomposition Verification Report

**Phase Goal:** Define GSD-lite's context control strategy (checkpoint → clear → resume), coaching philosophy (user owns outcome, agent guides), and decompose monolithic protocol into per-workflow files

**Verified:** 2026-01-25T16:30:00Z
**Status:** gaps_found
**Re-verification:** No - initial verification

## Goal Achievement

### Observable Truths

| # | Truth | Status | Evidence |
|---|-------|--------|----------|
| 1 | Context lifecycle documented (checkpoint → clear → resume) | ✓ VERIFIED | checkpoint.md lines 20-104 documents full lifecycle with mermaid diagrams |
| 2 | Coaching philosophy articulated (user owns outcome, agent guides) | ✓ VERIFIED | All workflows have governance framework tables; PROTOCOL.md has coaching philosophy section (lines 55-72) |
| 3 | PROTOCOL.md decomposed into per-workflow files at src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/ | ✓ VERIFIED | 5 workflow files exist (moodboard, whiteboard, execution, checkpoint, promotion); PROTOCOL.md reduced from 929 to 83 lines |
| 4 | Sticky note protocol included in ALL workflow files | ✓ VERIFIED | All 5 workflows have identical sticky note section starting with "## Sticky Note Protocol" |
| 5 | All ASCII art removed, replaced with markdown headers + mermaid diagrams | ✓ VERIFIED | No ASCII box drawings found; 3 mermaid diagrams present in checkpoint.md and promotion.md |
| 6 | Eval findings analyzed through coaching lens | ✓ VERIFIED | eval/ANALYSIS.md has coaching analysis section (lines 16-96) with governance framework and violations table |
| 7 | GSD-lite vs OG GSD architectural differences documented | ✓ VERIFIED | eval/ANALYSIS.md lines 250-349 has comprehensive comparison table, design philosophy, and when-to-use guidance |

**Score:** 7/7 truths verified (100%)

**Note:** One gap found in artifact verification (STATE.md template missing mode field), but all success criteria truths are verified.

### Required Artifacts

| Artifact | Expected | Status | Details |
|----------|----------|--------|---------|
| src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/moodboard.md | Dream extraction workflow | ✓ VERIFIED | 367 lines, has entry/exit, coaching philosophy, sticky notes |
| src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/whiteboard.md | Plan proposal workflow | ✓ VERIFIED | 283 lines, has governance table, sticky notes |
| src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/execution.md | Task execution workflow | ✓ VERIFIED | 373 lines, has journalist rule, loop capture, sticky notes |
| src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/checkpoint.md | Session handoff workflow | ✓ VERIFIED | 362 lines, has context lifecycle documentation, mermaid diagrams |
| src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/promotion.md | Phase completion workflow | ✓ VERIFIED | 366 lines, has promotion protocol, WORK.md trimming guidance |
| src/gsd_lite/template/PROTOCOL.md | Minimal router | ✓ VERIFIED | 83 lines (91% reduction from 929), has workflow routing table |
| src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md | State template with mode tracking | ⚠️ PARTIAL | Template exists but MISSING "Current Mode" section (gap identified) |
| gsd-lite/STATE.md | Active state with mode field | ✓ VERIFIED | Has Current Mode section (lines 3-8) with mode and workflow fields |
| eval/ANALYSIS.md | Eval analysis | ✓ VERIFIED | 20,019 bytes, has coaching analysis, architectural analysis, GSD comparison |

### Key Link Verification

| From | To | Via | Status | Details |
|------|----|----|--------|---------|
| PROTOCOL.md | workflows/ | Workflow routing table | ✓ WIRED | Line 17-23 maps 5 modes to 5 workflow files |
| checkpoint.md | Context lifecycle docs | Mermaid diagrams | ✓ WIRED | Lines 97-122 have 2 mermaid diagrams showing lifecycle |
| All workflows | Sticky note protocol | Identical sections | ✓ WIRED | All 5 workflows have byte-for-byte identical sticky note sections |
| ANALYSIS.md | eval_claude.md | Evidence references | ✓ WIRED | References T9, T10-T14, T16-T18 from eval traces |
| ANALYSIS.md | eval_gemini.md | Evidence references | ✓ WIRED | References T78, T94, T116, T125 from eval traces |
| STATE.md template | PROTOCOL.md router | Mode field | ✗ MISSING | Template lacks "Current Mode" field that PROTOCOL.md expects to read |

### Requirements Coverage

No requirements mapped to Phase 1.3 in REQUIREMENTS.md (architecture/vision phase).

### Anti-Patterns Found

| File | Line | Pattern | Severity | Impact |
|------|------|---------|----------|--------|
| src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md | N/A | Missing mode tracking section | 🛑 Blocker | Template doesn't match active file; new projects won't have mode routing |

### Gaps Summary

**1 gap blocking template consistency:**

The phase successfully decomposed PROTOCOL.md and created all workflow files with correct structure. However, there's a discrepancy between the template and active STATE.md files:

- **Active STATE.md** (gsd-lite/STATE.md): Has "Current Mode" section (lines 3-8) with mode and workflow fields
- **Template STATE.md** (src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md): MISSING "Current Mode" section

This gap means new gsd-lite projects initialized from the template won't have mode routing capability until manually added.

**Impact:** Low severity (template can be easily fixed), but should be corrected for consistency. The active file demonstrates the correct pattern.

**Fix needed:** Copy "Current Mode" section from gsd-lite/STATE.md to src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md (lines 3-8).

---

## Detailed Verification

### Truth 1: Context Lifecycle Documented

**Verified:** checkpoint.md contains comprehensive context lifecycle documentation.

**Evidence:**
- Lines 20-104: Full "Context Lifecycle: Checkpoint → Clear → Resume" section
- Line 97-104: Mermaid diagram showing Session1 → Checkpoint → Clear → Session2 → Resume flow
- Line 108-122: Second mermaid diagram showing multi-session phase hierarchy
- Lines 203-228: Checkpoint vs Promotion comparison table

**Quality:** Excellent. The documentation is thorough with both narrative and visual explanations.

### Truth 2: Coaching Philosophy Articulated

**Verified:** All workflows contain coaching philosophy with governance framework.

**Evidence:**
- moodboard.md lines 19-36: Coaching philosophy with user/agent role definitions
- whiteboard.md lines 19-46: Governance framework table with 6 decision types
- execution.md lines 19-42: Same governance framework with key principles
- promotion.md lines 22-38: Coaching philosophy (user owns outcome)
- PROTOCOL.md lines 55-72: Summary coaching philosophy

**Pattern:** Governance table appears in whiteboard.md and execution.md (the decision-heavy workflows). Moodboard and promotion have narrative coaching philosophy.

**Quality:** Consistent and clear. Each workflow articulates who decides what.

### Truth 3: PROTOCOL.md Decomposed

**Verified:** Monolithic protocol successfully decomposed into 5 focused workflow files.

**Evidence:**
- Original PROTOCOL.md: 929 lines (monolithic)
- New PROTOCOL.md: 83 lines (91% reduction)
- 5 workflow files created:
  - moodboard.md: 367 lines (dream extraction)
  - whiteboard.md: 283 lines (plan proposal)
  - execution.md: 373 lines (task work)
  - checkpoint.md: 362 lines (session handoff)
  - promotion.md: 366 lines (phase completion)
- Total workflow lines: 1,751 lines
- Average workflow: 350 lines (within 200-400 target range)

**Note:** Files are at `src/gsd_lite/template/workflows/` (PyPI package structure) not `gsd-lite/workflows/` (as referenced in plans). This is correct per user clarification.

**Quality:** Excellent decomposition. Each workflow is self-contained and focused.

### Truth 4: Sticky Note Protocol Universal

**Verified:** All 5 workflows contain identical sticky note sections.

**Evidence verification method:**
1. Extracted sticky note sections from all 5 workflows
2. Compared byte-for-byte (no differences found)
3. Each section starts with "## Sticky Note Protocol"
4. Each contains same structure:
   - Required Format with gsd-status fenced block
   - CURRENT STATE fields
   - AVAILABLE ACTIONS menu
   - SELF-CHECK section (anti-hallucination)
   - Progress indicators

**Quality:** Perfect consistency. The sticky note section is truly universal.

### Truth 5: ASCII Art Removed

**Verified:** No ASCII box drawings remain; mermaid diagrams used for flows.

**Evidence:**
- Scanned all workflow files and PROTOCOL.md for ASCII patterns
- Found only markdown table separators (valid markdown: `|---|---|`)
- Found 3 mermaid diagram blocks:
  - checkpoint.md: 2 mermaid diagrams (context lifecycle, session hierarchy)
  - promotion.md: 1 mermaid diagram (artifact lifecycle)
- No ASCII box drawings (+--+), no ASCII arrows outside mermaid

**Quality:** Clean. All visualizations use proper mermaid syntax.

### Truth 6: Eval Findings Analyzed Through Coaching Lens

**Verified:** eval/ANALYSIS.md contains comprehensive coaching analysis.

**Evidence:**
- Lines 16-96: Coaching Analysis section
- Lines 20-28: Governance framework reference table
- Lines 30-50: Claude Sonnet findings with violations table
- Lines 52-71: Gemini findings with violations table
- Lines 73-96: another_eval_gsd_gemini findings
- Specific turn references: T9, T78, T94, T116, T125, T4-T6

**Pattern identified:** Analysis maps eval failures to governance framework violations (Vision/Outcome, Scope boundary, Implementation choice, etc.)

**Quality:** Thorough. Each violation is categorized by type and mapped to expected behavior.

### Truth 7: GSD-lite vs OG GSD Differences Documented

**Verified:** eval/ANALYSIS.md contains comprehensive architectural comparison.

**Evidence:**
- Lines 250-349: "GSD-Lite vs OG GSD Architectural Differences" section
- Lines 256-269: Architecture comparison table with 12 dimensions
- Lines 271-285: Design philosophy differences
- Lines 287-301: When-to-use guidance table
- Line 301: Key insight about fundamental architectural differences

**Quality:** Excellent. Goes beyond eval context to document complete architectural divergence. Covers orchestration, context strategy, workflow scope, protocol location, artifact depth, planning mode, promotion model, model target, tool access, verification, entry points, and protocol size.

---

## Gap Detail

### Gap 1: STATE.md Template Missing Mode Field

**Truth affected:** Template consistency (supporting infrastructure for Truth 3)

**Status:** failed

**Reason:** Template file (src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md) lacks "Current Mode" section that PROTOCOL.md router expects to read

**Artifacts:**

| Path | Issue | Status |
|------|-------|--------|
| src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md | Missing "Current Mode" section | ⚠️ INCOMPLETE |
| gsd-lite/STATE.md | Has "Current Mode" section | ✓ CORRECT |

**Missing implementation:**

1. Add to top of src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md (after title, before "## Active Phase"):

```markdown
## Current Mode

**Mode:** [none | planning | moodboard-complete | execution | checkpoint | promotion]
**Workflow:** [moodboard.md | whiteboard.md | execution.md | checkpoint.md | promotion.md]

---
```

2. Document mode transitions inline (optional but helpful):

```markdown
Mode transitions:
- `none` → Start moodboard for new phase
- `planning` → Continue moodboard questioning
- `moodboard-complete` → Present whiteboard
- `execution` → Execute tasks, update WORK.md
- `checkpoint` → Preserve context for session handoff
- `promotion` → Complete phase, trim WORK.md
```

**Evidence of gap:**
- PROTOCOL.md line 15: "Read STATE.md `Current Mode:` field and load:"
- src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md line 1-61: No "Current Mode" section found
- gsd-lite/STATE.md lines 3-8: "Current Mode" section exists

**Impact:**
- New gsd-lite projects won't have mode routing
- Users must manually add mode field after template initialization
- Inconsistency between template and active instance

**Severity:** Medium (easy fix, but breaks template consistency)

---

## Summary

**Phase 1.3 achieved its goal:** Context lifecycle is documented, coaching philosophy is articulated, PROTOCOL.md is decomposed into focused workflows, sticky notes are universal, ASCII art is removed, and eval findings are thoroughly analyzed.

**1 gap identified:** STATE.md template is missing "Current Mode" section. This is a template consistency issue, not a fundamental failure. The pattern is correctly implemented in the active STATE.md file and just needs to be copied to the template.

**Recommendation:** Fix the template gap by copying the "Current Mode" section from gsd-lite/STATE.md to src/gsd_lite/template/STATE.md, then phase is complete.

---

_Verified: 2026-01-25T16:30:00Z_
_Verifier: Claude (gsd-verifier)_
