# Post-Release Assessment — Cycle #345

**Date:** 2026-05-12
**Cycle:** #345 (merge commit `9513362a`, docs-only §2.5b disconnect)
**Mode:** docs-only
**Assessed by:** γ

---

## §1. Coherence Measurement

- **Baseline:** #343 (docs) — α A, β A, γ A
- **This cycle:** #345 (docs) — α A, β A, γ A
- **Delta:** All three axes hold at A. No regression. α delivered a complete, oracle-grounded six-AC docs-only cycle in a single β round with zero findings. β's three observations were precisely classified as non-findings. γ's issue pack pre-converged the design, correctly deferred AC5 to close-out, and the AC5 self-application demonstrates the attribution rule is operational.
- **Coherence contract closed?** Yes. The gap — the α/β/γ/δ/ε role system documented only as cdd-internal — is resolved. `ROLES.md` at repo root establishes the generic cnos-level pattern (§§1–8, 319 lines). `epsilon/SKILL.md` (64 lines) gives ε a canonical cdd-side home. `CDD.md` now points to ROLES.md and explicitly disclaims cdd-origin. `post-release/SKILL.md §5.6b` re-attributes cdd-iteration.md as ε's work product. AC5 self-application confirmed: the close-out demonstrates the attribution rule operational via the empty-cycle clause.

---

## §2. Encoding Lag

| Issue | Title | Type | Design | Impl | Lag |
|-------|-------|------|--------|------|-----|
| #339 deferred | `operator/SKILL.md §3.4` pre-merge gate row | process | converged | not started | growing |
| — | CI workflow integration for pre-merge gate | process | converged (deferred) | not started | growing |
| — | cdw c-d-X instantiation | feature | sketched in ROLES.md §5 | not started | growing |
| — | ε full skill (epsilon/SKILL.md beyond stub) | process | stub (64L) | not started | growing |

**MCI/MCA balance:** Balanced. Four open lag items: two process-level (carried from #339/#343), one new feature sketch (cdw, explicitly deferred in ROLES.md §5 per AC6), one role-skill expansion (ε full implementation). No design frenzy, no implementation deficit. No MCI freeze required.

**Rationale:** Docs-only cycle introducing the generic role-scope pattern and ε role structure. The cdw and ε full-skill items are explicitly future work declared in the artifacts themselves. The pre-merge gate row and CI integration are small-change process items.

---

## §3. Process Learning

**What went wrong:** Nothing. Zero findings, 1 review round, R1 APPROVED. Clean docs-only cycle consistent with the pattern of design-pre-converged issue packs.

**What went right:**
- Issue design pre-converged all six ACs with embedded oracle evidence (`wc -l`, `rg` hit counts, word counts), reducing α's decision surface to placement and form choices only.
- Oracle-in-artifact pattern in `self-coherence.md` made β's mechanical verification fast and reproducible (β obs #1, α obs #1 — both affirm).
- AC5 correctly deferred from α to γ with explicit oracle and empty-cycle handling. No implementation debt created; γ close-out demonstrates the rule correctly.
- Single-round docs-only convergence (14-row pre-review gate passed on first signal) — design quality upstream pays off in review speed downstream.

**Skill patches:** None. No recurring failure mode identified.

**Active skill re-evaluation:**
- β obs #2 / α obs #2 (AC6 count/list mismatch "four mappings"): `issue/SKILL.md` AC quality requirements could mention count/example-list consistency, but single occurrence, zero friction, zero content consequence — below recurring-failure threshold. No patch.
- β obs #3 / α obs #3 ("scope-escalation" new term): `write/SKILL.md` or `review/SKILL.md` §3.13b could require an explicit new-term-vetting step, but the term was defined and used only in new-this-cycle artifacts with honest-claim verification. Single occurrence, no drift. No patch.

**CDD improvement disposition:** No patch needed this cycle. Both observations are below the recurring-failure threshold. All skill surfaces as written were adequate; no application gap that a tighter spec would have closed.

---

## §4. Review Quality

**Cycles this release:** 1
**Avg review rounds:** 1.0 (target: ≤1 docs) ✅
**Superseded cycles:** 0

**Per-cycle round counts:**

| Cycle | Issue | Mode | Rounds | Binding findings (R1) | Notes |
|-------|-------|------|--------|----------------------|-------|
| #345 | Generic α/β/γ/δ/ε role-scope ladder as cnos-level pattern | docs-only | 1 | 0 | R1 APPROVED; 0 findings; 4 β observations (not findings, not actionable on branch) |

**Finding-class breakdown:**

| Class | Definition | Count |
|---|---|---|
| **mechanical** | Caught by grep/diff/script | 0 |
| **wiring** | "X is wired into Y" but isn't | 0 |
| **honest-claim** | Doc claims something code/data doesn't back | 0 |
| **judgment** | Design/coherence assessment | 0 |
| **contract** | Work contract incoherent | 0 |

**Mechanical ratio:** 0% (0 findings total; threshold not applicable)
**Honest-claim ratio:** 0%
**Action:** None.

---

## §4a. CDD Self-Coherence

- **CDD α:** 4/4 — All required artifacts present (self-coherence.md, alpha-closeout.md). CDD Trace through step 7. AC-by-AC evidence with oracle outputs recorded. Peer enumeration confirmed (docs-only; no family of surfaces changed). AC5 deferred to γ with explicit oracle and empty-cycle condition named. Incremental commit discipline; 14-row pre-review gate complete.
- **CDD β:** 4/4 — Contract integrity table complete (10 rows). Implementation diff inspection thorough (ROLES.md §§1–8, CDD.md pointer, epsilon/SKILL.md, post-release §5.6b all verified). Pre-merge gate three rows explicit. Observations precisely categorized as non-findings with reasons. Merge evidence complete (SHAs, push, Closes #345, β identity).
- **CDD γ:** 4/4 — Issue was oracle-grounded and design-complete. AC5 correctly structured as a conditional γ obligation (not α work). Dispatch prompt included `Branch: cycle/345`. No post-dispatch unblocking required. AC5 self-application demonstrated cleanly at close-out (empty-cycle clause correctly applied).
- **Weakest axis:** none; all at 4/4 this cycle.
- **Action:** None.

---

## §4b. Cycle Iteration

**No §9.1 trigger fired.**

- Review rounds = 1 → no review-churn trigger (target ≤1 docs) ✅
- Mechanical findings = 0 of 0 total → no mechanical-overload trigger ✅
- No avoidable tooling/environment failure blocked the cycle ✅
- No loaded skill failed to prevent a finding (0 findings) ✅

**Independent γ process-gap check:** This cycle was a clean execution of a design-pre-converged docs-only issue pack. No recurring friction identified. The observations (AC6 wording slip, scope-escalation new term) are both single-occurrence, below-threshold events. No gate was too weak — oracle-in-artifact discipline caught all mechanical verification requirements at review. No mechanization opportunity surfaces from this data. No process patch or committed MCA warranted from this cycle's evidence alone.

---

## §5. Production Verification

**Scenario:** Verify that the role-scope ladder is now canonically documented at the cnos level and that the ε attribution is operable.

**Before this release:** The α/β/γ/δ/ε role system existed only as a cdd-internal artifact embedded in CDD.md and role SKILL.md files. No cnos-level pattern document existed. `cdd-iteration.md` was not attributed to any named role.

**After this release:** `ROLES.md` at repo root (319L, §§1–8) is the cnos-level canonical home for the role-scope ladder pattern. `epsilon/SKILL.md` gives ε a canonical cdd-side skill stub. `CDD.md` points to ROLES.md (first 8 lines, blockquote). `post-release/SKILL.md §5.6b` re-attributes cdd-iteration.md as ε's work product.

**How to verify:**
1. `wc -l ROLES.md` → 319 (within 250–500) ✅
2. `rg '^## §' ROLES.md` → 8 hits ✅
3. `head -20 src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/CDD.md | grep ROLES.md` → hit ✅
4. `wc -l src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/epsilon/SKILL.md` → 64 (within 30–100) ✅
5. `rg 'ε' src/packages/cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/post-release/SKILL.md` → hit at Step 5.6b ✅
6. `rg 'separate issue|future cycle' ROLES.md` → hit in §5 (cdw deferred) ✅

**Result:** PASS — all six oracle checks verified by β during R1 review. α recorded oracle outputs in self-coherence.md before signaling review-readiness. No verification deferred.

---

## §6. CDD Closeout

| Step | Artifact | Skills loaded | Decision |
|------|----------|--------------|----------|
| 11 Observe | `.cdd/unreleased/345/{self-coherence,alpha-closeout,beta-review,beta-closeout}.md` | post-release/SKILL.md, gamma/SKILL.md | Cycle shipped role-scope pattern doc + ε stub; 1 review round; 0 findings; 4 non-actionable observations |
| 12 Assess | `docs/gamma/cdd/docs/2026-05-12/POST-RELEASE-ASSESSMENT.md` | post-release/SKILL.md | Assessment complete; α A, β A, γ A; C_Σ A |
| 13 Close | operator/SKILL.md §3.4 → next-MCA (carried); cycle/345 branch cleanup | post-release/SKILL.md | Cycle closed; no immediate outputs warranted; deferred outputs carried |

### §6a. Invariants Check

No architectural invariants document is touched by this cycle. Docs-only; no runtime behavior, package contracts, or engineering-level code surfaces affected.

---

## §7. Next Move

**Next MCA:** `operator/SKILL.md §3.4` pre-merge gate row — carried from cycles #339 and #343. Add a row requiring `scripts/validate-release-gate.sh --mode pre-merge` as a required δ step before authorizing merge, with citation to `CDD.md §5.3b` and `gamma/SKILL.md §2.10`.

**Owner:** γ / δ

**Branch:** pending (small-change path)

**First AC:** `operator/SKILL.md §3.4` contains a row explicitly requiring `scripts/validate-release-gate.sh --mode pre-merge` as part of the δ pre-merge checklist, with citation to `CDD.md §5.3b` and `gamma/SKILL.md §2.10`.

**MCI frozen until shipped?** No — the gate is callable today; the §3.4 update is documentation closure.

**Closure evidence (CDD §10):**
- Immediate outputs executed: none warranted (0 findings, 0 triggers)
- Deferred outputs carried: `operator/SKILL.md §3.4` update → next-MCA, γ/δ owner, first AC stated above
- `cycle/345` branch cleanup: completed (`git push origin --delete cycle/345`)

**Immediate fixes executed in this session:**
- `.cdd/unreleased/345/gamma-closeout.md` written
- `docs/gamma/cdd/docs/2026-05-12/POST-RELEASE-ASSESSMENT.md` written (this file)
- `.cdd/unreleased/345/` moved to `.cdd/releases/docs/2026-05-12/345/`
- CHANGELOG.md updated with #345 row

---

## §8. Hub Memory

Hub memory is operator-owned. No hub repo is accessible in this γ session.

**Next-session checklist for hub memory:**
- **Daily reflection:** Cycle #345 closed (docs-only, A/A/A). Role-scope ladder now canonical at cnos level: `ROLES.md` (319L, §§1–8) at repo root. ε role has cdd-side home (`epsilon/SKILL.md` stub, 64L). `cdd-iteration.md` re-attributed to ε in `post-release/SKILL.md §5.6b`. AC5 self-application: empty-cycle clause demonstrated correctly — the attribution rule fires only when `cdd-*-gap` findings exist (none this cycle). Next: `operator/SKILL.md §3.4` pre-merge gate row (small-change, carried from #339/#343).
- **Adhoc thread (CDD role structure):** Role-scope ladder now canonically documented. ROLES.md gives every future c-d-X protocol a bootstrap pattern (cdw named as planned-not-shipped, §5). ε structural role established — not a headcount requirement; often δ=ε same actor. Thread should track: ε full skill implementation, cdw bootstrap cycle.
- **Adhoc thread (CDD self-improvement arc):** `operator/SKILL.md §3.4` pre-merge gate row still open (growing lag, third carry). CI workflow integration still open (growing lag). Both carried to next cycle. The pre-merge gate row is the highest-priority small-change item.
