/nexus

Exit Criteria Auto-Validation

Purpose: Read this file when Nexus[deliver] validates a phase transition, applies pass thresholds, or uses simplified S/M validation and override rules.

Contents

• Overview
• Validation chains
• Phase-specific validation checklists
• Scoring and pass rules
• Scope-adaptive validation
• Validation overrides

Defines automated validation of phase exit criteria before Nexus[deliver] approves phase transitions.

Overview

Before any phase transition, Nexus[deliver] runs an automated validation chain to verify exit criteria are met. This prevents premature phase advancement and catches quality gaps early.

Phase work complete
  → Exit Criteria Validation
    → Pass (≥80%) → Next phase
    → Partial (60-79%) → Scope Reduction + proceed
    → Fail (<60%) → Anti-Stall activation

Validation Chains (Phase-Specific)

Each phase uses a tailored validation chain optimized for its artifact types. The universal Lens→Radar chain is replaced with phase-appropriate agents.

Chain Issuance

## NEXUS_AUTORUN_FULL
Task: Validate Phase [PHASE_NAME] exit criteria
Chain: [Phase-specific chain from table above]
Context: Phase [N] complete, verify exit criteria before transition
Acceptance: Validation report with per-criterion pass/fail and overall score

Phase-Specific Validation Checklists

DISCOVER Phase Exit

DEFINE Phase Exit

ARCHITECT Phase Exit

BUILD Phase Exit

HARDEN Phase Exit

VALIDATE Phase Exit

LAUNCH Phase Exit

GROW Phase Exit

EVOLVE Phase Exit

Scoring and Pass Rules

Score Calculation

phase_exit_score = Σ(criterion_pass × weight) / Σ(weight)

Each criterion scores: 1.0 (full pass), 0.5 (partial), 0.0 (fail).

Pass Thresholds

Conditional Pass Handling

When score is 0.60–0.79:

1. Identify failing criteria
2. Create backlog Epics for each failing criterion
3. Add Epics to the next phase's work queue (or current phase if revisiting)
4. Log the conditional pass with gaps in NEXUS_DELIVERY_STATE
5. Proceed to next phase

Fail Handling

When score <0.60:

1. Identify which Epics produced insufficient artifacts
2. Route to Anti-Stall L1 (retry those specific Epics)
3. If L1 exhausted → L2 (scope reduction to accept lower bar)
4. Re-run exit validation after recovery

Scope-Adaptive Validation

CRITICAL: Skipped phases have NO exit validation. Only phases that are actually executed require validation.

Phases Executed by Scope

Scope-Specific Validation Chains

S/M Scope Exit Criteria (Simplified)

S scope BUILD exit — Only 2 criteria:

M scope BUILD exit — 3 criteria:

M scope HARDEN exit — 2 criteria:

Validation Overrides

In specific scenarios, validation thresholds can be relaxed: