design-plan-convergence-loop

Design and Plan Convergence Loop

Contract

Drive one artifact generation to one document readiness gate. Treat OpenSpec and Superpowers as optional format adapters, not prerequisites:

• use design-plan-convergence for audit and independent closure;
• use design-plan-remediation for every authorized mutation;
• never let the modifier close its own findings or grant READY;
• never modify implementation, external systems, frozen decisions, or paths outside the allowlist;
• an audit-only request runs one audit and stops;
• default completion is DESIGN READY or PLAN READY, not implementation or release.

Read references/modes-and-gates.md to select the artifact lifecycle and references/orchestration-and-state.md to manage snapshots, trend, context, and termination. Read references/runtime-budget-and-cleanup.md before estimating work, persisting a multi-cycle run, pausing, resuming, or cleaning runtime state.

Freeze the run

Record:

mode, target gate, and LEAN/AUTO/ASSURANCE profile
artifact generation and editable path set
read-only evidence boundary
charter, scope, Non-Goals, must-not-change behavior
frozen decisions, accepted risks, unresolved decisions
applicable rules and artifact profile
Acceptance Kernel, DIRECT contract roots, and approved boundary semantics
applicable defect classes, coverage obligations, and global invariants
completion criteria and current snapshot
complexity class, soft time budget, and mandatory coverage partitions

The Acceptance Kernel is the frozen charter, scope, Non-Goals, decisions, DIRECT roots, boundary semantics, risk profile, and applicable rules that define the current review space. Start a new artifact generation only when this kernel, the artifact boundary, or a key mechanism changes. A root-preserving repair or a justified DERIVED contract does not start a new generation.

Gate priority: