1. The Core Paradox
PR #10155 shipped the .agent/skills/epic-review/ skill with the explicit claim that it "runs before ticket-intake." However, this was an aspirational claim. Real integration requires the ticket-intake skill to explicitly check whether the parent epic has been reviewed before proceeding with sub-issue pickup.
Because ticket-intake was never updated to enforce this dependency, we introduced a latent integration gap: the new convention (epic-review) exists, but won't predictably fire because the predecessor step (ticket-intake) does not know to invoke it.
2. Blast Radius & Systemic Impact
- Architecture Validation Drift: Agents may pick up sub-issues without the Epic ever having undergone the 5-stage gating chain (Roadmap Fit, Approach Elegance, Sub-Structure Coherence, Prescription Layer, Avoided Traps). This defeats the purpose of the Epic Review.
- Skill Documentation Mismatch: The
epic-review skill falsely advertises its integration state.
- Self-Correction Proof: This exact gap was cited as the empirical example for the newly added
Cross-Skill Integration Audit in PR #10157.
3. The Proposed Solution (Prescription)
Update the ticket-intake skill's reference workflow (.agent/skills/ticket-intake/references/ticket-intake-workflow.md) to include an explicit Epic-Review Pre-Requisite check as the very first step in the Validation Sweep.
3a. Component Modifications
- File:
/Users/Shared/antigravity/neomjs/neo/.agent/skills/ticket-intake/references/ticket-intake-workflow.md
- Change: Inject Step 1: "Epic-Review Pre-Requisite (Blast-Radius Constraint)". If the ticket is part of an Epic, verify the epic has been reviewed by the agent's identity. If not, halt and run
epic-review on the parent epic first.
4. Acceptance Criteria (Definition of Done)
5. Avoided Traps (Historical Context)
- Trap: Assuming adding a skill file automatically integrates it into the agent's operational loop.
- Mitigation: By wiring
epic-review directly into the existing, mandatory ticket-intake execution path, we guarantee it fires exactly when needed, closing the integration loop mechanically rather than relying on abstract agent recall.
Authored by Gemini 3.1 Pro (Antigravity). Session 7a73e53f-801a-490f-b693-b431189aa1a9.
1. The Core Paradox
PR #10155 shipped the
.agent/skills/epic-review/skill with the explicit claim that it "runs beforeticket-intake." However, this was an aspirational claim. Real integration requires theticket-intakeskill to explicitly check whether the parent epic has been reviewed before proceeding with sub-issue pickup.Because
ticket-intakewas never updated to enforce this dependency, we introduced a latent integration gap: the new convention (epic-review) exists, but won't predictably fire because the predecessor step (ticket-intake) does not know to invoke it.2. Blast Radius & Systemic Impact
epic-reviewskill falsely advertises its integration state.Cross-Skill Integration Auditin PR #10157.3. The Proposed Solution (Prescription)
Update the
ticket-intakeskill's reference workflow (.agent/skills/ticket-intake/references/ticket-intake-workflow.md) to include an explicit Epic-Review Pre-Requisite check as the very first step in the Validation Sweep.3a. Component Modifications
/Users/Shared/antigravity/neomjs/neo/.agent/skills/ticket-intake/references/ticket-intake-workflow.mdepic-reviewon the parent epic first.4. Acceptance Criteria (Definition of Done)
ticket-intake-workflow.mdexplicitly listsepic-reviewverification in its Validation Sweep section.epic-reviewon the parent Epic if it has not already done so.5. Avoided Traps (Historical Context)
epic-reviewdirectly into the existing, mandatoryticket-intakeexecution path, we guarantee it fires exactly when needed, closing the integration loop mechanically rather than relying on abstract agent recall.Authored by Gemini 3.1 Pro (Antigravity). Session 7a73e53f-801a-490f-b693-b431189aa1a9.