checklist · release gate state not meeting

Release gate · state, not meeting

Read in 60 seconds at flag-flip. The gate is derived from signals visible on a dashboard. If you need a meeting to find out whether the gate is green, the gate has already failed.

TIP

The discipline is legibility, not consensus. Three signals, each binary, each visible. The TL calls the flip; the team confirms by reading the same dashboard. If a signal is yellow, name what is missing in one sentence.

The three signals

• [ ] Build green. All pre-merge stages pass, including any performance or contract budget named in the TDB. because: the cycle's prediction depends on the change being correctly built — Practice · Step 1

• [ ] QA paragraph signed. Three sentences, safe to ship or safe under flag, with at least one specific named risk and its mitigation. because: vague paragraphs are the warning sign — Practice · Step 3

• [ ] Observability live. Events flowing to the dashboard; alerts wired; the panel the prediction will check is live. because: observability arriving after the gate is observability arriving too late — Practice · Writing TDBs · Step 4

TL accountability

• [ ] The TL's name is on the gate. Not "engineering" — a person.

• [ ] The TL can answer "is this safe to ship?" in one line.because: if you cannot answer in one line, the gate is unowned — Skill · Tech Lead · stuck-if

PO confirmation

• [ ] The prediction's check date is in the calendar. Both the PO's calendar and (where relevant) the team's shared calendar.

• [ ] The dashboard panel the check will read is live. Not "we'll add it later". Live, with sample data.

CS handoff (when releasing to client)

• [ ] CS Lead has read and signed the release brief.because: Tier-1 should not be surprised by the first call — Skill · CS Lead · Step 6

Rollback path

• [ ] The flag rollback is one click and named. Owner of the rollback (usually on-call) is on the gate.

• [ ] The cleanup story for this flag is scheduled.because: flags that outlive their cycles become architecture — Clinic

Hand off to the watch

• [ ] The first 48h watch is staffed and the dashboards are open. PO + TL + on-call. Three roles, dashboards not tickets. because: one role watching alone produces thin notes — Practice · First 48h watch

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If any line cannot be checked, the flag does not flip. The gate is the gate.

See also

• Practice — Release gate · First 48 hours watch
• Template — Release brief to client
• Canon — As We Build · Release Gate
• Clinic — A flag that never got cleaned up