Checklists

requirements.md

Specification Quality Checklist: kernel.clock — the single door to time

Purpose: Validate specification completeness and quality before proceeding to planning Created: 2026-08-10 Feature: spec.md

Content Quality

confirmed operator decision, not an incidental tech choice)

  • ✅ No implementation details that pre-empt design (the door/module name is a
  • ✅ Focused on developer/maintainer value and correctness outcomes
  • ✅ Written for the actors who consume it (developers, CI, test authors)
  • ✅ All mandatory sections completed

Requirement Completeness

decisions are recorded explicitly under Open Decisions D-1/D-2 with a recommended default, to settle in plan — not left as ambiguous gaps)

  • ✅ No unresolved [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers in requirements (two design
  • ✅ Requirements are testable and unambiguous
  • ✅ Requirement types are separated (Functional / Non-Functional / Constraints)
  • ✅ IDs are unique across FR-###, NFR-###, C-### entries
  • ✅ All requirement rows include a non-empty Status value
  • ✅ Non-functional requirements include measurable thresholds
  • ✅ Success criteria are measurable
  • ✅ Success criteria are technology-agnostic (outcome-framed)
  • ✅ All acceptance scenarios are defined
  • ✅ Edge cases are identified
  • ✅ Scope is clearly bounded (explicit Out of Scope: Lamport clock, duration clocks, kernel wheel)
  • ✅ Dependencies and assumptions identified

Feature Readiness

  • ✅ All functional requirements have clear acceptance criteria (via Success Criteria + scenarios)
  • ✅ Scenarios cover primary flows (produce time, lower-layer access, deterministic test, naive-bug fix)
  • ✅ Mission meets measurable outcomes defined in Success Criteria
  • ✅ No accidental implementation leakage (design choices are operator-confirmed decisions, flagged as such)

Notes

paula-patterns), 2026-08-10 — dossier in research/grounding.md.

recommended defaults and are deferred to the plan phase, not the spec.

pr/2611-clock-now-utc-iso / PR #3288) because the installed spec-kitty CLI is not worktree-aware for branch resolution; identity minted via ULID to match the CLI schema.

  • Grounded by a 3-lens research squad (researcher-robbie, architect-alphonso,
  • Two open decisions (D-1 _internal_runtime conflict, D-2 door name) carry
  • Large mission: phasing guidance recorded at the end of spec.md for tasks decomposition.
  • Authored directly on the stacked branch feat/kernel-clock-single-door (based on