Gate Validation

Purpose

Enforce quality gates between SDLC phases by verifying all required artifacts exist, meet quality standards, and have necessary approvals before allowing phase transitions.

When to Use

• When phase completion is claimed
• Before transitioning to next phase
• Quality checkpoint verification
• Audit trail requirements
• Compliance verification

Prerequisites

• Gate definitions configured
• Phase artifacts available
• Approval workflow defined
• 12 Factors enforcement rules loaded

Process

Step 1: Identify Gate Requirements

Load gate checklist for requested gate:

GATE-1 (Requirements → Architecture):
- [ ] requirements_spec.md complete
- [ ] All user stories have acceptance criteria
- [ ] NFRs quantified with metrics
- [ ] User journeys documented
- [ ] External API requirements listed
- [ ] GDPR requirements identified
- [ ] Human approval obtained

GATE-2 (Architecture → Design):
- [ ] architecture.md complete
- [ ] ADRs created for major decisions
- [ ] Database schema defined
- [ ] Security architecture documented
- [ ] Tech stack finalized
- [ ] External API architecture defined

(Continue for GATE-3 through GATE-8)

Step 2: Verify Artifact Existence

For each required artifact:
1. Check file exists at expected path
2. Verify file is not empty
3. Check last modified date (recent)
4. Validate file format (parseable)

Step 3: Validate Artifact Quality

Quality checks:
- Requirements: No TBD/TODO markers
- Architecture: All components defined
- Design: OpenAPI spec validates
- Tests: Coverage meets threshold
- Code: Linting passes
- Security: No critical findings

Step 4: Check Approvals

For gates requiring human approval:
1. Check approval record exists
2. Verify approver authority
3. Confirm approval not expired
4. Document in audit trail

Step 5: Generate Validation Report

Report includes:
- Gate ID and description
- Checklist with pass/fail status
- Missing items details
- Quality issues found
- Approval status
- Overall: PASS / FAIL
- Recommended actions if failed

Inputs

Input	Type	Required	Description
gate_id	String	Yes	Gate to validate (GATE-1 to GATE-8)
phase_artifacts	Files	Yes	All artifacts from current phase
approval_records	JSON	If required	Human approval records

Outputs

Output	Type	Description
gate_validation.json	JSON	Detailed validation results
gate_report.md	Markdown	Human-readable report
audit_entry.json	JSON	Audit trail record

StudyAbroad-Specific Considerations

• GATE-2 must verify external API integration architecture
• GATE-3 requires GDPR compliance check on data flows
• GATE-5 must verify OAuth2 implementation security
• GATE-7 requires security sign-off for PII handling

Integration Points

• 12 Factors: Factor 6 (The Great Filter) enforcement
• Security Agent: Security-related gate checks
• Test Manager: Coverage verification
• All Agents: Artifact submission

Examples

/orchestrate validate GATE-3

Gate Validation Report: GATE-3 (Design → Test Design)
=====================================================

Checklist Results:
✓ openapi_spec.yaml exists and validates
✓ Module designs complete (8/8 modules)
✓ Error taxonomy defined
✗ Wireframes: 3/5 screens approved
✗ User flow diagrams: Missing "forgot password" flow

Quality Checks:
✓ OpenAPI spec: Valid, no errors
✓ No TODO markers in designs
⚠ Warning: 2 endpoints missing error responses

Approvals:
✓ Design review: Approved by architecture-agent
✗ UX review: Pending

Overall Result: FAIL
Blocking Items: 2

Recommended Actions:
1. Complete wireframes for remaining 2 screens
2. Add "forgot password" user flow diagram
3. Obtain UX review approval

Retry validation after completing above items.

Validation

• All checklist items evaluated
• No false positives (missing items marked as complete)
• Quality checks actually executed (not skipped)
• Approval verification accurate
• Audit trail properly recorded