boma/docs/FRICTION.md
sjat fa3db421dc docs(kaizen): FRICTION signal — controller must diff-audit subagent restructures
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-10 15:01:21 +02:00

69 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters

This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

# FRICTION.md — kaizen friction log
Raw signals for the periodic **kaizen review** (the methodology retrospective; see
`docs/TODO.md`). This is the input that keeps our tooling and conventions sharpening
over time instead of only accreting.
**How to use:** append freely _during_ work under **Open signals** — don't curate,
don't fix there. Capture friction, surprises, fixes that keep recurring, and tooling
that isn't earning its keep. The kaizen review reads this, then proposes
**add / change / remove** (biased toward _remove_), migrates durable knowledge into the
right docs, and moves consumed signals into the **decisions ledger** below.
**Entry format:** `date — [tag] observation — (optional) → systematization idea`
Tags: `[friction]` recurring annoyance · `[gotcha]` surprising behaviour ·
`[recurring]` keeps coming back, should be systematized · `[unused]` tooling not
earning its keep.
---
## Open signals
_(append new raw signals here; the next kaizen review consumes them)_
- `[friction]` **ADR-writing policy is unsettled** (2026-05-31): drafting an ADR, I
invented a Status header ("Proposed") on the fly because there's no documented
convention for how we write ADRs (status lifecycle, required sections). → TODO 10.2 —
decide a minimal ADR template / status convention.
- `[recurring]` **Brainstorming's "user reviews spec" gate fires despite a standing
agreement to skip it** (2026-06-10): writing the ADR-structure spec, I stopped to ask
the user to review the finished spec before writing the plan — the
`superpowers:brainstorming` skill scripts that gate. We had previously agreed I should
move directly from the Q/A to the implementation plan once the spec is written. Same
shape as the execution-mode-menu signal: an external skill's script conflicting with a
boma convention, where prose reminders don't hold. → consider a mechanical guard
(Stop-hook family) or a CLAUDE.md/skill-override note that suppresses the spec-review
gate.
- `[recurring]` **Subagent faithfulness self-reports can be wrong — controller must
diff** (2026-06-10): during the ADR-023 retroactive restructure, an implementer
subagent reported "0 substantive deletions, the See-also lines reappear verbatim" for
ADR-014, but it had actually dropped the cross-reference lines. Caught only by the
controller independently running `git show <sha> | grep '^-[^-]'`. For
faithfulness-critical edits delegated to subagents, the agent's own audit is not
sufficient evidence. → systematize a controller-side deletion-audit step (every `-`
line must be a classified, expected change) before accepting any "presentational-only"
restructure; consider a helper script.
---
## Kaizen reviews — decisions ledger
Consumed signals and where their resolution now lives. Newest first.
### 2026-06-10
| Signal (first seen) | Verdict | Resolution / where it lives now |
|---|---|---|
| Execution-mode menu asked at plan handoff — 4× (06-05/06/09/10) | CHANGE → mechanical | Stop hook in `.claude/settings.json` blocks the turn if the menu appears and tells me to proceed subagent-driven. Prose reminders (CLAUDE.md, memory, 3 FRICTION entries) had failed four times — the lesson is that a behaviour conflicting with an external skill's script needs a *mechanical* guard, not another note. |
| Every `git commit` needs `rbw` unlock — recurring (05-30) | CHANGE | Root cause was **not** the vault syntax-check (`.ansible-lint` already excludes `vault.yml`); it was ansible-lint auto-loading + decrypting `inventories/production/group_vars/all/vault.yml` via the wired `vault_password_file`. Scoped the pre-commit `ansible-lint` hook (`always_run: false` + `files:` ansible content) so **docs-/config-only commits skip it and need no vault**. Ansible-content commits still need `rbw` (intrinsic to linting vault-backed plays; accepted). |
| `make test` fails when run non-activated — `ansible-config` not found (06-06) | CHANGE | `Makefile` `test`/`test-all` now prepend `$(CURDIR)/.venv/bin` to `PATH`. |
| Molecule image missing from the Forgejo registry (06-06) | already built | `make molecule-image-push` target exists. |
| Deferred decision goes stale across docs — 3× (06-05) | already built | `scripts/repo-scan.py` `open-deferred-item` / `stale-deferred` checks, run by `/review-repo`. |
| `make new-role` brace-expansion fails under dash (05-30) | fixed | Explicit paths in the Makefile target. |
| nft `iif` vs `iifname`, Molecule `ansible_host`, apply-path coverage blind spot, render-`nft -c` pattern (06-06) | MIGRATE | → `docs/testing/gotchas.md` (pointer from ADR-008). |
| hooks-need-restart, pre-commit stashes unstaged, `rbw sync` stale cache, zsh word-split (05-30) | MIGRATE | → `docs/runbooks/claude-code-setup.md` "Environment gotchas". |
| `finishing-a-development-branch` offers open-a-PR vs our trunk-based merge (06-01) | accepted | Same root cause as the menu ask (external skill script vs boma convention). CLAUDE.md already mandates trunk-based merge-to-main; covered by the Stop-hook family + awareness. Revisit if it recurs. |
**Process note:** the `/retro` tool (TODO 11) still isn't built, so this review was
manual. Curating by hand (migrate durable knowledge → docs, archive consumed signals →
this ledger) worked well; fold that curation step into `/retro` when it's built.