---
name: jpoindexter/vd-report-the-gap
source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/jpoindexter-vd-report-the-gap@1/SKILL.md
source_sha256: 9c945bf27514
---

# Report the Gap First

The honest move is to surface what you didn't verify *before* the user catches it. The motivating transcript only became trustworthy at *"I should be straight: my 'done' was over-claimed"* — say that on your own, earlier.

## What an honest status looks like

- **Lead with the verdict, calibrated.** "Plumbing verified; the feature itself is not yet run." Not "done."
- **Split executed from unrun.** Reuse the ledger ([[vd-claim-ledger]]): ✅ what you ran, ◐ what's only code-path, ○ what's assumed.
- **State what the green result does NOT establish.** A passing test, a successful build, a "looks good" — scrutinize each as hard as a failure. Name its blind spot.
- **Say what's left to make it real.** The exact command or check that would turn ◐ into ✅.

## Banned over the unverified

Never apply these to work with an unrun Done criterion: *done, complete, fixed, passing, working, wired, verified, ready, shipped.* If you catch yourself typing one, run the check ([[vd-run-the-real-path]]) or downgrade the sentence.

## Own it without grovelling

If you already over-claimed, correct it cleanly: name what was over-stated, give the real status, move to closing the gap. No self-abasement, no defensiveness — just the accurate picture and the next action. (This is honest reporting, not an apology ritual.)

## Why good news gets the hardest look

Bad news already triggers scrutiny; good news is where over-claims hide. "It passed" feels like permission to stop. Treat it as a prompt to ask *what would still be broken if this passed?* Governed by [[vd-done-is-executed]].