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Get Started Free →michael-denyer/principle-sequence-verifiable-units
Apply to multi-step work (sweeps, migrations, runs of similar edits) and to how you stack commits and PRs. Break work into small units that each end in a verifiable state, check each before the next, and order delivery so the sequence proves itself to a reviewer.
Passed 19 of 23 test cases with the skill, and 16 of 23 without it.
and 1 more in the full report
3 fixed16 passed either way4 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 3 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
What is the defining execution pattern for carrying out each individual edit in a multi-step codebase migration?
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| Describe the unit execution flow as: known-good state, single edit, check, then proceed. | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Order work as a sequence of small units, each ending in a state you can check, and don't advance until the current one is green.
Why: A break caught at the unit that caused it is cheap to localize. A break caught after a batch is buried, and you have already built further on a broken base. Sequencing those same units into a delivery a reviewer can replay turns "trust me" into "watch it go red, then green."
Execution. In a sweep, migration, or any run of similar edits, verify each change before starting the next. Each unit is a before/after bracket: known-good state, one change, run the check, then proceed. Rebase onto clean trunk first so every check measures against the real baseline. When a lever does the edits, the per-unit check is nearly free. Run it anyway.
Delivery. Stack commits and PRs in the order that proves the work. The canonical shape is the failing test first, then the fix on top. Other story orders are a subtraction before the reshape, a baseline capture before the treatment, the scaffold before the feature. Each commit lands on its own and the sequence reads as an argument.
The sequencing complement to the prove-it-works principle skill, which keeps each check real, and the build-the-lever principle skill, which makes the per-unit check cheap.
test cases passed, vs 16 / 23 without
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