Validation Phase

The Validation phase answers: Did we build the right thing, the right way? It verifies alignment between implementation, architecture, and original intent.

Purpose

Validation ensures:

Every ARC constraint was honored in the implementation
The delivered work satisfies the original Intent Brief’s success criteria
The full DLC compliance trail is intact and audit-ready

Key Artifacts

ARC Adherence Report

Constraint-by-constraint verification that the implementation follows every MUST and MUST NOT in the ARC.

Created by: cat-arc-adherence-check with Julian and Vera

Work Acceptance

Business acceptance evaluation: does the completed work satisfy the Intent Brief’s success criteria and scope?

Created by: cat-work-acceptance with Clara

Compliance Report

The capstone artifact — a full 10-control compliance matrix covering all DLC phases.

Created by: cat-compliance-report with Vera

Validation Sequence

graph LR
    A[ARC Adherence Check] --> B[Work Acceptance]
    B --> C[Compliance Report]

    style A fill:#F3E5F5,stroke:#6A1B9A
    style B fill:#F3E5F5,stroke:#6A1B9A
    style C fill:#F3E5F5,stroke:#6A1B9A

ARC Adherence — Technical compliance (did we build it correctly?)
Work Acceptance — Business alignment (did we build the right thing?)
Compliance Report — Full audit trail (is everything documented?)

When to Validate

After completing all bolts for a feature
Before merging to main branch
Before declaring a sprint or release complete
Whenever a stakeholder asks “are we compliant?”

Common Validation Gaps

Gap	Impact	Fix
No ARC adherence check run	Constraint violations go undetected	Run `cat-arc-adherence-check`
Work acceptance skipped	Business alignment unverified	Run `cat-work-acceptance`
Missing compliance frontmatter	Compliance report shows gaps	Add frontmatter via `cat-intent-edit` / `cat-arc-edit`
Code review not documented	Control #8 fails in compliance report	Run `cat-code-review` retroactively