handoff-report

Lead with the outcome in the first sentence, disclose failures and scope changes immediately, back each claim with file and line references or log excerpts, and close with residual risks. Label statements as observed, derived, or assumed so readers can audit the reasoning.

Observed means you ran it, read it, or saw it directly. Derived means it follows from observations by stated reasoning, which you must spell out. Assumed means plausible but unverified, and must be marked explicitly rather than implied by tone.

Include a retrospective only when the user explicitly requests one or an approved substantial program designates it. It should capture evidence-backed learning such as changed decisions, disproved assumptions, and promotion recommendations, not routine metrics.

Failures, skipped steps, and scope changes are the most decision-relevant events, so they belong in the first block where the reader cannot miss them. Burying them mid-report risks the reader acting before encountering the caveat that should have informed the decision.

Promote a lesson into a skill or repository doctrine only when it reflects a stable repository property, repeats across materially distinct work, or the user explicitly approves it. A single incident normally remains a local lesson.