isa

To define a verifiable definition of done for a redesign task, you generate an Ideal State Artifact containing 3-10 atomic Ideal State Criteria with explicit pass/fail signals. This ensures completion is evidence-based rather than subjective.

An Ideal State Artifact (ISA) is a structured document that defines a task's measurable end-state with discrete, checkable criteria. You need an ISA for task planning when executing multi-step refactors, audits, or redesigns that lack a crisp done-state.

Prevent scope creep during a content commission or research deliverable by defining anti-goals, out-of-scope items, and constraints alongside your Ideal State Criteria. These scope guardrails keep execution aligned with the original ideal state artifact.

Yes, you can use mapped verification for audit criteria in research deliverables by assigning each criterion a concrete test command or verification procedure. This creates an evidence-based ship gate that confirms all atomic criteria pass before final delivery.

Yes, the Ideal State Artifact workflow requires YAML frontmatter to define the ISA structure and persists the result to a .ai/ISA-<slug>.md file. This ensures the task planning definition of done is version-controlled and accessible.

Using atomic Ideal State Criteria for a small refactor may introduce unnecessary overhead, as the workflow requires generating 3-10 discrete criteria with explicit verification procedures. This structured ship-gate approach is designed for multi-step work lacking a crisp done-state.