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name: close-work-cycle description: HAIOS Close Work Cycle for structured work item closure. Use when closing work items. Guides VALIDATE->ARCHIVE->MEMORY workflow with DoD enforcement. recipes:

• close-work
• update-status generated: 2025-12-25 last_updated: '2026-01-19T17:31:34'

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Close Work Cycle

This skill defines the VALIDATE-ARCHIVE-MEMORY cycle for closing work items with Definition of Done (DoD) enforcement per ADR-033.

When to Use

Invoked automatically by /close command after observation-capture-cycle. Manual invocation: Skill(skill="close-work-cycle") when closing an existing work item.

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The Cycle

Copy[observation-capture-cycle] --> [dod-validation-cycle] --> VALIDATE --> ARCHIVE --> MEMORY --> CHAIN
         │                                                                                       |
         │                                                                                [route next]
   reflection first                                                                              |
   (RECALL->NOTICE->COMMIT)                                                             /-------------\
                                                                                       INV-*    has plan?   else
                                                                                         |         |          |
                                                                                    investigation  implement  work-creation
                                                                                       -cycle      -cycle     -cycle

Entry Gates (MUST):

1. Observation Capture (E2-278): Before starting this cycle, MUST invoke observation-capture-cycle:

   CopySkill(skill="observation-capture-cycle")
   

   This forces genuine reflection in dedicated cognitive context before entering "closing mode."

2. DoD Validation: Before VALIDATE phase, MUST invoke dod-validation-cycle:

   CopySkill(skill="dod-validation-cycle")
   

   This validates DoD criteria in an isolated bridge skill.

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1. VALIDATE Phase

On Entry:

Copyjust set-cycle close-work-cycle VALIDATE {work_id}

Goal: Verify work item meets Definition of Done criteria.

Guardrails (MUST follow):

1. Tests MUST pass - Prompt user to confirm
2. WHY MUST be captured - Check for memory_refs in associated docs
3. Docs MUST be current - CLAUDE.md, READMEs updated
4. Traced files MUST be complete - Associated plans have status: complete

Actions:

1. Read work file: docs/work/active/{id}/WORK.md (or docs/work/active/WORK-{id}-*.md for legacy)
2. Check work directory for plans: docs/work/active/{id}/plans/
3. Check plan statuses - all must be complete
4. For INV-* items: Apply investigation-specific DoD
5. Prompt user for DoD confirmation

Exit Criteria:

• Work file exists and has status: active
• All associated plans have status: complete
• User confirms: tests pass, WHY captured, docs current

Tools: Read, Glob, Grep

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2. ARCHIVE Phase

On Entry:

Copyjust set-cycle close-work-cycle ARCHIVE {work_id}

Goal: Update work item status to complete.

Note: Per ADR-041 "status over location" - work items stay in docs/work/active/ until epoch cleanup. The status: complete field determines state, not directory path.

Actions:

1. Run atomic close-work recipe:

   Copyjust close-work {id}
   

   This atomically performs:

   • Update status: active to status: complete
   • Update closed: null to closed: {YYYY-MM-DD}
   • Run cascade and update-status

2. Update any associated plans to status: complete (if not already)

Exit Criteria:

• just close-work succeeded
• Work file has status: complete and closed: {date}
• Associated plans marked complete

Tools: Bash(just close-work)

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3. MEMORY Phase

On Entry:

Copyjust set-cycle close-work-cycle MEMORY {work_id}

Goal: Store closure summary to memory and verify governance events.

Actions:

3a. Governance Event Check (E2-108)

1. Check for cycle events (soft gate - warns but does not block):

   Copyjust events | grep "{id}"
   

   • If no events found for the work ID, warn that governance may have been bypassed
   • Work item can still close, but warning surfaces potential governance bypass

3b. Memory Capture

1. Store closure summary via ingester_ingest:
   • Title, backlog_id, DoD status, associated documents
   • Include observation summary if any captured in observation-capture-cycle
   • Use source_path: closure:{backlog_id}

3c. Report Closure

1. Report closure to user with memory concept ID

Exit Criteria:

• Governance event check completed (warning if no events)
• Closure summary stored to memory
• User informed of successful closure with memory concept ID

Tools: governance_events.check_work_item_events, ingester_ingest

Note: Status refresh is handled by just close-work in ARCHIVE phase (includes cascade and update-status).

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4. CHAIN Phase (Post-MEMORY)

On Entry:

Copyjust set-cycle close-work-cycle CHAIN {work_id}

Goal: Checkpoint context then route to next work item.

4a. Checkpoint (MUST - E2-287)

MUST invoke checkpoint-cycle before routing to next work:

CopySkill(skill="checkpoint-cycle")

Rationale: Work complexity within hardened gating system makes context limits per work item likely. Checkpointing after closure ensures context from completed work is preserved before starting new work. Next session picks up with full context of decisions made.

4b. Route to Next Work

Actions:

1. (Closure already completed in MEMORY phase)
2. (Checkpoint completed in 4a)
3. Query next work: just ready
4. If items returned, read first work file to check documents.plans
5. Apply routing decision table (see routing-gate skill):
   • If next_work_id is None → await_operator
   • If ID starts with INV- → invoke_investigation
   • If has_plan is True → invoke_implementation
   • Else → invoke_work_creation
6. Execute the action:
   • invoke_investigation -> Skill(skill="investigation-cycle")
   • invoke_implementation -> Skill(skill="implementation-cycle")
   • invoke_work_creation -> Skill(skill="work-creation-cycle")
   • await_operator -> Report "No unblocked work. Awaiting operator direction."

MUST: Do not pause for acknowledgment - checkpoint then execute routing immediately.

Exit Criteria:

• MUST: checkpoint-cycle invoked (E2-287)
• Next work item identified (or none available)
• Appropriate cycle skill invoked (or awaiting operator)

On Complete:

Copyjust clear-cycle

Tools: Bash(just ready), Read, Skill(checkpoint-cycle, routing-gate)

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Composition Map

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Quick Reference

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Key Design Decisions

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Related

• observation-capture-cycle skill: Entry gate for genuine reflection (E2-278)
• observation-triage-cycle skill: Processes captured observations
• work-creation-cycle skill: Parallel workflow for creation
• implementation-cycle skill: Parallel workflow for implementation
• investigation-cycle skill: Parallel workflow for research
• ADR-033: Work Item Lifecycle Governance
• /close command: Invokes observation-capture-cycle then this skill