Decision Record

Context

The project needs one two-to-four-week vertical slice that tests a real communication problem and the ROS operating model without production-sensitive data.

Decision

Build and evaluate a minimal handoff reconstruction evaluator: given a named successor, next task, and handoff artifact, it produces a rubric/check result and supports a blinded comparison against a conventional status note.

Alternatives

• Architecture explanation assistant: valuable but audience/domain breadth raises evaluation cost.
• Newcomer onboarding guide: too multidimensional for the first slice.
• Code-change rationale generator: useful but creates provenance and hallucination risk before an evaluation harness exists.
• No product; documentation-only pilot: lower engineering value and weaker observable behavioral test.

Evidence

EV-HANDOFF-2026-2A10, EV-HANDOFF-2026-4F92, EV-HANDOFF-2026-73D4, and counterevidence EV-HANDOFF-2026-B6E8.

Consequences

The first user is a successor resuming a repository task. The primary outcome is safe continuation under a predeclared accessible time policy, with critical harm and lifecycle cost assessed separately. This does not validate “Communication Engineering” as a discipline or ROS as a whole.

Reversibility

High. The pilot uses synthetic or public repository records and can stop before product integration.

Follow-up validation

Preregister and run EX-HANDOFF-2026-0D7A. Revoke the decision if authoring cost, incorrect confidence, or null effects fail the stopping rule.