A handoff should transfer intent, not just files
Specifications, wireframes, source code, test results, and deployment logs often live in separate tools. Each artifact may be correct on its own while the product drifts between them.
A connected product loop gives every artifact an upstream contract and a current revision. UX can show which requirement a flow satisfies. QA can show which acceptance criterion a test proves. Production can show which approved revision is running.
Gates make progress honest
A gate is not bureaucracy. It is a named decision about whether the current evidence is sufficient to advance. The important word is current: an approval for an older requirement should not pass a newer revision.
- Specification approved
- PRD approved
- UX reviewed
- Prototype accepted
- Development complete
- QA passed
- Release approved
- Production healthy
Let change travel forward visibly
Change is normal. Hidden change is expensive. When a requirement moves, identify the affected artifacts and checks rather than restarting the entire project or pretending the previous evidence still applies.
This produces a product history that both humans and agents can follow: not a pile of documents, but a chain of decisions and proof.