Impact Classification

Every change is classified by impact before the agent acts. This determines the level of ceremony, verification, and approval required.

Impact Levels

Low Impact

Examples: Typo fix, log message, formatting change.

Behavior: Direct action, no checkpoints. Skips validation against spec, comprehension checkpoint, reasoning log, and pre-PR review.

Medium Impact

Examples: New function, local refactoring, adding a validation.

Behavior: Plan + confirmation + automated review. The agent presents the approach and waits for the developer to confirm understanding.

High Impact

Examples: New service, schema change, public API modification.

Behavior: Mandatory ADR + explicit approval + full review + all checkpoints. Not eligible for streamlined mode.

Decision Flow

flowchart TD
  start["Change requested"] --> classify{"Classify impact"}
  classify -->|"Typo, log, format"| low["Low Impact"]
  classify -->|"New function, refactor"| medium["Medium Impact"]
  classify -->|"Service, API, schema"| high["High Impact"]

  low --> action["Direct action"]
  medium --> plan["Present plan"] --> confirm["Developer confirms"] --> implement["Implement + auto review"]
  high --> adr["Create/reference ADR"] --> approval["Explicit approval"] --> checkpoint["Comprehension checkpoint"] --> fullreview["Implement + full review"]

Reclassification

If a task classified as low turns out to be more complex during implementation, it is reclassified upward to medium. The agent pauses and applies the appropriate ceremony.

What Each Level Skips or Requires

Checkpoint	Low	Medium	High
Validation against spec	Skip	Apply	Apply
Comprehension checkpoint	Skip	Apply	Apply
Reasoning log entry	Skip	Optional	Required
Pre-PR review	Skip	Automated	Full review
ADR required	No	No	Yes
Trade-off explanation	No	Yes	Yes
Developer approval	No	Yes	Yes + explicit

Comprehension Checkpoints: What happens during medium and high impact tasks
Delivery Guardrails: The philosophy behind structured verification
ADR 0005: Socratic AI: The decision behind adaptive ceremony