Summary

Protocol upgrade from v6.5 to v6.6, adding interim QC sessions every 3 decomposition sessions to catch missing rationale and verification attributes early.

Changes

1. Interim QC every 3 decomposition sessions

Problem: The bot was applying --verification to requirements but consistently omitting --rationale, despite the v6.5 protocol marking it as MANDATORY. The issue went undetected until the system reached first-pass-complete and QC ran — by then, dozens of requirements lacked rationale, requiring a large backfill effort.

Fix: After every 3 decomposition sessions on the same system, the bot runs an interim QC pass (Flow C) scoped to recently created requirements. The count is tracked via a LAST_QC_SESSION Substrate fact. Interim QC does not change DECOMPOSITION_STATUS — the bot resumes decomposition afterward.

2. Rationale audit as first QC check

Problem: The QC review (Flow C) checked testability, ambiguity, completeness, and duplicates, but did not explicitly check for missing --rationale and --verification attributes. These are API fields, not visible in the requirement text.

Fix: Flow C step 3 now starts with an explicit attribute check:

# Count requirements missing rationale
jq '[.[] | select(.rationale == null or .rationale == "")] | length' /tmp/se_reqs.json

# Count requirements missing verification
jq '[.[] | select(.verification == null or .verification == "")] | length' /tmp/se_reqs.json

Any requirement missing rationale is updated in-session via airgen reqs update <ref> --rationale "<justification>".

3. Strengthened rationale mandate

Problem: The v6.5 rule said “Every requirement must include --verification and --rationale” but was buried in the Hard Constraints section. The bot treated it as guidance rather than a hard requirement.

Fix: Rule reformatted with MANDATORY prefix, explicit prohibition of placeholder text (“TBD”, “see above”), and instruction not to omit for budget savings.

Implications

1. From session 220 onward, an interim QC runs every 3 decomposition sessions.
2. The Smart Building Management System (currently in progress) will be the first to experience interim QC.
3. Missing rationale on existing systems will be caught during their next QC or validation pass.
4. Protocol version is now 6.6.

Version manifest

Component	Version	Notes
Session protocol	6.6	Up from 6.5
Interim QC	Every 3 sessions	New
QC step 3	+rationale/verification audit	Explicit attribute check
Rationale mandate	MANDATORY, no placeholders	Strengthened from v6.5