Release Readiness

• All acceptance criteria for the milestone are met.
• No TODO items remain that are required for the release.
• Edge cases and error states have been tested, not just the happy path.

3. Documentation currency

• CHANGELOG.md is updated with user-visible changes.
• RELEASE_NOTES.md reflects the current release target.
• WHERE_LEFT_OFF.md is current and actionable.
• API documentation is updated if contracts changed.

4. Risk assessment

• RISK_REGISTER.md is current — no new unrecorded risks.
• FIXME.md has no severity-critical open items.
• No known data-loss or security issues are unresolved.
• Rollback plan exists for high-risk changes.

5. Operational readiness

• Install and launch verification passes.
• Required environment variables are documented.
• No hardcoded paths, credentials, or machine-local assumptions.
• Packaging or deploy pipeline has been tested if applicable.

Readiness verdict

Classify as one of:

• Ready: All checks pass. No blocking issues. Release can proceed.
• Ready with caveats: Minor issues documented and accepted. Release can proceed with noted limitations.
• Not ready: Blocking issues exist. List each blocker with severity and required action.

Output

• readiness verdict (ready / ready with caveats / not ready)
• evidence summary (which checks passed, which failed)
• missing evidence (what was not verified and why)
• unresolved risks with severity
• required next actions before release can proceed