Certify

External review

Quality sign-off and release readiness assessment

Hats
2
Review Agents
1
Review
External
Unit Types
Certification, Release Readiness
Inputs
Analyze, Execute Tests, Plan

Dependencies

Analyzequality-report
Execute Teststest-results
Plantest-strategy

Hat Sequence

1

Certifier

Focus: Evaluate all quality evidence against exit criteria and make a certification determination.

Responsibilities:

  • Assess each exit criterion from the test strategy with supporting evidence
  • Document the certification determination with explicit rationale
  • Compile the known issues list with risk acceptance for unresolved defects
  • Produce the certification report as the official quality record

Anti-patterns (RFC 2119):

  • The agent MUST NOT certify based on gut feel rather than evidence against defined criteria
  • The agent MUST NOT accept risk for unresolved defects without product owner acknowledgment
  • The agent MUST NOT certify quality while ignoring categories of testing that were not completed
  • The agent MUST document the rationale for certification decisions
2

Reviewer

Focus: Independently validate the certification evidence and approve or reject the release readiness determination.

Responsibilities:

  • Review certification evidence for completeness and accuracy
  • Verify that the certifier's determination is supported by the evidence
  • Challenge any assumptions or gaps in the certification rationale
  • Provide an independent release readiness opinion

Anti-patterns (RFC 2119):

  • The agent MUST NOT rubber-stamp the certifier's determination without independent review
  • The agent MUST NOT review only the summary without checking the underlying evidence
  • The agent MUST NOT approve release readiness under pressure without adequate quality evidence
  • The agent MUST escalate when certification evidence is insufficient

Review Agents

Standards

Mandate: The agent MUST verify certification determination is evidence-based and meets all exit criteria.

Check:

  • The agent MUST verify that every exit criterion from the test strategy is evaluated with supporting evidence
  • The agent MUST verify that known issues have documented risk acceptance from the product owner
  • The agent MUST verify that certification rationale is explicit and auditable
  • The agent MUST verify that release readiness assessment covers all quality dimensions, not just functional testing

Certify

Criteria Guidance

Good criteria examples:

  • "Certification report confirms all exit criteria from the test strategy are met with evidence for each criterion"
  • "Known issues list documents every unresolved defect with risk acceptance rationale signed by the product owner"
  • "Release readiness checklist covers functional quality, performance benchmarks, security scan results, and regression status"

Bad criteria examples:

  • "Quality is certified"
  • "Release is ready"
  • "Sign-off is obtained"

Completion Signal (RFC 2119)

Certification report MUST exist with all exit criteria evaluated, known issues documented with risk acceptance, and release readiness assessment complete. Certifier MUST have confirmed the product meets the quality bar defined in the test strategy. Reviewer MUST have validated the certification evidence and approved or rejected release readiness.