Repository source: docs/plans/effort_estimation_trial/effort_estimation_trial_step4_implementation_summary.md

Feature plan: Step 1 · Step 2 · Step 3 · Step 4

Debug mode: enabled

Effort estimation trial — implementation summary

Step 3 explicitly approved by the user. Branch: feat/effort-estimation-trial. Planning commit: 89ae9c13. Setup is not a scored study candidate; no earlier checkpoint values are backfilled. Unrelated pre-existing todo.txt changes are preserved and excluded from commits.

Stage 1 - Protocol and provenance

Changes: Created the host ledger with frozen R1 source hashes, checkpoint semantics, exposure, revision/recovery rules, candidate/split counting and closeout fields.
Verification: Passed source accessibility and SHA-256 generation, local Markdown link checks and git diff --check; stage files restricted to ledger and this summary. Runtime, UI, deployment and migrations are inapplicable to documentation-only work.
Notes: External calibration sources remain required and recoverable by hash; maintainer acceptance and six candidate outcomes are pending. Candidate selection begins after this stage commit.

Stage 2 - Six scoped candidates

Changes: Saved six initial scopes/ratings before application source screening, then appended source findings and unchanged-score confirmations; E03 narrowed from thread/reply tags to editable New thread tags, 0.08 to 0.06, without erasing intake. Recorded exclusions for prior work and a pending checkpoint table.
Verification: Passed feedback/plan/source traceability review, all six outcome/recovery/dependency/start-revision fields, local study link checks and git diff --check. Read-only source evidence supports proposals; iPhone/mobile behavior is not runtime-verified. Runtime, UI and deployment checks are inapplicable to setup; their later requirements remain explicit per candidate.
Notes: Stage 1 commit e8548e75. No independent/blind rater claim. No near-ceiling candidate is forced into the batch. Current scope and code baseline can change before selection; recheck and append estimates in the selected feature cycle. Source search initially included minified library output; reran targeted template/CSS checks for the evidence recorded here.

Stage 3 - Vendored workflow integration

Changes: Added opt-in estimation contract to vendored Railspike and hooks to eight step/phase files; retained approval/commit boundaries and no-score behavior for unrelated cycles. Updated the host reference to disclose local divergence, unchanged upstream provenance and later roll-up/update responsibilities.
Verification: Passed concrete local links across vendor/host guidance, all eight checkpoint hooks, generic-contract absence of project paths, approved-file scope and git diff --check. Initial link checker encountered intentional {feature_name} template placeholders; excluding those templates produced a pass. Runtime/UI/deployment checks are inapplicable to instruction-only changes.
Notes: Stage 2 commit 17222a5d. No AGENTS.md or upstream provenance identifier changes. The setup is not selected as a scored candidate. No change to todo.txt was made or staged; its initially observed modification was no longer present at this stage's status check.

Stage 4 - Walkthroughs and handoff

Changes: Completed the ledger's operational resumption/closeout checklist, marked setup complete with 0/6 accepted outcomes, and saved the separate user-only checklist. The six candidates and R1 remain subject to maintainer review.
Verification: Passed the document walkthroughs below, source-hash recheck, concrete local links, candidate-field/history review, allowed-file comparison and git diff --check. These are static instruction checks, not proof that future agents will follow them. Runtime, UI, full application tests, deployment, migrations and feature device acceptance are inapplicable to setup; candidate acceptance requirements remain pending in their separate cycles.
Notes: Stage 3 commit 3954ae89 contains the reusable product patch for later roll-up. No upstream submission, subtree update, merge or deployment performed. The previously requested personal checklist is included now, outside the planning commit's restricted scope.

Document walkthrough evidence

All examples below are synthetic and excluded from candidate scores/outcome counts. Performed by reading the installed entrypoint, each relevant phase hook and the host protocol in sequence.

Case	Trace through installed instructions	Result
New selected cycle	Explicit selection in host ledger → first artifact records study ID and ledger link → intake before detailed inspection → Steps 1, 2 and 3 handoffs preserve total projections → approval/branch/planning commit → summary created → Step 4 entry projection → closeout retrospective record. Synthetic 0.20 → 0.25 → 0.25 → 0.30 → 0.30 remains a history, not a replacement value.	Passed: contract and all phase hooks provide the required points; Step 4 summary/ledger cannot leak into the planning commit.
Step 1 skipped	Selected cycle enters Step 2; Step 2 hook preserves intake and captures its scope projection. Ledger records Step 1 not applicable, never zero. Later Steps 3/4 proceed normally.	Passed: optional Step 1 does not erase intake or invent a score.
Revised step	Synthetic Step 2 v1/0.25 retained; v2 adds required recovery and gets 0.35 with UTC date, rater, exposure, reference and scope-change reason. Changed scope needs renewed approval, then reconciled Step 3; an unchanged later estimate explicitly reaffirms 0.35.	Passed: amendment is append-only and cannot bypass approval.
Resume with missing checkpoint	Selected ledger row but absent current field triggers state recovery, not silent opt-out. Earlier Step 2 score is missing: record missing, restore scope/R1 from evidence, capture current projection without pretending it was earlier. Missing/changed source halts rating until restoration or explicit replacement version.	Passed: no fabricated history or silent reference reset.
Unselected control	Ordinary feature has no explicit selection in artifacts or ledger. All hooks defer to the opt-in contract.	Passed: no extra scoring or ledger requirement.
Closeout and split control	Final stage appends retrospective assessment and authorized ledger update before its commit. Missing maintainer judgment stays pending. A split retains the original candidate scope and child links; no silent extra outcomes.	Passed: technical completion and study acceptance remain distinct.

Final setup result

Passed: four planned stages, frozen provenance, six proposals with retained intake and post-screen histories, vendored contract/eight phase hooks, local-divergence documentation and a separate personal checklist.
Pending by design: maintainer anchor/candidate review, all feature approvals and outcomes, real-device feature acceptance, independent ratings if desired, and the separate six-outcome review.
Inapplicable: application/runtime/deployment validation because only approved documentation changed.
Next action: review the ledger and choose a candidate; the agent will initiate that feature's own Railspike cycle. No new implementation approval is implied by selection alone.