Proof paths for managers
Turn a proof path into the right review question.
This page translates TraceMap proof paths into manager and reviewer decision terms: what to inspect, what deterministic static evidence can support, where the coverage label limits the sentence, and which owner category should answer the next question.
Public claim level: concept. No public conclusion without evidence. This surface coordinates review questions; it does not automate management, product, runtime, release, or service-owner decisions.
Placement
This is the manager lens inside the proof-path family.
/manager-brief/The brief frames the coordination problem; this page turns proof paths into bounded decision questions and owner routing.
/manager-faq/The FAQ answers repeated stakeholder questions; this page provides a reusable matrix and anatomy checklist.
/manager-packet/The packet summarizes the TraceMap conversation; this page explains how to read and route a proof path before repeating a claim.
/packets/ and /packets/assembly/Packet pages describe ingredients and handoff assembly; this page is manager-facing proof interpretation.
/proof-paths/The overview remains the canonical proof-path index; this page adds the manager and reviewer decision lens.
/proof-paths/faq/ and /proof-paths/tour/The FAQ handles general proof-path questions and the tour gives a guided reading flow; this page is a reference matrix.
/proof-source-catalog/The catalog inventories public-safe source material; this page routes publication and owner questions around that material.
Manager question matrix
Each row keeps evidence, limitation, coverage, stop condition, and next owner attached.
| Manager or reviewer question | Evidence packet to inspect | What static evidence can support | What it does not prove | Coverage-label consequence | Stop condition | Next owner | Supporting public route |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What changed in the code path we are reviewing? | Review packet or proof path with rule ID or rule family, evidence tier, coverage label, commit context, file span, limitation, and validation evidence. | A static reference, dependency, route, contract, or artifact relationship when the cited rule and tier support it. | Runtime behavior, production traffic, user impact, release safety, or product correctness. | Preserve exact coverage label; downgrade if syntax-only, reduced, unknown, or private-only. | Stop when the answer would say what actually ran, served traffic, or affected users. | Reviewer, service owner, code owner, or architect. | /proof-paths/ or /packets/assembly/ |
| What evidence supports repeating this claim? | Claim review packet with public claim level, proof path, rule ID or rule family, evidence tier, coverage label, limitation, non-claim, and source context. | Whether the public sentence has visible static evidence and the fields needed for review. | Approval, safety, absence of risk, absence of impact, or complete coverage. | If coverage is reduced or unknown, repeat only a downgraded or gap-labeled claim. | Stop when required proof fields are missing, private-only, or inconsistent with the wording. | Reviewer or TraceMap owner. | /review-claim-checklist/ |
| What does reduced or partial coverage mean for this decision? | Evidence packet with coverage label, analysis gaps, build or scan status, evidence tier, and limitation. | The analysis boundary and what was or was not available to the static scanner. | That the repository is clean, fully analyzed, affected, unaffected, or ready for a reducer-backed impact conclusion. | Keep the reduced or partial label visible and route unknowns instead of smoothing them into a clean conclusion. | Stop when someone tries to upgrade partial evidence into full certainty. | TraceMap owner, reviewer, service owner, or build/tooling owner. | /limitations/ |
| Who should answer runtime or product behavior next? | Proof path plus limitation and owner routing row. | The static evidence boundary and the owner category needed for the next question. | Runtime truth, product tradeoff, customer impact, priority, or ownership assignment. | Coverage labels decide whether the static answer can be repeated or must become an owner follow-up. | Stop when the question asks what users saw, what happened in production, or what product decision to make. | Runtime observability owner, product owner, manager, or service owner. | /static-vs-runtime/ and /questions/ |
| Can this evidence approve, block, or certify a release? | Release-review input packet with claim level, proof path, validation status, tests, limitations, and review notes. | Static review inputs and questions to ask before a release decision. | Release approval, release blocking, release certification, release safety, or operational safety. | Reduced, unknown, or private-only evidence cannot be promoted to approval language. | Stop before wording would approve, block, certify, or declare a release safe. | Release owner, test owner, reviewer, and service owner. | /review-claim-checklist/ |
| Can this evidence explain production traffic, endpoint performance, or outage cause? | Static proof path plus static-vs-runtime boundary. | Static code, config, route, dependency, or contract evidence when a rule supports it. | Live requests, latency, throughput, errors, traces, logs, incident timeline, or outage cause. | Coverage labels remain static-analysis labels, not observability labels. | Stop when the answer needs telemetry, dashboards, logs, traces, incident command, or postmortem evidence. | Runtime observability owner, service owner, or incident owner. | /static-vs-runtime/ |
| Can this evidence be shared publicly? | Public-safe packet summary, proof-source catalog entry, or sanitized demo surface. | Whether a public-safe route or summary can carry the claim without raw material. | That raw local artifacts, private paths, snippets, SQL, config, secrets, remotes, logs, or private names are safe to publish. | Private-only evidence becomes a limitation, not public proof. | Stop when supporting material is raw, private, local-only, hidden, or credential-like. | Security owner, repository owner, or TraceMap site owner. | /proof-source-catalog/ |
| What should happen when evidence is missing, private-only, syntax-only, or unknown? | Gap-labeled packet with missing field, evidence tier, coverage label, limitation, and owner follow-up. | The existence and location of the analysis gap. | Absence of impact, absence of dependency, correctness, safety, or complete coverage. | Gap and unknown labels must travel with the claim or block public repetition. | Stop, downgrade, keep internal, or hand off rather than filling the gap with confidence. | Reviewer, service owner, TraceMap owner, or manager. | /limitations/ |
Proof path anatomy
Preserve these fields before repeating a claim.
Dropping any required field weakens or blocks the public conclusion. The packet can still be useful, but the missing field becomes a limitation, gap, internal-only note, or owner follow-up.
claim/questionClaim or question being reviewed, with the sentence kept narrow enough for the cited proof path.claim levelPublic claim level, including this page's concept level and any stricter linked evidence label.proof path/packet linkPublic-safe route or packet link that another reviewer can inspect.rule ID/familyRule ID or rule family, with the documented limitation attached.tierTier1Semantic, Tier2Structural, Tier3SyntaxOrTextual, or Tier4Unknown.coverage labelCoverage label copied from the cited evidence: reduced, partial, unknown, unavailable, syntax-only, private-only, future-only, or gap-labeled when those boundaries apply.commit/source contextCommit or public-safe source context when available, or a visible limitation when not available.extractor/schema familyExtractor version or schema family when available, so repeatability can be reviewed.public-safe file path/spanPublic-safe file path and line span when shareable, or an explicit limitation when not public-safe.snippet hash or summarySnippet hash or public-safe summary when available; raw snippets stay out of public copy by default.artifact familyscan-manifest.json, facts.ndjson, index.sqlite, report.md, and logs/analyzer.log as local output categories unless a sanitized public summary exists.limitationThe documented limit that travels with the claim.non-claimThe explicit statement of what the evidence does not prove.validation evidenceValidation evidence that a reviewer can inspect without raw command output.unresolved gapsUnknown, missing, syntax-only, private-only, or future-only fields that remain attached.next ownerPublic role category for the next question after static evidence reaches its boundary.Limits and non-claims
Static evidence supports review conversations, not runtime or release conclusions.
- A proof path can support a deterministic static evidence conversation, not a runtime conclusion.
- Coverage labels such as reduced, partial, unknown, unavailable, syntax-only, private-only, future-only, and gap-labeled must remain visible with the claim.
- Missing evidence is a gap, downgrade, internal-only note, or owner follow-up, not proof of no impact, no dependency, no risk, safety, or correctness.
- A manager may use the packet to coordinate review questions, but the packet does not make product, release, runtime, security, staffing, priority, or approval decisions.
- Static evidence does not prove production traffic, runtime behavior, endpoint performance, outage cause, release safety, operational safety, complete coverage, or customer impact.
- TraceMap core scanner and reducer claims are deterministic and evidence-backed, not AI/LLM impact analysis, embeddings, vector databases, prompt classification, or confidence scoring.
- TraceMap can point to owner categories, but does not assign accountability, organizational authority, incident command, release authority, staffing, priority, or product ownership.
Next-owner routing
When the static proof path stops, route the next question by evidence type.
Runtime evidenceRuntime behavior, telemetry, live errors, logs, traces, metrics, production traffic, and endpoint performance go to a runtime observability owner or service owner.
Product judgmentProduct behavior, user workflow, customer impact, priority, and product tradeoff questions go to a product owner, manager, or service owner.
Release processRelease approval, release blocking, release certification, deployment timing, and release safety questions go to release owners, test owners, reviewers, and the release process.
Test evidenceRegression coverage, reproduction, test evidence, and verification strategy go to test owners and reviewers.
Source interpretationSource meaning, code ownership, service architecture, and service follow-up go to service owners, code owners, reviewers, or architects.
Publication policyRaw artifact sharing, secrets, private paths, repository remotes, and public-publication questions go to security owners, repository owners, or TraceMap site owners.
TraceMap limitsScanner and reducer limitations, rule catalog gaps, coverage labels, extractor versions, and public site claim wording go to TraceMap owners or reviewers.
Illustrative pattern
Use synthetic rows to practice the shape without inventing findings.
This example is illustrative only, not a real TraceMap finding.
Claim/questionCan this static dependency note be repeated in a manager review? Illustrative only.
Rule and tier
example.manager.proof-path.v1 with Tier2Structural; Tier4Unknown would require a gap label.Coverage and context
partial coverage, illustrative commit label abc1234, and an example schema family proof-path-example-v0.Public-safe supportProof path overview, packet assembly, and claim checklist.
Limitation and next ownerStatic evidence can orient a reviewer; runtime or product questions go to the runtime observability owner, product owner, or service owner.
Adjacent public-safe routes