Smallest Trustworthy Verification
smallest-trustworthy-verification
Summary
Verification is weak when it is either skipped or broad without covering the likely failure. Run the cheapest check that could catch the risk introduced by the change, broadening only when shared contracts or user-visible behavior require it.
Problem
A change can be marked done after either no verification or an expensive check that does not cover the actual risk. Both outcomes leave the reviewer guessing whether the likely failure was tested.
Preferred Move
Run the cheapest check that could catch the likely failure introduced by the change. Use formatting checks for Markdown shape, type checks for signature movement, focused tests for behavior, and broader suites when shared contracts changed.
Tradeoff
A cheap check is not trustworthy when it would pass despite the likely bug. Broaden verification when the change crosses modules, public behavior, generated artifacts, or user-visible workflows.
Agent Instruction
Before calling work complete, run the smallest check that can catch the likely failure. Report what
ran and do not imply broader verification than you performed.Examples
Bad: the check is broad-sounding but not tied to the changed surface.
Looks good.
Good: the check can fail for the changed Markdown rules.
Ran markdownlint-cli2 "**/*.md"; passed.