QUICK-6: six questions before engineering
Protocol 0.1-rc.4-candidate.3 · Advisor-led · Low risk only
Purpose: decide whether the evidence supports a bounded engineering commitment—not deployment.
Check risk first. Any moderate, high, or unknown risk dimension routes to FULL. Use QUICK-6 only when current records and the proposed artifact are available. The <=15-minute target is untested; preparation is reported separately. Capture and explaining the result count as session time.
Also screen consequential context: safety/rights or irreversible external actions require high-depth FULL; sensitive data or untrusted input influencing actions require at least moderate FULL. Unknown prevents the quick path. Explain the basis, not just yes/no.
| Ask in ordinary language | Look for |
|---|---|
| 1. What happens today? | A recent measured case; connected current steps, people, time, touches, errors, review, escalation, rework, and volume. |
| 2. What needs to improve, for whom? | Actual need, alternatives and affected people; screen access/use, privacy/security, unequal effects and human agency. |
| 3. What happens when things go wrong? | Connected normal, edge and recovery paths with a reachable exit; owners and explicit authority limits. |
| 4. What demonstrates the important behavior? | Each check bound to the exact artifact AND requirement/context. Label specified or simulated behavior. |
| 5. What work remains for people? | Review, correction, escalation/rework, residual manual work, and recurring/one-time costs. |
| 6. Is that enough to fund the next step? | Low-risk threshold met, human evidence-quality review recorded, critical findings resolved, owner and bounded limits. |
Stop visibly; leave a useful next action
At the first failed or missing gate, say:
“We cannot support the engineering commitment yet because ____. The next action is ____. The owner is ____.”
Record the stopped gate. Later questions are NOT_EVALUATED, not passes. Keep known critical findings visible. Missing evidence means INSUFFICIENT_EVIDENCE; a demonstrated defect means REVISE. Missing baseline means ROI is indeterminate.
If continuing in FULL, save the stopped record first, then create a linked revision using previous_run_id and revision_summary. Reuse unchanged evidence. Do not erase the earlier stop.
Close the conversation
When all gates pass, PROCEED_TO_ENGINEERING means the owner may consider a bounded engineering step. It says nothing about deployment or operational performance.
Machine checks are partial. They cannot authenticate evidence or the recorded human review. Do not convert a pass into certification.
Ask the participant: “In your own words, what does this result allow—and what is the next action?” Record confusion rather than coaching it away. Ask whether the evidence was easy to find.
Minimal session notes
Workflow and unit of work: ____
Date / facilitator / participant role: ____
Risk and reason: ____
Preparation / session minutes: ____ / ____
Stopped gate or all gates passed: ____
Missing evidence / next action / owner: ____
Participant's explanation and confusing questions: ____
The full record is completed by the facilitator or tool. Use the conversation worksheet if helpful. Do not promise savings. See Start here or FULL.