A status label can stay still while the work beneath it changes. That makes a simple summary misleading for everyone relying on it.
The practical check
Check whether the parent status agrees with completed, active, blocked, and released work underneath it before using it to make a decision.
Where AI fits
AI can group related work and surface mismatches between a summary label and the evidence below it.
The human decision
People decide what the status means and correct the record before it drives priorities.
The lesson
A summary status is useful only when it is reconciled with the completed, active, blocked, and released work that actually sits beneath it.
Headline status is lined up with the mix of finished, underway, stalled, and shipped work underneath in the Build Log companion.
AI Skills
Use this lesson with the AI assistant you already use
Create a parent status, underlying evidence, mismatch, and owner table.
Paste the prompt, share only the context needed to answer it, and treat the result as a draft for your review. Do not include confidential information or let an AI assistant make changes without your approval.
Optional: for a visual report and saved memory, run /dxdev first.
Don’t have it? Get it at dxdev.com/skills/dxdev. The prompt works without it.
dxdev LESSON · paste into your AI agent
LESSON: Check Whether Status Matches Work
WHAT TO SHARE:
A de-identified description of the work, current evidence, and the decision you are considering.
ASK YOUR AGENT TO:
1. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and unanswered questions.
2. Create a parent status, underlying evidence, mismatch, and owner table.
3. Identify the narrowest useful next review step.
RETURN:
A short table with the evidence, uncertainty, human-owned decision, and next action.
BOUNDARY: Do not change records, contact anyone, route work, publish content, or act in an external system. A person must review the evidence and approve every consequential step.
