Implementation Review

Overview

Verify implementation is complete, correct, and safe to merge. This is the merge readiness gate.

Core principle: Catch issues before merge, not after.

Announce at start: "I'm using the implementation-review skill to audit this implementation."

Plan location:

plans/active/{plan-name}/

The Process

Step 1: Load Context

1. Read original plan from

   plans/active/{plan-name}/

2. Get current branch name
3. Find base branch (main/master)

git branch --show-current
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master

Step 2: Gather Implementation Data

Get all commits since diverging from base:

git log --oneline $(git merge-base HEAD main)..HEAD

Get all changed files:

git diff --name-only $(git merge-base HEAD main)..HEAD

Step 3: Evaluate Against Criteria

Correctness:

• Implementation matches plan intent?
• Any drift from plan (features added/removed)?
• All tasks from plan completed?

Completeness:

• Success criteria from plan met?
• All expected files exist?
• Nothing half-done or TODO'd?

Quality:

• Code follows project patterns?
• No obvious bugs?
• Error handling present where needed?

Safety:

• Tests passing?
• No regressions in existing tests?
• No security issues introduced?
• No debug code left (console.log, print, etc.)?

Step 4: Run Checks

Run test suite:

# Detect and run appropriate test command
npm test || cargo test || pytest || go test ./...

Check for debug code:

git diff $(git merge-base HEAD main)..HEAD | grep -E "(console\.log|print\(|debugger|TODO|FIXME)" || echo "None found"

Step 5: Produce Verdict

Output this format:

## Implementation Review: {plan-name}

### Verdict: MERGE READY | NEEDS FIXES | MAJOR ISSUES

### Plan Compliance
- [X] Task 1: [Description] - Implemented correctly
- [X] Task 2: [Description] - Implemented correctly
- [ ] Task 3: [Description] - Partial/Missing [reason]

### Test Results
- Suite: {X}/{Y} passing
- Coverage: {Z}% (if available)

### Quality Checks
- [X] No debug code (console.log, print, etc.)
- [X] Follows project patterns
- [X] Error handling present

### Issues Found
- **[Severity: blocker|major|minor]**: [Description]
  - Location: [file:line]
  - Suggested fix: [How to address]

### Recommendation
[Ready to merge / Fix these N issues first]

Verdict Meanings

Verdict	Meaning	Next Step
MERGE READY	Safe to merge	Finish branch (merge/PR)
NEEDS FIXES	Minor issues to address	Fix, re-review
MAJOR ISSUES	Significant problems	May need plan revision

Issue Severity

Severity	Meaning
blocker	Cannot merge until fixed (test failure, security issue)
major	Should fix before merge (missing functionality, bad pattern)
minor	Nice to fix but not blocking (style, minor improvements)

Red Flags

Never:

• Approve with failing tests
• Skip debug code check
• Ignore plan drift without noting it

Always:

• Run actual test suite
• Compare against original plan
• Check for leftover debug artifacts

Integration

Invoked by:

• gremlins:worktree-workflow (audit phase) - Post-implementation gate
• Standalone for any implementation review

Follows:

• gremlins:executing-plans - Reviews output of implementation

Leads to:

• gremlins:finishing-a-development-branch - When MERGE READY
• gremlins:reach-opportunities - When user opts in after passing

vs verification-before-completion:

• Use implementation-review as the workflow gate (comprehensive, plan-aware)
• Use verification-before-completion for quick ad-hoc checks outside workflow