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Demand Handover

How does Dream ask Engineering for work without turning chat into the backlog?

Use sm-demand-handover when a Dream-side need is ready for Stackmates. The handover names the outcome, pain baseline, capability state, reuse path, Engineering rails, proof slices, and kill signals. It does not build the feature here.

Standard​

  1. Quantify the pain. No number means no demand.
  2. Name the outcome bought, not the feature requested.
  3. Check the Dream capability mirror: REALITY, DREAM, or CONSUMED.
  4. Reuse before rebuild. Existing Stackmates CLI, plans, comms, and agency code are the first place to look.
  5. File the work in the Stackmates-owned path: drmg plan/comms, a governed docs triad, or the current demand card lane.
  6. Emit a receipt with entities and precedent_links when a decision event fires.

Dogfood Rule​

If the needed capability is a CLI capability, Stackmates owns it. Dream files the demand and then uses the CLI as the proof surface. This is how the system proves value: it eats its own dogfood.

Examples:

  • drmg loop status proves return-leg health.
  • drmg capability list proves the mirror can be queried before filing demand.
  • drmg skill route <prompt> proves skill routing can leave prose and become a command.

Action​

Before filing, write the handover in this order:

  1. Outcome: what changes for the operator or venture.
  2. Pain baseline: current time, cost, delay, error, or trust loss.
  3. Capability state: REALITY, DREAM, or CONSUMED.
  4. Reuse verdict: extend, compose, or new-with-justification.
  5. First proof slice: command, test, or visible behavior.
  6. Kill signal: the condition that stops the build.

If any line is unknown, keep it in Dream as a question. Do not send ambiguity to Engineering as if it were demand.

Checks​

  • Demand names a value outcome.
  • Capability mirror was checked.
  • Reuse verdict is extend, compose, or new-with-justification.
  • Proof command and kill signal exist for the first slice.
  • #meta is used only to signal the filed artifact, not as the artifact.

Failure Modes​

  • Feature disguised as outcome: the handover asks for a tool but never names the value bought.
  • Mirror skipped: Dream asks Stackmates to rebuild capability already marked REALITY.
  • Chat backlog: #meta becomes the artifact instead of pointing to one.
  • No kill signal: Engineering cannot tell when the first slice should stop.

Context​

  • Platform — Engineering work belongs on the platform side of the brain.
  • Triad System — demand is the Bridge from Dream to proven Reality.
  • Capability Reporting — shipped proof returns through a structured heartbeat.
  • Priority Formula — scarce Engineering attention needs a value test.

Questions​

What proof would let Engineering close the first slice without asking Dream to restate the intent?

  • What pain number justifies this handover?
  • Which existing Stackmates command or plan can be reused?
  • What would make this demand wrong?