# QA Plan: Stage prompt audition

**Status:** COMPLETED — guidance benefit not demonstrated
**Run date / operator:** 2026-07-16 — local 12B audition; unseeded stochastic batch
**BACKLOG item:** Vikunja #169

**Results:** [QA-stage-prompt-audition-results-2026-07-16.md](QA-stage-prompt-audition-results-2026-07-16.md)

## Preconditions

- [x] Use one fixed intent and a freshly wiped scratch workspace per variant.
- [x] Retain per-session server logs, independent build logs, and a machine-readable result table.
- [ ] Pin and record a deterministic seed and complete model checksum/config metadata in a future benchmark-grade rerun.

## Acceptance gate

> A curated prompt variant is adopted only if it improves gate pass rate or wasted tool rounds without increasing context truncation on the same model and task fixture.

## Checks

| # | Action | Expected observable evidence | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Run guidance ON and OFF variants for five samples each. | Session event logs identify every stage inference and terminal workflow outcome. | Pass: 10/10 completed |
| 2 | Compare build success, inference turns, approvals, tool outcomes, and retries. | Per-variant result table derived from events against the same fixture. | Pass: results report committed |
| 3 | Select the smallest improving variant. | A committed finding names the selected variant and evidence; otherwise no prompt expansion lands. | No winner: benefit not demonstrated |

## Current static audit finding

The runtime has two stage-facing sources: workflow prompt files and the compact `CURATED_STAGE_OPERATING_GUIDANCE` L0 system entry. The completed five-pair audition found identical final success and no stable efficiency improvement from guidance. See the linked results report for the controlled data, excluded exploratory sessions, and the architect-generated `@types/vite` failure loop.

## Out of scope

- A live benchmark result; this repository has no fixed model artifact or benchmark fixture checked in.
- Replacing deterministic gates with prompt text.
