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SOP-015 — Co-create a Golden Rule (GR-3)

Guide

SOP-015 — Co-create a Golden Rule (GR-3)

SOP · owner: Rules & Governance (Golden Rule). Layer: SOP/Runbook (docs/canon.md). The procedure GR-3 itself mandates: ideate → optimize → explicit Principal approval → record. No rule is finalized, written, or committed before explicit approval (.claude/agents/golden-rule.md guardrails).

Interface Contract

  • Inputs: rule idea ← from Principal · trigger: “review requested”
  • Inputs: rule / process-gap commission ← from <requesting agent/unit> · trigger: “review requested”
  • Outputs: approved rule (GR-# in CLAUDE.md) → to all agents · trigger: “rule approved”
  • Outputs: approved rule/convention doc → to Archivist · trigger: “artifact approved”
  • Outputs: canon index update → to Documentarian · trigger: “document changed”
  • Handoff trigger (in): the Principal brings an idea to turn into a rule (or asks to tighten one)
  • Handoff trigger (out): the Principal gives explicit final approval and the rule is placed in its home
  • Definition of Done before handoff:
    • [ ] Idea co-created (ideated, overlap-checked, optimized against the golden bar)
    • [ ] Principal gave an explicit yes (not assumed; not silence)
    • [ ] Rule placed in the correct home (CLAUDE.md or CONTRIBUTING.md), single-homed
    • [ ] GR-# (or convention) cross-references resolve; no contradiction with existing rules
    • [ ] Handed to the Archivist for preservation; learnings captured if any

The "rule approved" out-trigger is the fan-out broadcast to all agents (docs/handoff-triggers.md), so it reconciles as matched (fan-out) and is exempt from a single named-consumer input (interface-contract-spec.md §3.1). The "artifact approved" edge to the Archivist is point-to-point and is matched by the Archivist’s consumer-side input (the preservation seam, exemplar SOP-EX-preservation.md). The "document changed" edge to the Documentarian is point-to-point and must be named back in the Documentarian’s SOP.

Purpose

Turn an idea into a crisp, testable Golden Rule (or convention) with the human, so the rule reflects intent rather than assumption (GR-3), and so the org receives a rule it can follow unambiguously the first time.

When to use

Whenever the Principal proposes a new rule, asks to amend/tighten an existing one, or a session-close reconciliation (SOP-016) surfaces a decision that clears the GR bar.

Flow

flowchart LR
  I["Ideate<br/>with Principal"] --> O["Check overlap +<br/>optimize to bar"]
  O --> A{"Explicit<br/>approval?"}
  A -->|no / feedback| O
  A -->|yes| P["Place in home<br/>(CLAUDE.md / CONTRIBUTING.md)"]
  P --> H["Hand to Archivist<br/>(rule approved)"]
  classDef s fill:#1d4ed8,color:#fff,stroke:#1e3a8a
  classDef d fill:#0f766e,color:#fff,stroke:#134e4a
  class I,O,P,H s
  class A d

Text fallback: ideate the rule with the Principal → check for overlap with existing rules and optimize the wording against the golden bar → request explicit approval; if there is feedback or no clear yes, loop back to optimize; only on an explicit yes, place the rule in its correct home, then hand to the Archivist and broadcast rule approved.

Steps

  1. Ideate. Restate the Principal’s idea; explore scope, edge cases, and alternative framings together; offer candidate phrasings. Conversation, not a one-shot handoff.
  2. Check overlap. Read CLAUDE.md and CONTRIBUTING.md; confirm the rule extends/tightens rather than duplicates or contradicts. Name any conflict and propose reconciliation (do not silently override).
  3. Optimize. Sharpen against the golden bar (charter §Quality bar / job-aids/JA-015-is-this-rule-golden.md): imperative, testable, scoped, justified only if non-obvious, enforceable where possible, single-purpose. Present the optimized rule with your self-critique in the Intent / Rule / Why / Home / Notes output format.
  4. Request final approval. Show the final text and intended home; explicitly ask the Principal to approve. Do not proceed without a clear yes.
  5. Place it (only after approval). Insert into the correct section of CLAUDE.md (AI-facing GR-#) or CONTRIBUTING.md (human-facing convention); if it serves both audiences, state it once in the primary home and cross-reference. Assign the next sequential ID; never reuse a retired number.
  6. Hand off. Broadcast rule approved; hand the changed doc to the Archivist (artifact approved); if canon needs reindexing, signal the Documentarian (document changed). Capture any learning to docs/knowledge/.

Roles / approvers

Authored by Golden Rule. Approval is the Principal’s, explicit and required (docs/canon.md RACI: Rule Approve = Principal). Preservation is the Archivist’s. Trigger-vocabulary additions go through Operations (Process Engineer).

Guardrails

  • Never finalize without explicit approval (GR-3) — silence, assumption, or “looks fine” is not a yes.
  • One home per rule (CONTRIBUTING.md) — do not duplicate a CLAUDE.md rule into CONTRIBUTING.md; cross-reference.
  • Do not edit ORG.md/JDs or approve spend — hand ORG.md edits to HR; spend to Finance (charter §Hard boundaries).
  • Do not invent a trigger phrase inline — request it from Operations (docs/handoff-triggers.md §“How a new trigger is added”).

Job aid: ../units/rules-governance/job-aids/JA-015-is-this-rule-golden.md. See also: .claude/agents/golden-rule.md · docs/units/rules-governance/charter.md · SOP-016 (close-of-session reconciliation) · SOP-002 (docs/sop/change-management.md).