---
title: "Write what good looks like"
lesson_id: "05"
---

# Write what good looks like

- **Lesson ID:** 05
- **Goal:** Put a human on the control layer: golden set, approvals, named owner, stop-and-ask.
- **Human lesson:** [05-write-what-good-looks-like.html](05-write-what-good-looks-like.html)

## Prerequisites

- Lesson 04: the improve loop.

## Inputs, outputs, and artifacts

- **Inputs:** Disagreement about whether an answer was good.
- **Outputs:** Rubrics two reviewers can grade the same way, plus a named owner.
- **Artifacts:** Control-layer rules: golden set, approvals, stop-and-ask.

## Agent build steps

1. Say the highest leverage is a human writing what good looks like.
2. Tie that writing to the control layer: golden sets, guardrails, approvals.
3. Define a golden row: input, required tool path, short rubric.
4. Say a named owner decides when the suite and a stakeholder disagree. Not a group chat.
5. Teach stop-and-ask: low confidence, missing evidence, tool error, request outside the pack. A stop is a success.
6. Repeat the research-agent checks: who asked, approved data, cite, halt when the pack is empty.
7. Close with: The model gets the hype. The harness gets the results.
8. Link eval-harness and tracer.

## Constraints

Keep the language simple, friendly, and literal. No quizzes, no em dashes, no invented WWDC sessions. Brand Edge FDE only.

## Key concepts

- The highest leverage is a human writing what good looks like.
- The control layer holds the golden set, guardrails, and approvals.
- A named owner decides when the suite and a stakeholder disagree.
- Stop-and-ask is a success when evidence is missing or confidence is low.
- You shrink human review by encoding more of the bar, not by skipping the bar.

## Takeaways

- Write rubrics two reviewers can grade the same way.
- Give approvals a person you can page, not a shared inbox.
- Treat a clean stop as a pass. Treat a guessed number as a fail.
- Remember the closer: the model gets the hype. The harness gets the results.

## Acceptance checks

- Control layer, named owner, and stop-and-ask are present.
- Closer sentence is present.
- Sibling links to eval-harness and tracer are present.
- [ ] Course complete. Return to [course SKILL.md](SKILL.md).