---
id: "action-review-gates"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§3.3", "§4.5"]
tags: ["implementation", "human-in-the-loop"]
related: ["concept-stage-contracts", "claim-ushaped-intervention"]
sources: ["paper"]
sourceVaultSlug: "icm-paper-folder-architecture-2026Jun02"
originDay: 2
---
# Place human review gates at every stage boundary

## Action

**Pause after each stage writes its `output/`** so a human can inspect and edit before the next stage reads it.

## Why

Surfacing intermediate artifacts as **editable markdown** lets humans course-correct at the point where correction is cheapest — e.g. fixing a structural plan **before** any slides are drafted. The contract-level reasoning is in [[concept-stage-contracts]].

## Expected pattern

Editing follows a **U-shape**: heavy at stage 1 (direction-setting), light in the middle, heavy at the final stage (alignment). The data behind this is [[claim-ushaped-intervention]].

## Outcome

- Errors are caught where correction is cheapest.
- The human sets direction early and aligns output late.
- Each gate is also an opportunity to **edit source rather than output** when the issue is systemic — see [[concept-edit-source-principle]].


## Related across days
- [[concept-stage-contracts]]
- [[claim-ushaped-intervention]]
- [[synthesis-edit-source-as-dialogue-evolution]]
- [[tension-voice-future-vs-paper-non-support]]