# L3 Expert Succession — Coverage Audit

## Design X (d08)

| # | Component | Verdict | Note |
|---|-----------|---------|------|
| 1 | Critical Function & SPOF Map | COVERED | Names "specific decisions, diagnoses, judgment calls, not the job title"; warns against recreating SPOF with a new name. |
| 2 | Tacit-vs-Explicit Triage | COVERED | "Boundary between what can become a rule and what is irreducible feel"; marks written/needs-holder/uncertain. |
| 3 | Situated Elicitation in Real Practice | COVERED | Capture where work happens, holder works normally, per-episode debrief, ugly/borderline cases. |
| 4 | Cue→Interpretation→Action Capture | COVERED | "What did you notice first... comparing against... would have made you act differently"; cue/read/action recorded separately. |
| 5 | [HARD] Genuine Transfer (coached + fading) | COVERED | Graduated ladder shadow→live-watched→silent-reachable→unavailable; "documentation a byproduct, never the goal." |
| 6 | [HARD] Transfer/Capability Validation | COVERED | Unannounced drills on hard cases, holder treated absent, judged by independent peer; readiness signal. |
| 7 | [HARD] Expert Incentive Alignment | COVERED | Paid part of role + retention/completion bonus condition, public recognition, shrinking paid advisory retainer. |
| 8 | Anti-Gaming / Real-vs-Nominal | COVERED | "Paperwork that looks like transfer"; advancement by demonstrated performance, not volume. |
| 9 | Independence of the Backup | COVERED | At least two successors chosen to "fail differently from each other and the holder," each holding own access. |
| 10 | [HARD] Time-Boxed Schedule vs Deadline | COVERED | Deadline as hard boundary, "keep transfer ahead of the calendar," can't manufacture overnight, hardest-first (no backward milestones, but function met). |
| 11 | Provisional / Living Capture w/ Feedback | COVERED | "Living case library" of incidents incl. counterexamples defining the boundary; advancement revised by performance. |
| 12 | Maintenance & Decay Prevention Post-Departure | MISSING | Advisory retainer is a reachability bridge; no assigned ownership to keep capability exercised/fresh against decay. |
| 13 | Governance: Authority, Access & Role Change | COVERED | Real system access, authority, decision rights now; firm owns schedule/time/assignments. |

**X totals: 12/13 covered. HARD: 4/4 covered.**

## Design Y (d38)

| # | Component | Verdict | Note |
|---|-----------|---------|------|
| 1 | Critical Function & SPOF Map | MISSING | Stays generic ("the critical capability"); never names precisely which decisions or scopes minimum survival. |
| 2 | Tacit-vs-Explicit Triage | COVERED | "Document what can be systematized," accept some judgment won't transfer; decision-tree outlines vs full knowledge. |
| 3 | Situated Elicitation in Real Practice | COVERED | Shadowing real-time decisions + reasoning in the moment; case studies of real critical situations. |
| 4 | Cue→Interpretation→Action Capture | COVERED | Cases record "what they noticed, what they tried, why they chose that path, what surprised them." |
| 5 | [HARD] Genuine Transfer (coached + fading) | COVERED | Delegation with feedback, increasing autonomy; supervised independence with holder observing not directing. |
| 6 | [HARD] Transfer/Capability Validation | COVERED | 90%+ unguided over 3 months, novel situations, external knowledge audit of decisions/judgment. |
| 7 | [HARD] Expert Incentive Alignment | COVERED | Contingent-exit agreement; enhanced package vests only on third-party validation of transfer. |
| 8 | Anti-Gaming / Real-vs-Nominal | COVERED | "No documentation-only transfer"; independent validation, person can't grade own teaching. |
| 9 | Independence of the Backup | COVERED | Multiple apprentices; explicitly avoids the replacement-leaves-firm-back-to-start trap. |
| 10 | [HARD] Time-Boxed Schedule vs Deadline | COVERED | Explicit phased months (1-2 / 2-12 / 12-18), T0/T1 vesting milestones tied to the deadline. |
| 11 | Provisional / Living Capture w/ Feedback | COVERED | Monthly validation checkpoints, gaps filled with targeted teaching; case library practiced against. |
| 12 | Maintenance & Decay Prevention Post-Departure | COVERED | Distributed ownership, handoff/escalation rules, decision-tree outlines so new staff onboard (weak but present). |
| 13 | Governance: Authority, Access & Role Change | COVERED | Management sets new rules, role changes, dedicated time, handoff/leadership rules (access lever implicit). |

**Y totals: 12/13 covered. HARD: 4/4 covered.**
