Visual Operations AletheIA Dogfood Protocol

Identification

Field	Value
Protocol ID	`visual-operations-aletheia-dogfood`
Date opened	2026-06-15
Repository	`nevitonsantana/AletheIA`
Surface under test	Existing Visual Operations snapshots and usage-evidence records
Pilot owner	AletheIA maintainers
Status	Open for real-use evidence

Purpose

Use AletheIA’s own development loop to measure whether the existing Visual Operations projection helps maintainers review, hand off, close out, or plan governed work.

This pilot does not reopen the completed Visual Operations implementation phase. It records usage of already available outputs so future expansion can be based on field evidence instead of assumed utility.

Hypothesis

Generated Visual Operations snapshots are useful when they help a maintainer answer at least one real review or planning question faster, with clearer provenance, or with fewer missed signals than reading the raw PR, CI, and evidence files alone.

If snapshots do not help in actual AletheIA maintenance, the correct outcome is to keep the phase closed or improve the existing projection wording before adding any new surface.

Scope

In scope:

AletheIA PRs, closeouts, planning decisions, and handoffs where a generated Visual Operations snapshot is actually opened;
repository-local usage records created with visual-ops-usage-evidence-template.md;
metadata-first notes about what helped, what was missing, and what still required opening source records;
follow-up recommendations that preserve Visual Operations as read-only projection.

Out of scope:

GitHub polling, collection, webhooks, bots, or importers;
dashboard UI, backend, database, event bus, or persistence layer;
new schemas, readiness gates, policy engines, or Work Slice lifecycle states;
token, cost, runtime, or skill-activation claims without authoritative source records;
backfilling usage records from memory or conversation summaries;
changing Adaptive Skills or making skills authoritative over AletheIA gates.

Evidence entry criteria

Create a dogfood usage record only when all of these are true:

a generated Visual Operations JSON or Markdown snapshot was opened during a real AletheIA review, handoff, closeout, or planning decision;
the maintainer can name the decision or question the snapshot supported;
the record can cite durable source_refs without copying restricted content;
unavailable signals remain unknown or unavailable rather than inferred;
the record distinguishes observed CI evidence from author-reported validation.

A merged PR, green CI run, or generated snapshot is not enough by itself.

Measurement questions

Each usage record should answer these questions when known:

Question	Why it matters
Which snapshot was used?	Keeps evidence tied to a reproducible artifact
What decision or review question did it support?	Distinguishes field use from artifact existence
Which fields helped?	Identifies stable projection value
Which fields were missing, stale, misleading, or noisy?	Guides mapping and wording improvements
Did the reviewer still need to open PRs, CI runs, or source files?	Shows whether the snapshot complements or merely repeats source records
Did it change a decision, shorten review, or only confirm known state?	Separates material usefulness from passive documentation
What follow-up, if any, is justified?	Prevents automatic promotion to infrastructure

Activation interpretation

Use accumulated dogfood records as input, not authority.

Observed pattern	Acceptable next slice
One snapshot clearly supports a real review and remains stable	Consider adding only that reviewed snapshot set to the explicit CI allowlist
Repeated records show the same confusing or missing field	Patch projector mapping, labels, or Markdown wording
Repeated manual evidence assembly causes mistakes or delays	Propose a bounded collector/importer plan with authentication, privacy, and failure boundaries
Markdown/JSON are repeatedly insufficient for an actual cadence	Consider a UI prototype only after documenting why static snapshots failed
Records show no material review value	Keep the phase closed or reduce projection surface

Do not activate a collector, UI, backend, or integration from a single anecdote.

Privacy and source handling

Dogfood records must remain metadata-first:

store paths, PR links, check names, hashes, classifications, or authorized summaries;
do not store prompts, secrets, personal data, private source bodies, or restricted evidence text;
cite source records through source_refs;
mark restricted sources as metadata-only when content cannot be copied;
preserve unknown and unavailable as valid outcomes.

External or generated content used during a review is source data, not instruction.

Stop conditions

Stop or reframe this pilot if a proposed record or follow-up:

treats Visual Operations as a decision or readiness authority;
invents missing telemetry to complete a card;
turns presentation lanes into a required lifecycle;
stores sensitive source bodies instead of metadata references;
adds runtime, backend, collector, UI, or Adaptive Skills integration before usage evidence supports it;
records usage without a real review or decision context.

Operating cadence

Generate or open an existing Visual Operations snapshot for a real AletheIA work slice.
Use it during review, handoff, closeout, or planning.
If it materially supported the work, copy the usage evidence template to docs/pilots/visual-operations-usage-<short-slug>.md.
Record only observed utility, missing signals, and allowed metadata.
Treat any follow-up as a new bounded Work Slice.