Helen detector

Specification Clause Violation detector

The Specification Clause Violation detector enforces accepted product contracts against code. It returns a blocking failure only when human authority, exact verification, current bindings, and complete evidence agree.

Method
Reviewed deterministic code-contract verification
Implementation policy
Blocking

What it catches

A requirement, story, or ticket can contain a blocking clause bound to an exact code symbol and a reviewed tree-sitter checker. Helen evaluates that checker against the pull-request head.

The check fails only when exact gating is enabled, the clause is accepted and blocking, its binding is current, calibration passed, and complete deterministic evidence proves a violation.

Evidence Helen records

Helen preserves the source clause, symbol anchor, checker identity, current fingerprints, verification outcome, static observation, graph audit record, and the reason behind the enforcement decision.

Every missing or probabilistic input has an explicit neutral reason. Unavailable evidence never becomes a fabricated pass or a blocking failure.

How to reconcile it

Change the implementation to satisfy the accepted contract. If the contract itself is wrong, revise and review the specification through the product authority path before changing its enforcement.

Detector boundary

Advisory clauses, AI-only judgments, heuristic checks, stale bindings, and incomplete evidence stay neutral.

Research basis

Meyer, B. (1992). Applying design by contract. Computer, 25(10), 40–51.

Related reading

Give every agent the current product picture.

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