quality-gates

# Quality Gates

**Version:** 1.0.0
**Purpose:** Patterns for approval gates, iteration loops, and quality validation in multi-agent workflows
**Status:** Production Ready

## Overview

Quality gates are checkpoints in workflows where execution pauses for validation before proceeding. They prevent low-quality work from advancing through the pipeline and ensure user expectations are met.

This skill provides battle-tested patterns for:
- **User approval gates** (cost gates, quality gates, final acceptance)
- **Iteration loops** (automated refinement until quality threshold met)
- **Issue severity classification** (CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW)
- **Multi-reviewer consensus** (unanimous vs majority agreement)
- **Feedback loops** (user reports issues → agent fixes → user validates)
- **Test-driven development loops** (write tests → run → analyze failures → fix → repeat)

Quality gates transform "fire and forget" workflows into **iterative refinement systems** that consistently produce high-quality results.

## Core Patterns

### Pattern 1: User Approval Gates

**When to Ask for Approval:**

Use approval gates for:
- **Cost gates:** Before expensive operations (multi-model review, large-scale refactoring)
- **Quality gates:** Before proceeding to next phase (design validation before implementation)
- **Final validation:** Before completing workflow (user acceptance testing)
- **Irreversible operations:** Before destructive actions (delete files, database migrations)

**How to Present Approval:**

```
Good Approval Prompt:

"You selected 5 AI models for code review:
 - Claude Sonnet (embedded, free)
 - Grok Code Fast (external, $0.002)
 - Gemini 2.5 Flash (external, $0.001)
 - GPT-5 Codex (external, $0.004)
 - DeepSeek Coder (external, $0.001)

 Estimated total cost: $0.008 ($0.005 - $0.010)
 Expected duration: ~5 minutes

 Proceed with multi-model review? (Yes/No/Cancel)"

Why it works:
✓ Clear context (what will happen)
✓ Cost transparency (range, not single number)
✓ T