os-sdlc: spec-and-ticket-layer grilled — wayfinder subsumes levels, templates fixed

Resolves all three open questions (2026-07-17 grill): wayfinder subsumes
DeltaRefinery-style levels; adopt verdicts (adapt wayfinder/to-spec/to-tickets
to the os-backlog substrate, skip grill-with-docs in favor of the global
grilling skill); lean four-section spec template + given/when/then ticket
template sized to one /implement run. Scope note: to-prd coexists — os-sdlc
is software-development specific (Forgejo #81 closed).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01PG3SoJqPk1xCyQrhVZZHFf

plugins/os-sdlc/OVERVIEW.md

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ graph TD
 
 | Node | Status | One-liner |
 |---|---|---|
-| [spec-and-ticket-layer](reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md) | settled direction | Git issues (Forgejo/GitHub per tracker key) are the durable spec layer; Pocock verbs map onto it |
+| [spec-and-ticket-layer](reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md) | settled (grilled 2026-07-17) | Git issues are the durable spec layer; wayfinder subsumes levels; adapt wayfinder/to-spec/to-tickets, reuse global grilling; spec + ticket templates fixed |
 | [pipeline-stages](reference/pipeline-stages.md) | direction | The v1 tracer bullet: `/implement` → test-writer → red-assert → programmer → green-assert → reviewer → human merge |
 | [deterministic-gates](reference/deterministic-gates.md) | settled | Hooks, not agents, run tests/lint; red/green asserted mechanically; green command pluggable per project |
 | [agent-design-principles](reference/agent-design-principles.md) | settled | Single job, minimal tool allowlist (programmer: no Bash), settled facts in via prompt, minimum out via return format |
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ trusted. Open items live per-node in each doc's "Open questions" — this file
 carries none.
 
 **Grill queue** (decided 2026-07-16): the critical path is
-[spec-and-ticket-layer](reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md) →
-[pipeline-stages](reference/pipeline-stages.md) — grill in that order first.
+[spec-and-ticket-layer](reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md) (✅ grilled 2026-07-17) →
+[pipeline-stages](reference/pipeline-stages.md) — next up.
 Then [never-ask-twice](reference/never-ask-twice.md) +
 [self-improvement-loops](reference/self-improvement-loops.md) (can run in
 parallel with pipeline build; NAT's formalization ADR is independent), then

plugins/os-sdlc/reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # spec and ticket layer
 
-_Status: settled direction — as of 2026-07-16_
+_Status: settled — grilled 2026-07-17 (open questions resolved)_
 _Connects to: [pipeline-stages](pipeline-stages.md), [worktree-parallelism](worktree-parallelism.md), [never-ask-twice](never-ask-twice.md), [overview](../OVERVIEW.md)_
 
 ## Purpose
@@ -35,18 +35,63 @@ issue-tracker state for os-sdlc.
 - The tracker is the single source of truth for spec *and* ticket state — no shadow status
   file. Stage reports (pipeline-stages) update the issue via comments/labels rather than a
   separate os-sdlc-owned record.
-- Spec and ticket content structure is intentionally not fixed yet (see Open questions) —
-  the mapping above fixes *where* things live and *what stage produces them*, not their
-  internal template.
+## Grilled decisions (2026-07-17)
 
-## Open questions
+- **Wayfinder subsumes levels.** No DeltaRefinery-style explicit level hierarchy. A big
+  plan becomes a wayfinder decision map on the issue tracker: typed sub-issues
+  (research / grilling / prototype / task), blocking relationships between them, each
+  sized to one agent session; when all close, the map feeds `to-spec`. Blocking edges
+  express what levels used to; this drops the rigidity the DeltaRefinery retrospective
+  flagged as a failure mode.
+- **Skill adoption verdicts:**
+  - **wayfinder — adapt** (keep shape, swap substrate): concept intact — decision map as
+    issues, four ticket types, blocking edges, one-session sizing — but every tracker
+    interaction goes through os-backlog's `issue-create`/`issues` CLI + tracker key, with
+    the cc-os label taxonomy. Verbatim was never on the table: composability with
+    os-backlog is a hard constraint (ADR-0037), and Pocock's prose bakes in
+    GitHub-specific plumbing (sub-issues, `gh` syntax) Forgejo can't honor.
+  - **grill-with-docs — skip; reuse the global `grilling` skill**, both invoked directly
+    for small plans and from wayfinder's grilling-type tickets. One grill implementation,
+    no drift between copies; the never-ask-twice lookup gate wraps it in one place.
+    Accepted cost: os-sdlc depends on a personally-installed global skill — fold a copy
+    into the plugin only if os-sdlc ever ships beyond the user's machines.
+  - **to-spec / to-tickets — adapt both**: Pocock's semantics (spec = destination,
+    tickets = journey) on the os-backlog substrate; all writes via `issue-create` with
+    the tracker key; spec→ticket linkage uses plain issue references that work on both
+    Forgejo and GitHub; templates are ours (below). Scope note (2026-07-17): os-sdlc's
+    `to-spec` does NOT replace the globally installed `to-prd` — os-sdlc is
+    software-development specific, while `to-prd` remains the general-purpose PRD
+    publisher for non-SDLC work. They coexist; the namespaced invocation
+    (`/os-sdlc:to-spec`) keeps them unambiguous.
+- **Spec issue template — lean four-section.** Ticket-level detail lives in tickets, not
+  the spec, so the spec stays stable while tickets churn. Labels: `spec` + priority;
+  tickets reference it as `spec: #NN`.
 
-- Which Pocock skills (wayfinder, grill-with-docs, to-spec, to-tickets) are adopted
-  near-verbatim vs. adapted for the git-issues substrate vs. skipped entirely.
-- Whether wayfinder subsumes or sits alongside a DeltaRefinery-style level structure
-  (DeltaRefinery decomposed work into explicit levels; Pocock's wayfinder is looser).
-- Concrete spec issue template (sections, required fields) and ticket issue template
-  (acceptance criteria shape, tracer-bullet slice size).
+  ```md
+  # <feature name> [spec]
+
+  ## Destination        — what exists when done, 3-6 sentences, observable behavior
+  ## Settled decisions  — every choice an implementer must not relitigate (ADR-NNNN refs)
+  ## Out of scope       — deferred items + where they went (horizon doc, issue #NN)
+  ## Sources            — wayfinder map root #NN, grill transcripts, vault notes, ADRs
+  ```
+- **Ticket issue template — testable assertions, one-run slice.** Acceptance criteria are
+  observable given/when/then assertions the test-writer stage converts to tests
+  near-mechanically — batched at one-ticket grain (the DeltaRefinery lesson: drop
+  per-example granularity, keep mechanical verification). Sizing rule: a thin end-to-end
+  slice fitting one `/implement` run (one worktree, one branch, one review); if the
+  criteria won't fit in 3–7 assertions, split the ticket.
+
+  ```md
+  # <slice name> [ticket]
+  spec: #NN
+
+  ## Slice                — one sentence: the thin end-to-end path added; demoable alone
+  ## Acceptance criteria  — 3-7 "Given <state>, when <action>, then <observable result>"
+                            checkboxes, each testable without human judgment
+  ## Non-goals            — adjacent behavior deliberately left to #NN
+  ## Notes for implementer (optional) — known seams, files, gotchas
+  ```
 
 ## Sources
 
@@ -55,4 +100,4 @@ issue-tracker state for os-sdlc.
 - `plugins/os-sdlc/OVERVIEW.md`
 - SecondBrain vault: `matt-pocock-skills-v1-1-changes.md`
 - `plugins/os-backlog/` (tracker key, `issue-create`/`issues` CLI)
-- 2026-07-16 design session (this doc's origin)
+- 2026-07-16 design session (this doc's origin); 2026-07-17 grill session (decisions above)