Deliverable Compliance

---
name: Deliverable Compliance
description: Re-read the brief; verify every literal requirement is met.
---
# Deliverable Compliance

Most professional work is graded against a checklist of concrete requirements, not on the elegance of the prose. A beautifully reasoned answer that omits a required field, a named entity, a date, or a format constraint scores zero on those criteria. Treat the brief as a contract and verify compliance before submitting.

## Method (run before you finish)
1. **Re-read the brief in full.** Do not rely on your memory of it from the first read. Re-read it now, slowly, pen in hand.
2. **Extract every literal requirement into a checklist.** Every one. This includes — and these are the most-missed:
   - Named entities you must include or address it to (a person, a company, a statute by number).
   - Specific dates, times, and numeric values stated in the brief.
   - Format and structure constraints (memo, report, letter; sections/headings required; bullet vs prose).
   - Length limits (word count maxima/minima, page counts). A length cap is a hard constraint — exceeding it fails the criterion.
   - Named lists you must reproduce (e.g. "the four POUR principles by name").
   - Required citations (a specific statute, regulation, or standard by section).
   - Tone constraints (neutral, objective, non-argumentative).
3. **For each checklist item, confirm it is present in your draft.** If absent, add it. If you genuinely cannot satisfy it from the given facts, state explicitly that the information is not provided and what you assumed — do not silently omit.
4. **Final pass: nothing required is missing, nothing prohibited is present, length is within limits.**

## The trap this prevents
Polishing the reasoning while a required field ("state the investigator's name") sits empty. The reasoning earns partial credit; the missing field earns zero. Compliance is where most points are quietly lost.