Merge phase/03-submission-readiness — v1.17.3 (v1.18 P3 submission-readiness complete)

REQ-217: schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json (JSON Schema draft 2020-12)
defines acceptable-to-start as a superset gate above contract.schema.json:
contractId, environment, tags (5 Nova tags D-054), policyPreconditions,
profile (developer|agentic), appSource (repo+ref), per-env mandatory (W3.E:
qa→e2eSuite+loadTest, prod→runbook+dashboard+oncall, dr→drDrillRef),
agentic markers (naturalLanguageIntent+confidenceAtSubmission+agentTrace).

REQ-218: core/submission_readiness.py validator with check_readiness() +
ReadinessResult (structured pass/fail + reason codes). Wired as
contract_ingestor.py --check-readiness (D-133). Reason codes: MISSING_TAGS,
ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY, AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT, MISSING_APP_SOURCE,
POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING. Never raises — all failures are reason codes.

REQ-219: docs/submission-readiness.md (good + rejected examples +
reason-code catalog + compliance-standard equivalence).

REQ-220: tests/test_submission_readiness.py — 16 tests, all pass.
Covers: good-pass, good-agentic-pass, missing-tags, empty-tag,
qa-missing-e2e, prod-missing-runbook, dr-missing-drdrill, prod-all-pass,
agentic-missing-all, agentic-missing-one, missing-appsource,
appsource-missing-ref, empty-policy, result-structure.

---ci---
project: acdl
phase: 3
milestone: v1.18
status: execute
requirements:
  covered: [REQ-217, REQ-218, REQ-219, REQ-220]
  partial: []
---/ci---

.ciagent/PROJECT.md

@@ -58,6 +58,103 @@ traceable to a human attestation and an immutable evidence stream.
   boundary. The platform validates, enriches with operational standards,
   and reconciles the target state.
 
+## Scope: Nova is Downstream of PDLC
+
+> **Promoted from Core Tenet #2 + Anti-Goal #1 (v1.18, REQ-216).** This
+> is the unmissable scope statement — the PDLC is upstream, Nova is
+> downstream.
+
+The **Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC)** — product backlog, code
+authorship, IDE workflows, sprint planning, application business logic —
+is **upstream** of Nova. Nova never penetrates the PDLC. Nova's domain is
+**infrastructure + delivery only**: environment progression, cloud
+resource lifecycle, operational security/observability NFRs, policy
+enforcement, immutable audit lineage, and the two consumer surfaces
+(technical developer + agentic).
+
+Integration between the PDLC and Nova is **only** through the validated,
+published contract boundary (`schemas/contract.schema.json` +
+`schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json`). The citizen developer's AI
+coding agent, an upstream agentic SDLC platform, or any upstream
+development platform may all produce submissions — the source does not
+matter because all are subject to the same compliance standards (the
+submission-readiness gate, D-133). Nova validates, enriches with
+operational standards, and reconciles the target state. Nova never
+authors application code, manages product backlogs, or provides IDE
+workflows.
+
+```
+PDLC (upstream)                         Nova (downstream)
+─────────────────                       ─────────────────
+product backlog                         contract ingestion
+code authorship (AI agent / IDE / SDLC) → submission-readiness gate
+sprint planning                         → policy enforcement
+application business logic              → cloud resource lifecycle
+                                        → environment progression (dev→qa→prod→dr)
+                                        → immutable audit + attestation
+```
+
+## RACI Matrix
+
+> **Source of truth (v1.18, REQ-215, D-139).** Three roles clarify who
+> owns what across the Nova delivery lifecycle. The matrix is the
+> authoritative version; `docs/raci.md` is the citizen-developer-facing
+> copy.
+
+### Roles
+
+- **Citizen Developer (CD)** — the consumer (technical developer L3A or
+  non-technical L3B). Responsible for all **Functional Requirements (FRs)**
+  and **User Acceptance Testing (UAT)**. The FRs + UAT are produced via
+  the citizen developer's AI coding agent, an upstream agentic SDLC, or
+  an upstream development platform — **the source does not matter as all
+  are subject to the same compliance standards** (the submission-readiness
+  gate, D-133).
+- **Platform** — Nova. Responsible for all **Non-Functional Requirements
+  (NFRs)**, **Infrastructure** (cloud resource lifecycle, state, IAM),
+  **QA** (the platform-side quality checks: policy, confidence, schema),
+  and **Production deployments to cloud** (the apply path, the pipeline,
+  the release).
+- **Release Management (RM)** — **co-owned**. QA + SRE attestations are
+  required by the actual release. The attestations are performed
+  agentically (the platform runs the checks), but the release is
+  **overseen and triggered by the Citizen Developer** — the human
+  attestation at the stage gate (D-042, hitl_gates.py). The platform
+  performs; the citizen developer authorizes.
+
+### Matrix
+
+| Work Category | Citizen Developer | Platform | Release Management |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **Functional Requirements (FRs)** | **R/A** | C | I |
+| **User Acceptance Testing (UAT)** | **R/A** | C | I |
+| **Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs)** | I | **R/A** | C |
+| **Infrastructure (cloud, state, IAM)** | I | **R/A** | C |
+| **QA (policy, confidence, schema checks)** | C | **R/A** | I |
+| **Production deployment to cloud** | I | **R/A** | C |
+| **Release attestation (QA + SRE sign-off)** | **A** | R | **R** |
+
+**Key: R** = Responsible (does the work) · **A** = Accountable (owns the
+outcome, sign-off) · **C** = Consulted · **I** = Informed.
+
+**Compliance-standard equivalence note:** the citizen developer's FRs +
+UAT may originate from any upstream source — an AI coding agent, an
+agentic SDLC platform, or a traditional development platform. All are
+subject to the same compliance standards: the submission-readiness gate
+(`schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json`), the contract schema, the
+policy envelope, and the immutable audit stream. The platform does not
+differentiate by upstream source; it validates the submission, not the
+author.
+
+**Co-ownership of Release Management:** the release is co-owned. The
+platform performs the QA + SRE attestations agentically (confidence signal,
+policy checks, separation-of-duties). The citizen developer oversees and
+triggers the actual release — the human attestation at the stage gate is
+the citizen developer's authorization, recorded with approver identity
+(D-042). The platform runs the checks; the citizen developer authorizes
+the promotion. This is the "autonomy in operations, human at stage gates"
+model from the NORTH_STAR.
+
 ## Capability Status (Re-Verified 2026-07-27)
 
 > Source of truth: `.ciagent/CAPABILITY_INVENTORY.md` (Phase 54, D-093).

core/lambda/contract_ingestor.py

@@ -499,4 +499,23 @@ def lambda_handler(event, context):
             return {"statusCode": 401, "body": json.dumps({"error": str(e)})}
         return {"statusCode": 400, "body": json.dumps({"error": str(e)})}
     except Exception as e:  # pragma: no cover - defensive top-level guard
-        return {"statusCode": 500, "body": json.dumps({"error": str(e)})}
+        return {"statusCode": 500, "body": json.dumps({"error": str(e)})}
+
+
+# --- CLI: --check-readiness (D-133, REQ-218) ---------------------------
+# Invoked as: python3 -m core.lambda.contract_ingestor --check-readiness <submission.json>
+# Delegates to core.submission_readiness.check_readiness() and prints the
+# structured ReadinessResult. Exits 0 if ready, 1 if not.
+if __name__ == "__main__":  # pragma: no cover - CLI entry
+    import sys
+    if "--check-readiness" in sys.argv:
+        sys.path.insert(
+            0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+        )
+        from core.submission_readiness import cli_main
+
+        # Strip the --check-readiness flag; pass the file path.
+        rest = [a for a in sys.argv[1:] if a != "--check-readiness"]
+        sys.exit(cli_main(["check-readiness"] + rest))
+    else:
+        print("Usage: python3 -m core.lambda.contract_ingestor --check-readiness <submission.json>")

core/submission_readiness.py

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+"""core/submission_readiness.py — Nova submission-readiness validator (REQ-218).
+
+Defines what is acceptable to start — a superset gate ABOVE
+contract.schema.json validity. Invoked as
+``contract_ingestor.py --check-readiness`` (D-133). Returns a structured
+ReadinessResult (pass/fail per check, with reason codes). On fail → the
+ingestor rejects with a citizen-developer-facing error (not a stack
+trace). On pass → proceeds to existing contract ingestion.
+
+The validator calls contract.schema.json validation first (the shape),
+then the readiness checks (the gate): tags, env mandatory, policy
+preconditions, profile:agentic markers, appSource.
+
+Reason codes:
+  MISSING_TAGS — one or more required Nova tags are absent
+  ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:<env>:<field> — a per-env mandatory field is missing
+  AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT — profile=agentic but naturalLanguageIntent absent
+  MISSING_APP_SOURCE — appSource (repo + ref) is missing
+  POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING — a declared policy precondition is absent
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Any
+
+_SCHEMA_DIR = os.path.join(
+    os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))), "schemas"
+)
+
+REQUIRED_TAGS = [
+    "nova:owner",
+    "nova:contract",
+    "nova:environment",
+    "nova:cost-center",
+    "nova:ref",
+]
+
+ENV_MANDATORY: dict[str, list[str]] = {
+    "dev": [],  # dev requires only the base contract shape (id+environment+infrastructure)
+    "qa": ["validation.e2eSuite", "validation.loadTest"],
+    "prod": ["runbook", "dashboard", "oncall"],
+    "dr": ["drDrillRef"],
+}
+
+AGENTIC_REQUIRED = ["naturalLanguageIntent", "confidenceAtSubmission", "agentTrace"]
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ReadinessResult:
+    """Structured result of the submission-readiness gate."""
+
+    ready: bool
+    reason_codes: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
+    contract_id: str | None = None
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "ready": self.ready,
+            "reason_codes": self.reason_codes,
+            "contractId": self.contract_id,
+        }
+
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        if self.ready:
+            return f"READY — contract {self.contract_id} passes submission-readiness gate"
+        codes = "; ".join(self.reason_codes) if self.reason_codes else "unknown"
+        return f"NOT READY — contract {self.contract_id}: {codes}"
+
+
+def _validate_contract_schema(contract: dict[str, Any]) -> list[str]:
+    """Validate the contract against contract.schema.json (the shape).
+    Returns a list of reason codes (empty if valid). Falls back to no-op
+    if jsonschema or the schema file is unavailable (the contract is
+    validated upstream by run_platform.sh in the normal path).
+    """
+    codes: list[str] = []
+    try:
+        import jsonschema
+
+        schema_path = os.path.join(_SCHEMA_DIR, "contract.schema.json")
+        with open(schema_path) as f:
+            schema = json.load(f)
+        jsonschema.validate(instance=contract, schema=schema)
+    except (OSError, ImportError):
+        pass
+    except jsonschema.ValidationError as e:
+        codes.append(f"CONTRACT_SCHEMA_INVALID:{e.message}")
+    return codes
+
+
+def _get_nested(data: dict[str, Any], dotted_key: str) -> Any:
+    parts = dotted_key.split(".")
+    val: Any = data
+    for p in parts:
+        if not isinstance(val, dict) or p not in val:
+            return None
+        val = val[p]
+    return val
+
+
+def check_readiness(submission: dict[str, Any]) -> ReadinessResult:
+    """Run the full submission-readiness gate.
+
+    1. Validate the contract shape (contract.schema.json).
+    2. Validate the readiness schema (submission-readiness.schema.json).
+    3. Run the semantic readiness checks (tags, env mandatory, agentic, appSource, policy).
+
+    Returns a ReadinessResult. Never raises — all failures are reason codes.
+    """
+    contract_id = submission.get("contractId") or submission.get("id", "unknown")
+    codes: list[str] = []
+
+    # Step 1: contract shape validation
+    contract_shape = {k: v for k, v in submission.items() if k in ("id", "name", "environment", "infrastructure")}
+    if contract_shape:
+        codes.extend(_validate_contract_schema(contract_shape))
+
+    # Step 2: readiness schema validation
+    try:
+        import jsonschema
+
+        schema_path = os.path.join(_SCHEMA_DIR, "submission-readiness.schema.json")
+        with open(schema_path) as f:
+            readiness_schema = json.load(f)
+        jsonschema.validate(instance=submission, schema=readiness_schema)
+    except (OSError, ImportError):
+        pass
+    except jsonschema.ValidationError as e:
+        codes.append(f"READINESS_SCHEMA_INVALID:{e.message}")
+
+    # Step 3: semantic checks (reason codes for citizen-developer-facing errors)
+
+    # 3a: tags
+    tags = submission.get("tags", {})
+    missing_tags = [t for t in REQUIRED_TAGS if t not in tags or not tags[t]]
+    if missing_tags:
+        codes.append(f"MISSING_TAGS:{','.join(missing_tags)}")
+
+    # 3b: env mandatory (W3.E per-env table)
+    env = submission.get("environment")
+    if env and env in ENV_MANDATORY:
+        for field_key in ENV_MANDATORY[env]:
+            val = _get_nested(submission, field_key)
+            if val is None:
+                codes.append(f"ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:{env}:{field_key}")
+
+    # 3c: agentic profile markers
+    if submission.get("profile") == "agentic":
+        for marker in AGENTIC_REQUIRED:
+            if not submission.get(marker):
+                codes.append(f"AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:{marker}")
+
+    # 3d: appSource
+    app_source = submission.get("appSource")
+    if not app_source or not app_source.get("repo") or not app_source.get("ref"):
+        codes.append("MISSING_APP_SOURCE")
+
+    # 3e: policy preconditions (warn if declared but not enforced this milestone)
+    policy = submission.get("policyPreconditions", {})
+    if not policy:
+        codes.append("POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING")
+
+    ready = len(codes) == 0
+    return ReadinessResult(ready=ready, reason_codes=codes, contract_id=contract_id)
+
+
+def cli_main(argv: list[str]) -> int:
+    """CLI entry: python3 -m core.submission_readiness <contract.json>
+
+    Also invoked via contract_ingestor.py --check-readiness (D-133).
+    Prints the ReadinessResult to stdout; exits 0 if ready, 1 if not.
+    """
+    if len(argv) < 2:
+        print("Usage: submission_readiness <contract.json>", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 2
+    path = argv[1]
+    try:
+        with open(path) as f:
+            submission = json.load(f)
+    except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError) as e:
+        print(f"ERROR: cannot read {path}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 2
+    result = check_readiness(submission)
+    print(result)
+    print(json.dumps(result.to_dict(), indent=2))
+    return 0 if result.ready else 1
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(cli_main(sys.argv))

docs/presentations/nova-no-humans-platform-marp.md

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ style: |
 
 **Shifting from Operational Overhead to Strategic Value**
 
-v1.17 — Strategic Direction, Leadership Metrics & Unified Story
+v1.18 — Citizen Developer & Production-Grade Guidance
 
 ---
 
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ v1.17 — Strategic Direction, Leadership Metrics & Unified Story
 2. **Vision** — Nova's strategic direction (NORTH_STAR)
 3. **How** — the pipeline, Decision Ledger, attestation gates
 4. **Proof** — grounded metrics that make the claim defensible
-5. **Roadmap** — deferred metrics with unblock paths + the ask
+5. **Roadmap** — deferred metrics with unblock paths + the ask + scope + RACI
 
 **Benefit:** you leave knowing which claims are proven today, which are pipeline-ready, and which are deferred with a documented unblock path — no marketing, just grounded evidence.
 
@@ -301,6 +301,42 @@ From `docs/METRICS_DEFERRED_ROADMAP.md`.
 
 ---
 
+## Slide 17 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
+
+**Nova governs infrastructure + delivery. The PDLC (product backlog, code authorship, IDE) is upstream — Nova never penetrates it.**
+
+- **The PDLC is upstream:** product backlog, code authorship (AI agent / IDE / agentic SDLC), sprint planning, application business logic
+- **Nova is downstream:** contract ingestion → submission-readiness gate → policy → cloud lifecycle → environment progression → audit + attestation
+- **Integration is only through the contract boundary:** the citizen developer's AI coding agent, an upstream agentic SDLC, or any dev platform may all produce submissions — the source does not matter as all are subject to the same compliance standards
+- Nova validates the submission, not the author
+- Cites `docs/scope.md` + `PROJECT.md` § Scope
+
+**Benefit:** you now know the scope boundary — Nova is purpose-built for infrastructure operations, not product development; integration is through one validated contract.
+
+---
+
+## Slide 18 — RACI: Who Owns What
+
+**Three roles, one matrix — the citizen developer owns FRs + UAT, the platform owns NFRs + infra + QA + prod deploy, release management is co-owned.**
+
+| Work Category | Citizen Dev | Platform | Release Mgmt |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Functional Requirements (FRs) | **R/A** | C | I |
+| User Acceptance Testing (UAT) | **R/A** | C | I |
+| Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) | I | **R/A** | C |
+| Infrastructure (cloud, state, IAM) | I | **R/A** | C |
+| QA (policy, confidence, schema) | C | **R/A** | I |
+| Production deployment to cloud | I | **R/A** | C |
+| Release attestation (QA + SRE) | **A** | R | **R** |
+
+- **Compliance-standard equivalence:** FRs + UAT may come from any upstream source (AI agent, agentic SDLC, dev platform) — all pass the same submission-readiness gate
+- **Release co-ownership:** the platform runs the attestations agentically; the citizen developer oversees and triggers the actual release (human at the stage gate)
+- Cites `docs/raci.md` + `PROJECT.md` § RACI Matrix
+
+**Benefit:** you now know exactly what you bring (FRs + UAT), what Nova provides (NFRs + infra + QA + prod deploy), and what you co-own (the release attestation).
+
+---
+
 <!-- _class: title -->
 <!-- _paginate: false -->
 

docs/presentations/nova-no-humans-platform-talking-points.md

@@ -103,6 +103,20 @@
 - "Pipeline-ready" → "production-proven" is the value proposition
 - **Key takeaway:** approve a pilot + the ledger build-out to move from pipeline-ready to production-proven
 
+### Slide 17 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
+- Nova governs infra + delivery only; the PDLC (product backlog, code authorship, IDE) is upstream
+- Integration is only through the validated contract boundary
+- Any upstream source (AI agent, agentic SDLC, dev platform) may produce submissions — all subject to the same compliance standards
+- Nova validates the submission, not the author
+- **Key takeaway:** Nova is purpose-built for infrastructure operations, not product development; the scope boundary is clean
+
+### Slide 18 — RACI: Who Owns What
+- Citizen Developer owns FRs + UAT (via any upstream source — AI agent, SDLC, dev platform — all pass the same gate)
+- Platform owns NFRs + infra + QA + prod deploy
+- Release Management is co-owned: platform runs attestations agentically, citizen developer oversees + triggers the release (human at stage gate)
+- The compliance-standard equivalence is the key: the source does not matter; the submission does
+- **Key takeaway:** you bring FRs + UAT; Nova provides NFRs + infra + QA + prod deploy; the release is co-owned with you at the stage gate
+
 ### Appendix A1 — Metrics Glossary
 - Reference for every metric mentioned in the deck
 - Use if the audience asks "what does X mean?"

docs/presentations/nova-no-humans-platform.html

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 
 <h1 id="nova--the-no-humans-infrastructure-platform">Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</h1>
 <p><strong>Shifting from Operational Overhead to Strategic Value</strong></p>
-<p>v1.17 — Strategic Direction, Leadership Metrics &amp; Unified Story</p>
+<p>v1.18 — Citizen Developer &amp; Production-Grade Guidance</p>
 <footer>Act %{page}/5 — v1.17</footer>
 </section>
 </foreignObject></svg><svg data-marpit-svg="" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"><foreignObject width="1280" height="720"><section id="2" data-paginate="true" data-header="Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" data-footer="Act %{page}/5 — v1.17" data-theme="default" data-style="section {
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
 .badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-1--arc-preview">Slide 1 — Arc Preview</h2>
 <p><strong>This deck proves Nova is the no-humans infrastructure platform — and shows you the metrics that make the claim defensible.</strong></p>
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 <li><strong>Vision</strong> — Nova's strategic direction (NORTH_STAR)</li>
 <li><strong>How</strong> — the pipeline, Decision Ledger, attestation gates</li>
 <li><strong>Proof</strong> — grounded metrics that make the claim defensible</li>
-<li><strong>Roadmap</strong> — deferred metrics with unblock paths + the ask</li>
+<li><strong>Roadmap</strong> — deferred metrics with unblock paths + the ask + scope + RACI</li>
 </ol>
 <p><strong>Benefit:</strong> you leave knowing which claims are proven today, which are pipeline-ready, and which are deferred with a documented unblock path — no marketing, just grounded evidence.</p>
 <footer>Act %{page}/5 — v1.17</footer>
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
 .badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-2--the-no-humans-imperative">Slide 2 — The No-Humans Imperative</h2>
 <p><strong>Why the operator is the bottleneck — and why removing them from operations (not accountability) is the imperative.</strong></p>
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
 .badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-3--novas-vision">Slide 3 — Nova's Vision</h2>
 <blockquote>
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
 .badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-4--strategic-objectives--anti-goals">Slide 4 — Strategic Objectives + Anti-Goals</h2>
 <p><strong>4 Strategic Objectives:</strong></p>
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
 .badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-5--12%E2%80%9318-month-targets">Slide 5 — 12–18 Month Targets</h2>
 <p><strong>Current-milestone targets (grounded/derived):</strong></p>
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
 .badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-6--the-platform-pipeline">Slide 6 — The Platform Pipeline</h2>
 <p><strong>How intent becomes verified infrastructure without an operator.</strong></p>
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 }
 .badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
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-;" data-marpit-pagination-total="19">
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-7--the-decision-ledger">Slide 7 — The Decision Ledger</h2>
 <p><strong>Every AI decision captured with confidence, alternatives, and outcome.</strong></p>
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+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-8--the-8-concern-attestation-matrix">Slide 8 — The 8-Concern Attestation Matrix</h2>
 <p><strong>Designed controls that keep humans at stage gates.</strong></p>
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 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-9--telemetry-architecture">Slide 9 — Telemetry Architecture</h2>
 <p><strong>How Nova instruments itself — CloudEvents envelope, cold store, PowerBI export.</strong></p>
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 <h2 id="slide-10--capability-health--confidence-distribution">Slide 10 — Capability Health + Confidence Distribution</h2>
 <p><strong>Grounded proof: capability health and confidence distribution from real runs.</strong></p>
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 <h2 id="slide-11--decision-ledger--attestation-coverage">Slide 11 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage</h2>
 <p><strong>Trust metrics — both 100%.</strong></p>
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 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-12--zero-touch-efficiency">Slide 12 — Zero-Touch Efficiency</h2>
 <p><strong>Touchless resolution, human escalation, and MTTR.</strong></p>
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 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-13--cost--roi">Slide 13 — Cost &amp; ROI</h2>
 <p><strong>Cost estimates and the ROI formula — with honest caveats.</strong></p>
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 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-14--whats-deferred--and-why">Slide 14 — What's Deferred — and Why</h2>
 <p><strong>Honesty about what isn't measured yet.</strong></p>
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 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-15--roadmap-to-the-north-star">Slide 15 — Roadmap to the North Star</h2>
 <p><strong>The path from v1.17's grounded metrics to the 12–18 month targets.</strong></p>
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 <header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
 <h2 id="slide-16--recap--ask">Slide 16 — Recap + Ask</h2>
 <p><strong>The 5-act recap + the business decision.</strong></p>
@@ -1077,7 +1077,163 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 <p><strong>Benefit:</strong> you leave with a clear business decision to make — approve a pilot + the ledger build-out — and the confidence that every claim in this deck is grounded, derived, or honestly deferred.</p>
 <footer>Act %{page}/5 — v1.17</footer>
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+</foreignObject></svg><svg data-marpit-svg="" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"><foreignObject width="1280" height="720"><section id="18" data-paginate="true" data-header="Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" data-footer="Act %{page}/5 — v1.17" data-theme="default" data-style="section {
+  font-family: &quot;Akkurat Pro&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, &quot;Arial&quot;, sans-serif;
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+" lang="C" data-marpit-pagination="18" style="--paginate:true;--header:Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform;--footer:Act %{page}/5 — v1.17;--theme:default;--style:section {
+  font-family: &quot;Akkurat Pro&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, &quot;Arial&quot;, sans-serif;
+  font-size: 22px;
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+th { background: #F0F0F0; }
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+img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
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+  display: inline-block; padding: 2px 8px; border-radius: 4px;
+  font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;
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+.badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
+<header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
+<h2 id="slide-17--scope-downstream-of-pdlc">Slide 17 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC</h2>
+<p><strong>Nova governs infrastructure + delivery. The PDLC (product backlog, code authorship, IDE) is upstream — Nova never penetrates it.</strong></p>
+<ul>
+<li><strong>The PDLC is upstream:</strong> product backlog, code authorship (AI agent / IDE / agentic SDLC), sprint planning, application business logic</li>
+<li><strong>Nova is downstream:</strong> contract ingestion → submission-readiness gate → policy → cloud lifecycle → environment progression → audit + attestation</li>
+<li><strong>Integration is only through the contract boundary:</strong> the citizen developer's AI coding agent, an upstream agentic SDLC, or any dev platform may all produce submissions — the source does not matter as all are subject to the same compliance standards</li>
+<li>Nova validates the submission, not the author</li>
+<li>Cites <code>docs/scope.md</code> + <code>PROJECT.md</code> § Scope</li>
+</ul>
+<p><strong>Benefit:</strong> you now know the scope boundary — Nova is purpose-built for infrastructure operations, not product development; integration is through one validated contract.</p>
+<footer>Act %{page}/5 — v1.17</footer>
+</section>
+</foreignObject></svg><svg data-marpit-svg="" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"><foreignObject width="1280" height="720"><section id="19" data-paginate="true" data-header="Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" data-footer="Act %{page}/5 — v1.17" data-theme="default" data-style="section {
+  font-family: &quot;Akkurat Pro&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, &quot;Arial&quot;, sans-serif;
+  font-size: 22px;
+  color: #1B1B1B;
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+  display: inline-block; padding: 2px 8px; border-radius: 4px;
+  font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;
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+.badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
+" lang="C" data-marpit-pagination="19" style="--paginate:true;--header:Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform;--footer:Act %{page}/5 — v1.17;--theme:default;--style:section {
+  font-family: &quot;Akkurat Pro&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, &quot;Arial&quot;, sans-serif;
+  font-size: 22px;
+  color: #1B1B1B;
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+th { background: #F0F0F0; }
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+img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
+.badge {
+  display: inline-block; padding: 2px 8px; border-radius: 4px;
+  font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;
+}
+.badge.today { background: #c6f6d5; color: #22543d; }
+.badge.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
+;" data-marpit-pagination-total="21">
+<header>Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform</header>
+<h2 id="slide-18--raci-who-owns-what">Slide 18 — RACI: Who Owns What</h2>
+<p><strong>Three roles, one matrix — the citizen developer owns FRs + UAT, the platform owns NFRs + infra + QA + prod deploy, release management is co-owned.</strong></p>
+<table>
+<thead>
+<tr>
+<th>Work Category</th>
+<th>Citizen Dev</th>
+<th>Platform</th>
+<th>Release Mgmt</th>
+</tr>
+</thead>
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+<td>Functional Requirements (FRs)</td>
+<td><strong>R/A</strong></td>
+<td>C</td>
+<td>I</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>User Acceptance Testing (UAT)</td>
+<td><strong>R/A</strong></td>
+<td>C</td>
+<td>I</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs)</td>
+<td>I</td>
+<td><strong>R/A</strong></td>
+<td>C</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Infrastructure (cloud, state, IAM)</td>
+<td>I</td>
+<td><strong>R/A</strong></td>
+<td>C</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>QA (policy, confidence, schema)</td>
+<td>C</td>
+<td><strong>R/A</strong></td>
+<td>I</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Production deployment to cloud</td>
+<td>I</td>
+<td><strong>R/A</strong></td>
+<td>C</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Release attestation (QA + SRE)</td>
+<td><strong>A</strong></td>
+<td>R</td>
+<td><strong>R</strong></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+<ul>
+<li><strong>Compliance-standard equivalence:</strong> FRs + UAT may come from any upstream source (AI agent, agentic SDLC, dev platform) — all pass the same submission-readiness gate</li>
+<li><strong>Release co-ownership:</strong> the platform runs the attestations agentically; the citizen developer oversees and triggers the actual release (human at the stage gate)</li>
+<li>Cites <code>docs/raci.md</code> + <code>PROJECT.md</code> § RACI Matrix</li>
+</ul>
+<p><strong>Benefit:</strong> you now know exactly what you bring (FRs + UAT), what Nova provides (NFRs + infra + QA + prod deploy), and what you co-own (the release attestation).</p>
+<footer>Act %{page}/5 — v1.17</footer>
+</section>
+</foreignObject></svg><svg data-marpit-svg="" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"><foreignObject width="1280" height="720"><section id="20" data-header="Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" data-footer="Act %{page}/5 — v1.17" data-class="title" data-theme="default" data-style="section {
   font-family: &quot;Akkurat Pro&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, &quot;Arial&quot;, sans-serif;
   font-size: 22px;
   color: #1B1B1B;
@@ -1197,7 +1353,7 @@ img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
 </table>
 <footer>Act %{page}/5 — v1.17</footer>
 </section>
-</foreignObject></svg><svg data-marpit-svg="" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"><foreignObject width="1280" height="720"><section id="19" data-header="Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" data-footer="Act %{page}/5 — v1.17" data-class="title" data-theme="default" data-style="section {
+</foreignObject></svg><svg data-marpit-svg="" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"><foreignObject width="1280" height="720"><section id="21" data-header="Nova — The No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" data-footer="Act %{page}/5 — v1.17" data-class="title" data-theme="default" data-style="section {
   font-family: &quot;Akkurat Pro&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, &quot;Arial&quot;, sans-serif;
   font-size: 22px;
   color: #1B1B1B;

docs/raci.md

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# RACI — Who Owns What
+
+> **Source of truth:** `.ciagent/PROJECT.md` § RACI Matrix (v1.18, REQ-215,
+> D-139). This page is the citizen-developer-facing copy.
+
+Nova's delivery lifecycle has three roles. This page clarifies who owns
+what — so the citizen developer knows what they bring, what the platform
+provides, and what is co-owned.
+
+## The Three Roles
+
+### Citizen Developer (CD)
+
+That's you — the consumer (technical developer L3A or non-technical L3B).
+You are **Responsible** for all **Functional Requirements (FRs)** and
+**User Acceptance Testing (UAT)**. You produce the FRs + UAT via your AI
+coding agent, an upstream agentic SDLC platform, or any upstream
+development platform. **The source does not matter** — all are subject
+to the same compliance standards (the submission-readiness gate, the
+contract schema, the policy envelope, the immutable audit stream). Nova
+validates the submission, not the author.
+
+### Platform (Nova)
+
+Nova is **Responsible** for all **Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs)**,
+**Infrastructure** (cloud resource lifecycle, state, IAM), **QA** (the
+platform-side quality checks: policy enforcement, confidence scoring,
+schema validation), and **Production deployments to cloud** (the apply
+path, the pipeline, the release mechanics).
+
+### Release Management (RM) — co-owned
+
+The release is **co-owned**. The platform performs the QA + SRE
+attestations agentically (it runs the confidence signal, the policy
+checks, the separation-of-duties). The citizen developer **oversees and
+triggers** the actual release — the human attestation at the stage gate
+is your authorization. The platform runs the checks; you authorize the
+promotion. This is the "autonomy in operations, human at stage gates"
+model.
+
+## The Matrix
+
+| Work Category | Citizen Developer | Platform | Release Management |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **Functional Requirements (FRs)** | **R/A** | C | I |
+| **User Acceptance Testing (UAT)** | **R/A** | C | I |
+| **Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs)** | I | **R/A** | C |
+| **Infrastructure (cloud, state, IAM)** | I | **R/A** | C |
+| **QA (policy, confidence, schema checks)** | C | **R/A** | I |
+| **Production deployment to cloud** | I | **R/A** | C |
+| **Release attestation (QA + SRE sign-off)** | **A** | R | **R** |
+
+**Key:** **R** = Responsible (does the work) · **A** = Accountable (owns
+the outcome, sign-off) · **C** = Consulted · **I** = Informed.
+
+## What This Means in Practice
+
+**You (Citizen Developer) bring:**
+- Your application code + a contract that declares intent.
+- Your FRs (what the application does).
+- Your UAT (you accept the deployment when it meets your FRs).
+
+**Nova (Platform) provides:**
+- The NFRs (security, observability, compliance — baked into the
+  pipeline, not your concern).
+- The infrastructure (cloud resources, state management, IAM scoping).
+- The QA (policy enforcement, confidence scoring, schema validation).
+- The production deployment (the apply path, the pipeline, the release).
+
+**You co-own the release:**
+- Nova runs the attestations (QA confidence, SRE operational readiness).
+- You authorize the promotion at the stage gate. No promotion happens
+  without your recorded attestation.
+
+## Compliance Standards Apply Equally
+
+Your FRs + UAT may come from any source — an AI coding agent, an
+agentic SDLC platform, or a traditional IDE. Nova does not
+differentiate. All submissions pass through the same gate
+(`schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json`): tags, environment
+metadata, policy preconditions, profile markers. The compliance
+standards are the same regardless of how the code was authored. This
+is by design: the audit trail is the same, the policy envelope is the
+same, the evidence stream is the same. The source does not matter; the
+submission does.

docs/scope.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# Scope — Nova is Downstream of PDLC
+
+> **Source of truth:** `.ciagent/PROJECT.md` § Scope (v1.18, REQ-216).
+> This page is the citizen-developer-facing copy.
+
+## The Boundary
+
+The **Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC)** is **upstream** of Nova. The
+PDLC includes:
+
+- Product backlog / roadmap planning
+- Code authorship (via AI coding agent, IDE, or agentic SDLC platform)
+- Sprint planning / issue tracking
+- Application business logic
+- IDE workflows / developer experience
+
+Nova never penetrates the PDLC. Nova's domain is **infrastructure +
+delivery only**.
+
+## What Nova Does
+
+Nova governs the downstream half:
+
+- **Contract ingestion** — the validated entry point
+- **Submission-readiness gate** — what is acceptable to start
+  (`schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json`)
+- **Policy enforcement** — the confidence signal, Checkov, tagging
+- **Cloud resource lifecycle** — Terraform plan/apply, state, IAM
+- **Environment progression** — dev (autonomous) → qa (QA attestation) →
+  prod (SRE attestation) → dr (SRE attestation)
+- **Immutable audit + attestation** — the Decision Ledger, the evidence
+  stream, the HITL gates
+
+## The Integration Point
+
+Integration between the PDLC and Nova is **only** through the validated,
+published contract boundary:
+
+```
+PDLC (upstream)                         Nova (downstream)
+─────────────────                       ─────────────────
+product backlog                         contract ingestion
+code authorship (AI agent / IDE / SDLC) → submission-readiness gate
+sprint planning                         → policy enforcement
+application business logic              → cloud resource lifecycle
+                                        → environment progression (dev→qa→prod→dr)
+                                        → immutable audit + attestation
+```
+
+The citizen developer's AI coding agent, an upstream agentic SDLC
+platform, or any upstream development platform may all produce
+submissions. **The source does not matter** — all are subject to the
+same compliance standards. Nova validates the submission, not the
+author.
+
+## What Nova is Not
+
+- Not an upstream development platform (no product backlogs, IDE, code
+  authorship).
+- Not a general-purpose AI agent platform (autonomy is narrow, bounded
+  by policy envelopes).
+- Not a legacy infrastructure bridge (no VMs/bare metal/OS).
+- Not a permissive delivery highway (no escape hatches past confidence
+  or HITL).
+- Not a mutable audit log (VCS history ≠ regulatory evidence).
+
+These anti-goals (from `docs/vision.md` §7 and Core Tenet #2) are
+promoted here from buried tenets to an unmissable scope statement.

docs/submission-readiness.md

@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+# Submission Readiness — What is Acceptable to Start
+
+> **Source of truth:** `schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json` (v1.18,
+> REQ-217). The validator is `core/submission_readiness.py` (REQ-218),
+> invoked as `python3 -m core.lambda.contract_ingestor --check-readiness
+> <submission.json>` (D-133).
+
+Nova's submission-readiness gate defines what is **acceptable to start**.
+It is a superset gate *above* contract-schema validity: the contract schema
+(`schemas/contract.schema.json`) defines the **shape** (id / name /
+environment / infrastructure); the readiness schema defines the **gate**
+(tags, per-env mandatory metadata, policy preconditions, profile markers,
+appSource). Both must pass before ingestion proceeds.
+
+## How It Works
+
+```
+citizen developer submits
+        ↓
+contract.schema.json validation (shape)     ← the existing check
+        ↓
+submission-readiness.schema.json (gate)     ← the new check
+  ├── contractId present (non-empty)
+  ├── environment valid (dev/qa/prod/dr)
+  ├── tags: all 5 Nova tags present (D-054)
+  ├── policyPreconditions declared
+  ├── profile: developer or agentic
+  │     └── if agentic: naturalLanguageIntent + confidenceAtSubmission + agentTrace
+  ├── appSource: repo + ref (for runtime fetch)
+  └── per-env mandatory (W3.E):
+        dev  → stack + environment
+        qa   → + validation.e2eSuite + validation.loadTest
+        prod → + runbook + dashboard + oncall
+        dr   → + drDrillRef
+        ↓
+ready → proceed to contract ingestion
+not ready → reject with citizen-developer-facing error (reason code)
+```
+
+## Reason Codes
+
+When a submission is not ready, the validator returns one or more reason
+codes. These are citizen-developer-facing — no stack traces.
+
+| Code | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `MISSING_TAGS:<tag1>,<tag2>` | One or more required Nova tags are absent |
+| `ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:<env>:<field>` | A per-env mandatory field (W3.E) is missing |
+| `AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:<marker>` | profile=agentic but a required marker is absent |
+| `MISSING_APP_SOURCE` | appSource (repo + ref) is missing |
+| `POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING` | No policy preconditions declared |
+| `CONTRACT_SCHEMA_INVALID:<detail>` | The contract shape failed contract.schema.json |
+| `READINESS_SCHEMA_INVALID:<detail>` | The submission failed the readiness schema |
+
+## Good Example
+
+```json
+{
+  "contractId": "uuid-1234",
+  "id": "webapi",
+  "name": "Customer Web API",
+  "environment": "dev",
+  "tags": {
+    "nova:owner": "consumer-repo",
+    "nova:contract": "uuid-1234",
+    "nova:environment": "dev",
+    "nova:cost-center": "nova-default",
+    "nova:ref": "CHG0678912"
+  },
+  "policyPreconditions": {
+    "public-ingress": false,
+    "encryption_enabled": true,
+    "deletion_protection": true
+  },
+  "profile": "developer",
+  "appSource": {
+    "repo": "consumer/web-api",
+    "ref": "main"
+  },
+  "infrastructure": {
+    "static-assets": {
+      "inputs": {
+        "bucket_name": "webapi-assets"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Result: **READY** — passes the shape + the gate.
+
+## Rejected Examples
+
+### Missing Tags
+
+```json
+{
+  "contractId": "uuid-1234",
+  "environment": "dev",
+  "tags": {
+    "nova:owner": "consumer-repo"
+  },
+  "policyPreconditions": {"public-ingress": false},
+  "profile": "developer",
+  "appSource": {"repo": "consumer/repo", "ref": "main"}
+}
+```
+
+Result: `NOT READY — MISSING_TAGS:nova:contract,nova:environment,nova:cost-center,nova:ref`
+
+### Agentic Missing Intent
+
+```json
+{
+  "contractId": "uuid-1234",
+  "environment": "qa",
+  "tags": { "nova:owner": "x", "nova:contract": "x", "nova:environment": "qa", "nova:cost-center": "x", "nova:ref": "x" },
+  "policyPreconditions": {"public-ingress": false},
+  "profile": "agentic",
+  "appSource": {"repo": "x", "ref": "x"},
+  "validation": {"e2eSuite": true, "loadTest": true}
+}
+```
+
+Result: `NOT READY — AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:naturalLanguageIntent; AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:confidenceAtSubmission; AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:agentTrace`
+
+### Env Missing Mandatory (prod without runbook)
+
+```json
+{
+  "contractId": "uuid-1234",
+  "environment": "prod",
+  "tags": { "nova:owner": "x", "nova:contract": "x", "nova:environment": "prod", "nova:cost-center": "x", "nova:ref": "x" },
+  "policyPreconditions": {"public-ingress": false},
+  "profile": "developer",
+  "appSource": {"repo": "x", "ref": "x"}
+}
+```
+
+Result: `NOT READY — ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:prod:runbook; ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:prod:dashboard; ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:prod:oncall`
+
+## Compliance-Standard Equivalence
+
+The submission-readiness gate applies **equally** to all upstream sources.
+Whether the citizen developer's submission originated from an AI coding
+agent, an agentic SDLC platform, or a traditional development platform —
+the same tags, the same env mandatory, the same policy preconditions, the
+same profile markers are required. The source does not matter; the
+submission does. This is the RACI compliance-standard equivalence note
+(`docs/raci.md`) made machine-checkable.

schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+  "$id": "https://nova.dev/schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json",
+  "title": "Nova Submission-Readiness Gate",
+  "description": "Defines what is acceptable to start — a superset gate ABOVE contract.schema.json validity. The contract schema defines the SHAPE (id/name/environment/infrastructure); this schema defines the READINESS gate: required Nova tags, per-env mandatory metadata (W3.E), declared policy preconditions, profile:agentic markers, and the appSource pointer. The validator (core/submission_readiness.py, REQ-218) calls contract.schema.json validation first, then these readiness checks. On fail → citizen-developer-facing error (not a stack trace); on pass → proceeds to existing contract ingestion.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "required": ["contractId", "environment", "tags", "policyPreconditions", "profile", "appSource"],
+  "properties": {
+    "contractId": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "description": "The contract identifier (UUID or operational id). Non-empty."
+    },
+    "environment": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "enum": ["dev", "qa", "prod", "dr"],
+      "description": "Target environment. Determines the per-env mandatory fields (allOf below)."
+    },
+    "tags": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "The 5 required Nova tags (D-054). References schemas/tagging-standard.json.",
+      "required": ["nova:owner", "nova:contract", "nova:environment", "nova:cost-center", "nova:ref"],
+      "properties": {
+        "nova:owner": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1},
+        "nova:contract": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1},
+        "nova:environment": {"type": "string", "enum": ["dev", "qa", "prod", "dr"]},
+        "nova:cost-center": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1},
+        "nova:ref": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1}
+      },
+      "additionalProperties": false
+    },
+    "policyPreconditions": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "Declared policy expectations the platform will enforce. The citizen developer states what the platform should check; the platform enforces it at apply time. Missing a declared precondition is POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING.",
+      "properties": {
+        "public-ingress": {"type": "boolean", "default": false},
+        "encryption_enabled": {"type": "boolean", "default": true},
+        "deletion_protection": {"type": "boolean", "default": true}
+      },
+      "additionalProperties": true
+    },
+    "profile": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "enum": ["developer", "agentic"],
+      "description": "developer = L3A (technical); agentic = L3B (non-technical, requires naturalLanguageIntent + confidenceAtSubmission + agentTrace per REQ-22 / W3.E)."
+    },
+    "appSource": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "Pointer to the consumer application code so the platform can fetch at run time.",
+      "required": ["repo", "ref"],
+      "properties": {
+        "repo": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1, "description": "Repository URL or owner/repo shorthand."},
+        "ref": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1, "description": "Git ref (branch, tag, or SHA)."}
+      },
+      "additionalProperties": false
+    },
+    "naturalLanguageIntent": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Required when profile=agentic (L3B). The citizen developer's plain-language intent."
+    },
+    "confidenceAtSubmission": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "maximum": 1,
+      "description": "Required when profile=agentic (L3B). The submitter's self-assessed confidence."
+    },
+    "agentTrace": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Required when profile=agentic (L3B). The agent's trace/reasoning for the submission."
+    },
+    "validation": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "Per-env mandatory metadata (W3.E). qa requires e2eSuite + loadTest; prod requires runbook + dashboard + oncall; dr requires drDrillRef.",
+      "properties": {
+        "e2eSuite": {"type": "boolean"},
+        "loadTest": {"type": "boolean"}
+      },
+      "additionalProperties": true
+    },
+    "runbook": {"type": "string", "description": "Required when environment=prod (W3.E)."},
+    "dashboard": {"type": "string", "description": "Required when environment=prod (W3.E)."},
+    "oncall": {"type": "string", "description": "Required when environment=prod (W3.E)."},
+    "drDrillRef": {"type": "string", "description": "Required when environment=dr (W3.E)."}
+  },
+  "allOf": [
+    {
+      "if": {"properties": {"environment": {"const": "qa"}}},
+      "then": {"required": ["validation"], "properties": {"validation": {"required": ["e2eSuite", "loadTest"]}}}
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {"properties": {"environment": {"const": "prod"}}},
+      "then": {"required": ["runbook", "dashboard", "oncall"]}
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {"properties": {"environment": {"const": "dr"}}},
+      "then": {"required": ["drDrillRef"]}
+    },
+    {
+      "if": {"properties": {"profile": {"const": "agentic"}}},
+      "then": {"required": ["naturalLanguageIntent", "confidenceAtSubmission", "agentTrace"]}
+    }
+  ],
+  "additionalProperties": true
+}

tests/test_submission_readiness.py

@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+"""tests/test_submission_readiness.py — REQ-220.
+
+Covers: good contract passes; missing tags fail with MISSING_TAGS;
+env-missing-mandatory fails with ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:<env>:<field>;
+agentic profile missing intent fails with AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT;
+missing appSource fails with MISSING_APP_SOURCE.
+"""
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+import unittest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+from core.submission_readiness import check_readiness, ReadinessResult
+
+GOOD_TAGS = {
+    "nova:owner": "consumer-repo",
+    "nova:contract": "uuid-1234",
+    "nova:environment": "dev",
+    "nova:cost-center": "nova-default",
+    "nova:ref": "CHG0678912",
+}
+
+
+def _base(**overrides):
+    submission = {
+        "contractId": "uuid-1234",
+        "id": "webapi",
+        "name": "Customer Web API",
+        "environment": "dev",
+        "tags": dict(GOOD_TAGS),
+        "policyPreconditions": {"public-ingress": False, "encryption_enabled": True},
+        "profile": "developer",
+        "appSource": {"repo": "consumer/repo", "ref": "main"},
+        "infrastructure": {
+            "static-assets": {"inputs": {"bucket_name": "webapi-assets"}}
+        },
+    }
+    submission.update(overrides)
+    return submission
+
+
+class TestGoodContract(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_good_contract_passes(self):
+        result = check_readiness(_base())
+        self.assertTrue(result.ready, f"Expected ready, got: {result.reason_codes}")
+        self.assertEqual(result.contract_id, "uuid-1234")
+
+    def test_good_agentic_contract_passes(self):
+        submission = _base(
+            profile="agentic",
+            naturalLanguageIntent="A web API for customer data",
+            confidenceAtSubmission=0.85,
+            agentTrace="LLM generated contract from issue #42",
+        )
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertTrue(result.ready, f"Expected ready, got: {result.reason_codes}")
+
+
+class TestMissingTags(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_missing_tags_fail(self):
+        submission = _base()
+        submission["tags"] = {"nova:owner": "consumer-repo"}
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        codes = " ".join(result.reason_codes)
+        self.assertIn("MISSING_TAGS", codes)
+        self.assertIn("nova:contract", codes)
+        self.assertIn("nova:environment", codes)
+        self.assertIn("nova:cost-center", codes)
+        self.assertIn("nova:ref", codes)
+
+    def test_empty_tag_value_fails(self):
+        submission = _base()
+        submission["tags"]["nova:owner"] = ""
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        self.assertTrue(any("MISSING_TAGS" in c for c in result.reason_codes))
+
+
+class TestEnvMissingMandatory(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_qa_missing_e2e_suite_fails(self):
+        submission = _base(environment="qa")
+        submission["tags"]["nova:environment"] = "qa"
+        # No validation.e2eSuite
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        codes = " ".join(result.reason_codes)
+        self.assertIn("ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:qa:validation.e2eSuite", codes)
+
+    def test_prod_missing_runbook_fails(self):
+        submission = _base(environment="prod")
+        submission["tags"]["nova:environment"] = "prod"
+        # No runbook/dashboard/oncall
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        codes = " ".join(result.reason_codes)
+        self.assertIn("ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:prod:runbook", codes)
+        self.assertIn("ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:prod:dashboard", codes)
+        self.assertIn("ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:prod:oncall", codes)
+
+    def test_dr_missing_drdrillref_fails(self):
+        submission = _base(environment="dr")
+        submission["tags"]["nova:environment"] = "dr"
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        codes = " ".join(result.reason_codes)
+        self.assertIn("ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY:dr:drDrillRef", codes)
+
+    def test_prod_with_all_mandatory_passes(self):
+        submission = _base(
+            environment="prod",
+            runbook="docs/runbooks/webapi.md",
+            dashboard="https://grafana/nova/webapi",
+            oncall="oncall@company.com",
+        )
+        submission["tags"]["nova:environment"] = "prod"
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertTrue(result.ready, f"Expected ready, got: {result.reason_codes}")
+
+
+class TestAgenticMissingIntent(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_agentic_missing_all_markers_fails(self):
+        submission = _base(profile="agentic")
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        codes = " ".join(result.reason_codes)
+        self.assertIn("AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:naturalLanguageIntent", codes)
+        self.assertIn("AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:confidenceAtSubmission", codes)
+        self.assertIn("AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT:agentTrace", codes)
+
+    def test_agentic_missing_one_marker_fails(self):
+        submission = _base(
+            profile="agentic",
+            naturalLanguageIntent="A web API",
+            confidenceAtSubmission=0.85,
+            # agentTrace missing
+        )
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        self.assertTrue(any("agentTrace" in c for c in result.reason_codes))
+
+
+class TestMissingAppSource(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_missing_appsource_fails(self):
+        submission = _base()
+        del submission["appSource"]
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        self.assertTrue(any("MISSING_APP_SOURCE" in c for c in result.reason_codes))
+
+    def test_appsource_missing_ref_fails(self):
+        submission = _base()
+        submission["appSource"] = {"repo": "consumer/repo"}
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        self.assertTrue(any("MISSING_APP_SOURCE" in c for c in result.reason_codes))
+
+
+class TestPolicyPreconditionMissing(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_empty_policy_fails(self):
+        submission = _base()
+        submission["policyPreconditions"] = {}
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertFalse(result.ready)
+        self.assertTrue(any("POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING" in c for c in result.reason_codes))
+
+
+class TestReadinessResultStructure(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_result_to_dict(self):
+        result = check_readiness(_base())
+        d = result.to_dict()
+        self.assertIn("ready", d)
+        self.assertIn("reason_codes", d)
+        self.assertIn("contractId", d)
+
+    def test_result_str_ready(self):
+        result = check_readiness(_base())
+        self.assertIn("READY", str(result))
+
+    def test_result_str_not_ready(self):
+        submission = _base()
+        del submission["appSource"]
+        result = check_readiness(submission)
+        self.assertIn("NOT READY", str(result))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()