docs(P00): grill — 4 revisions applied (PROCEED-WITH-REVISIONS, 0.78)

10 axes reviewed. 6 PASS, 4 REVISE. Overall: PROCEED-WITH-REVISIONS.
Empirically cleared (not assumed): image format (plain <img src>, conf
0.95) + Marp <div> passthrough (rendered test, conf 0.95). Versioning
clean (no v1.22.* tags, conf 1.0). Test inversion risk fully enumerated
(conf 0.9).

Revisions (binding):
G-001 (0.85): purge 'penetrate' repo-wide (docs/ + .ciagent/), not just
  docs/presentations/. RESEARCH.md/PLAN.md/GRILL.md exempt as decision-
  history. P4 verify becomes grep -ri penetrat docs/ .ciagent/PROJECT.md
  .ciagent/CLARIFY.md -> nothing.
G-002 (0.85): serialize P3->P4 (not parallel). P4's parser depends on
  P3's stable render_slides.sh; P4's trimmed deck is what P3b's parser
  consumes. C8 parallelization overruled.
G-003 (0.80): split P3 into P3a (inline_images.py + render_slides.sh +
  pyproject — low-risk) + P3b (render_pptx.py + parser +
  attach_release_asset.py — high-risk, isolated). Both serial in Wave 3.
G-004 (0.80): merge P5+P6. NFR docs milestone; dedicated review/ship
  phase is ceremonial. P5 absorbs review/audit/ship. Net phases 7->6.

Revised phase/tag plan:
v1.22.0 P0 -> v1.22.1 P1 -> v1.22.2 P2 -> v1.22.3 P3a -> v1.22.4 P3b
-> v1.22.5 P4 -> v1.22.6 P5 (final = milestone release).

---ci---
project: acdl
phase: 0
milestone: v1.23
status: grill
---/ci---

.ciagent/CHECKPOINT.json

@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 {
   "phase": 0,
-  "stage": "plan",
-  "milestone": "v1.21",
+  "stage": "grill",
+  "milestone": "v1.23",
   "phase_role": "pre_execution",
   "attempts": 0,
-  "updated_at": "2026-08-11T00:01:00Z",
-  "milestone_complete": false,
-  "requirements": ["REQ-245","REQ-246","REQ-247","REQ-248","REQ-249","REQ-250","REQ-251","REQ-252","REQ-253"],
-  "notes": "v1.21 P0 plan stage complete. PLAN.md v1.21 section written. 5 execution phases (P1 strategic-docs, P2 slides, P3 marp+talking-points+README, P4 pipeline-hardening, P5 render+verify) + P6 final-review-ship. Wave 1 (P1/P2/P4 parallelizable), Wave 2 (P3), Wave 3 (P5), Wave 4 (P6). CLARIFY+RESEARCH minimal at full autonomy — domain known, requirements confirmed with user. Proceeding to P0 ship then execution."
+  "updated_at": "2026-08-11T23:30:00Z",
+  "project": "acdl"
 }

.ciagent/CLARIFY.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+# CLARIFY — v1.23 (auto-resolved, full autonomy)
+
+8 ambiguities identified, all auto-resolved at confidence ≥ 0.6.
+No human escalation (full autonomy). All decisions logged below.
+
+## C1 — Speaker notes source for HTML comments (conf 0.95)
+**Ambiguity:** The plain `.md` has `> **Speaker notes:**` and
+`> **Transition:**` blocks per slide; talking points live in a separate
+file. Which content goes into the `<!-- ... -->` comments?
+**Resolution:** Extract `> **Speaker notes:**` and `> **Transition:**`
+blocks from the plain `.md` and embed each slide's as
+`<!-- Speaker notes: ... -->` before the next `---` separator. Talking
+points come from `talking-points.md` (the 3-6 bullets per slide)
+embedded as `<!-- Talking points: ... -->`. Both are Marp HTML comments
+(excluded from slide rendering; the `talking-points.md` stays as the
+standalone synced aid).
+
+## C2 — python-pptx dependency placement (conf 0.9)
+**Ambiguity:** `pyproject.toml` has `[project.optional-dependencies]`
+`test`. Where does `python-pptx` go?
+**Resolution:** Add a new optional-dependency group
+`slides = ["python-pptx>=0.6.23"]`. Keeps the base `dependencies`
+minimal (the render script is a docs-only concern, not a runtime
+dep). CI installs via `pip install -e .[slides]`. The `render_pptx.py`
+script imports `pptx` at module load (not a hard failure if absent —
+the script prints a clear "pip install -e .[slides]" message and exits
+1).
+
+## C3 — Benefit callout markdown representation (conf 0.9)
+**Ambiguity:** Marp markdown can't natively produce arbitrary `<div>`.
+How is the `.benefit` class applied?
+**Resolution:** Use Marp's HTML-in-markdown support — write benefit
+lines as `<div class="benefit">text</div>` directly in the markdown
+(Marp passes through HTML blocks). The inline `style:` block targets
+`.benefit`. The `**Benefit:**` prefix is removed.
+
+## C4 — Image inlining MIME types (conf 0.95)
+**Ambiguity:** What MIME types does `inline_images.py` handle?
+**Resolution:** The deck references `.png` files only (mermaid
+renders). `inline_images.py` MIME-sniffs by extension:
+`.png`→`image/png`, `.svg`→`image/svg+xml`, `.jpg/.jpeg`→`image/jpeg`,
+`.gif`→`image/gif`; fallback `application/octet-stream`. Only relative
+`src="assets/..."` paths are inlined (absolute/`http(s)://` URLs are
+left alone).
+
+## C5 — render_slides.sh step ordering (conf 0.9)
+**Ambiguity:** Where do the new inline-images + python-pptx steps go?
+**Resolution:** Step 1 mermaid → PNG (unchanged); Step 2 MARP → HTML +
+PPTX (drop `--theme`); Step 3 inline images into HTML; Step 4
+python-pptx → `*-python.pptx`; Step 5 stage all. The inline step runs
+only on the HTML (not the PPTX — both PPTX formats embed media in
+their zip by construction).
+
+## C6 — "penetrate" absence test scope (conf 0.95)
+**Ambiguity:** How is "penetrate" absence asserted?
+**Resolution:** `grep -ri penetrat docs/presentations/` returns nothing
+(covers `.md`, `-marp.md`, `talking-points.md`, `.html`; `.pptx` is
+binary so excluded). A new test `test_no_penetrate_term` asserts this.
+
+## C7 — attach_release_asset.py dual-PPTX (conf 0.85)
+**Ambiguity:** Does the release attach both PPTX files?
+**Resolution:** Yes — attach both `.pptx` (MARP image-of-slide) and
+`-python.pptx` (structured). Minimal change: loop over both filenames.
+The MARP PPTX remains the "primary" attachment (first); the python
+PPTX is secondary (comparison artifact).
+
+## C8 — Wave ordering (conf 0.85)
+**Ambiguity:** Can P1 (consolidate) and P2 (style) parallelize?
+**Resolution:** No — both edit `-marp.md` with a serial dependency: P1
+establishes the single doc (deletes the plain `.md`, adds HTML-comment
+speaker notes); P2 edits that single doc's frontmatter + benefit
+callouts. Order: P1 → P2 → (P3 + P4 parallel: P3 edits
+`scripts/inline_images.py` + `render_pptx.py` + `render_slides.sh` +
+`pyproject`; P4 edits the deck markdown — zero file overlap) → P5 →
+P6. P3 depends on P2's render-script `--theme` drop. P4 depends on
+P1's consolidated doc.

.ciagent/PERSONAS.md

@@ -1,34 +1,222 @@
 ---
 project: acdl
-milestone: v1.18
-generated_at: 2026-08-06
+milestone: v1.23
+generated_at: 2026-08-11
 generator: lead-developer
 verification_toolchain:
-  typecheck: "python3 -m py_compile core/submission_readiness.py mcp/atelier/server.py && python3 -m jsonschema schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json"
-  test: "pytest tests/test_submission_readiness.py tests/test_atelier_mcp.py   # REQ-220 + REQ-225"
-  build: "bash scripts/render_deck.sh docs/presentations/nova-no-humans-platform-marp.md   # HTML + PPTX (D-142)"
+  typecheck: "python3 -m py_compile scripts/inline_images.py scripts/render_pptx.py tests/test_slides_pipeline.py"
+  test: "pytest tests/test_slides_pipeline.py   # REQ-263..275"
+  build: "bash scripts/render_slides.sh nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery   # HTML + Marp PPTX; then python3 scripts/render_pptx.py   # structured PPTX"
   note: |
-    v1.18 adds the Citizen Developer & Production-Grade Guidance surface:
-    submission-readiness gate, Atelier-derived skills, the Atelier MCP server
-    (plugin-registry, stdio), and PPTX-as-first-class-artifact deck automation.
-    Three active personas: lead-developer (coordination + decks + RACI/scope
-    docs), backend-engineer (MCP server + submission-readiness validator +
-    render/attach scripts), data-engineer (submission-readiness schema if it
-    touches contract storage / DynamoDB shape). frontend-engineer stays
-    deactivated (v1.18 has no frontend; decks are markdown = lead-developer
-    territory). The MCP plugin-registry is a backend pattern, so a separate
-    mcp-engineer persona is NOT added — it folds into backend-engineer.
+    v1.23 is the Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX — a docs/render/test
+    NFR milestone. Two active personas: lead-developer (deck markdown
+    consolidation + inline Marp style CSS + README + .ciagent metadata),
+    backend-engineer (Python scripts inline_images.py + render_pptx.py
+    via python-pptx + render_slides.sh updates + tests + CI YAML +
+    attach_release_asset.py extension). frontend-engineer stays
+    deactivated (decks are markdown + Marp CSS = lead-developer
+    territory, per v1.17/v1.18/v1.22 precedent). No data-engineer (no
+    schema/DB changes). No new personas (the work splits cleanly into
+    narrative+CSS+docs and Python+bash+tests+CI).
 ---
 
-# ACDL — Persona Roster (v1.18 Citizen Developer & Production-Grade Guidance)
+# ACDL — Persona Roster (v1.23 Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX)
 
-> v1.18 roster. Three active personas + one deactivated. The MCP server
-> plugin-registry (D-140) is a backend pattern, not a new persona — it
-> folds into backend-engineer. v1.17 precedent (frontend-engineer
-> deactivated, decks are markdown = lead-developer territory) is upheld.
+> v1.23 roster. Two active personas + two deactivated. This is a
+> docs/render/test NFR milestone: the work is deck markdown
+> consolidation, Marp inline `style:` CSS (reverting from the standalone
+> `nova-sp-theme.css` to `theme: default` + inline block), two Python
+> render scripts (`inline_images.py` stdlib image inlining +
+> `render_pptx.py` structured PPTX via python-pptx), test updates, CI
+> YAML, README rewrite, and the `attach_release_asset.py` extension to
+> dual-PPTX. frontend-engineer stays deactivated (Marp CSS is a static
+> stylesheet, not a React/Next.js component system — D-148 precedent).
+> No data-engineer (no schema/DB/ORM changes).
 
 ## Active personas
 
+### lead-developer
+- **Domain:** coordination + deck content + inline CSS
+- **Active:** true
+- **Phase-specific:** false
+- **Frameworks:** [] (no framework — owns process + narrative + Marp inline CSS + markdown + README)
+- **Constraints:** ["pragmatic", "battle-tested defaults", "no fabrication (NORTH_STAR honesty model)", "do not change the 4-beat arc", "do not re-introduce badges/version/internal citations", "port the reference deck's exact inline style CSS (the clean look)"]
+- **Territory:**
+  - `docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` (REQ-263..275 — deck consolidation: merge plain .md into -marp.md, trim word count, remove "penetrate")
+  - `docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md` (DELETE — consolidated into -marp.md)
+  - `docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md` (sync to final slide structure)
+  - `docs/presentations/README.md` (rewrite 4-step → 3-step process for single-document + dual-PPTX pipeline)
+  - `docs/presentations/assets/nova-sp-theme.css` (RETIRE from render; keep as reference file)
+  - `.ciagent/**` (PROJECT, ROADMAP, REQUIREMENTS, RESEARCH, PLAN, GRILL, PERSONAS, REVIEW, CHECKPOINT)
+- **Reason:** Owns the deck markdown consolidation (plain `.md` +
+  `-marp.md` → single `-marp.md` with speaker notes as HTML comments),
+  the inline `style:` CSS block (porting the reference deck's exact
+  CSS — the "clean look"), the word-count trim, the "penetrate"
+  removal, the talking-points sync, the README rewrite, and all
+  CIAgent metadata. Is the only persona that touches `.ciagent/**` and
+  the deck markdown/CSS. The inline `style:` block is a Marp
+  frontmatter stylesheet, not a frontend component system (D-148
+  precedent from v1.22).
+- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for all of P0–P-final).
+
+### backend-engineer
+- **Domain:** Python render scripts + bash + tests + CI
+- **Active:** true
+- **Phase-specific:** false
+- **Frameworks:** ["python-pptx", "bash", "pytest", "marp-cli", "mermaid-cli", "base64/re/mimetypes (stdlib)"]
+- **Constraints:** ["pin CLI versions (no @latest in workflows-src/slides.yml — currently unpinned, must fix)", "python-pptx>=0.6.23 minimum", "stdlib-only for inline_images.py (no external image lib)", "tests must catch the theme-default + inline-style regression (the gap that let v1.22's standalone-theme drift through)", "no raw curl with shell-env tokens"]
+- **Territory:**
+  - `scripts/inline_images.py` (NEW — stdlib base64 image inlining into rendered HTML)
+  - `scripts/render_pptx.py` (NEW — structured editable PPTX via python-pptx)
+  - `scripts/render_slides.sh` (update: drop --theme nova-sp-theme.css; add inline_images.py + render_pptx.py invocations)
+  - `scripts/attach_release_asset.py` (extend to accept multiple file paths: both .pptx + -python.pptx)
+  - `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py` (REQ-262 successor — invert theme tests, retarget CSS tests to inline style block, delete source-md tests, update slide count)
+  - `workflows-src/slides.yml` (add python-pptx install step; pin @latest → @4.5.0/@11.16.0; add -python.pptx to commit list)
+  - `pyproject.toml` (add python-pptx>=0.6.23 to [project.optional-dependencies] test)
+- **Reason:** Owns the Python render scripts (`inline_images.py` is
+  stdlib regex + base64; `render_pptx.py` is python-pptx — a backend
+  Python library, not a frontend framework). The render_slides.sh
+  updates (drop `--theme`, add the two Python script invocations) and
+  the CI YAML (add python-pptx install, pin versions, add
+  -python.pptx to commit list) are backend/scripting tasks. The test
+  suite updates (invert the theme-default test, retarget CSS tests to
+  the inline `style:` block, delete the source-md tests) are the gap
+  that let v1.22's standalone-theme drift through — backend-engineer
+  owns closing it. python-pptx is new to v1.23; backend-engineer's
+  frameworks list gains it.
+- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for P2 scripts, P5 tests; light
+  touch on P0/P-final).
+
+## Deactivated personas
+
+### frontend-engineer
+- **Active:** false
+- **Domain:** frontend
+- **Frameworks:** ["react", "next.js"] (inert — no territory)
+- **Constraints:** ["component-first", "server-components", "minimal-client-js"] (inert)
+- **Territory:** [] (no territory in v1.23)
+- **Reason:** v1.23 has no frontend; decks are markdown + Marp inline
+  CSS (lead-developer territory); deactivated per PERSONAS.md
+  v1.17/v1.18/v1.22 precedent. The inline `style:` block is a Marp
+  frontmatter stylesheet (CSS rules in the markdown frontmatter), not
+  a React/Next.js component system — it stays lead-developer
+  territory. No reactivation trigger.
+
+### data-engineer
+- **Active:** false
+- **Domain:** data
+- **Frameworks:** [] (inert)
+- **Constraints:** [] (inert)
+- **Territory:** [] (no territory in v1.23)
+- **Reason:** v1.23 has no schema/DB/ORM changes. The milestone is
+  docs + Python scripts + bash + tests + CI only. No reactivation
+  trigger.
+
+## Roster decisions
+
+### D-163 (0.95): Inline Marp `style:` block is lead-developer territory, not frontend-engineer
+The inline `style:` block in the Marp frontmatter is a static CSS
+stylesheet (a block of CSS rules in the markdown frontmatter, applied
+by Marp to the rendered slides), not a React/Next.js component system.
+The v1.17/v1.18/v1.22 precedent (decks are markdown = lead-developer
+territory; the theme CSS is a Marp stylesheet, not a frontend framework
+— D-148) extends to the inline `style:` block. frontend-engineer's
+frameworks (react, next.js) are irrelevant to Marp frontmatter CSS.
+**Decision:** inline `style:` block stays lead-developer territory.
+Confidence 0.95 — the only counter-argument is that CSS is "frontend,"
+but Marp frontmatter CSS is a static stylesheet authored in the
+markdown source, not a component system.
+
+### D-164 (0.90): No new personas for v1.23
+The work is markdown + inline CSS + Python scripts + bash + tests + CI
+YAML + README. All of this is within the two active personas' range
+(lead-developer: markdown + CSS + README + metadata; backend-engineer:
+Python + bash + tests + CI). Creating a separate "slides-engineer" or
+"pptx-engineer" persona would fragment ownership of the deck markdown
+(lead) and the render scripts (backend). The python-pptx work is
+unambiguously backend (a Python library + script), even though the
+slide layout decisions within `render_pptx.py` are co-owned with lead-
+developer. **Decision:** no new personas. Confidence 0.90 — follows
+v1.22 D-149 precedent.
+
+### Territory-overlap resolution (co-ownership)
+
+| Path | Primary | Co-owner | Why |
+|------|---------|----------|-----|
+| `scripts/render_pptx.py` | backend-engineer (Python code + python-pptx API) | lead-developer (slide layout decisions: which image where, font sizes, bullet structure) | The script is backend (Python); the slide-by-slide layout decisions within it are design decisions that reflect lead-developer's deck ownership. `warn` enforcement — cross-territory edits logged, not blocked. |
+| `scripts/render_slides.sh` | backend-engineer (bash script) | lead-developer (the inline `style:` block content it renders) | The script is backend; the CSS it renders is lead-developer's. |
+| `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py` | backend-engineer (test code) | lead-developer (assertions reflect deck structure + inline CSS) | The test code is backend; the assertions (slide count, inline style rules, theme-default) reflect lead-developer's deck/CSS decisions. |
+| `docs/presentations/README.md` | lead-developer (process narrative) | backend-engineer (build commands + render script invocations) | The process narrative is lead; the build commands + script names are backend. |
+
+## Domain priority (v1.23)
+
+`lead-developer → backend-engineer`
+
+Rationale: the deck markdown consolidation + inline CSS (lead) is the
+binding constraint — the render scripts (backend) can't be finalized
+until the deck structure is stable (slide count, inline style). The
+inline `style:` block must be ported + verified before the render
+pipeline (HTML + PPTX) is re-run. Backend (scripts + tests + CI)
+follows once the deck + CSS are settled. The dual-PPTX pipeline is
+wired last, once the deck renders clean with the inline style.
+
+---
+
+## Historical rosters
+
+<details>
+<summary>v1.22 roster (Nova Deck Layout Fix) — superseded by v1.23</summary>
+
+### Active personas (v1.22)
+
+### lead-developer
+- **Domain:** coordination + deck content
+- **Active:** true
+- **Phase-specific:** false
+- **Frameworks:** [] (no framework — owns process + narrative + CSS + markdown)
+- **Constraints:** ["pragmatic", "battle-tested defaults", "no fabrication (NORTH_STAR honesty model)", "do not change the 4-beat arc", "do not re-introduce badges/version/internal citations"]
+- **Territory:**
+  - `docs/presentations/assets/nova-sp-theme.css` (REQ-254,255,256 — theme CSS)
+  - `docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` (REQ-261 — deck content)
+  - `docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md` (REQ-261 — source of truth)
+  - `docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md` (REQ-261)
+  - `docs/presentations/README.md` (REQ-261 — slide-count convention)
+  - `docs/presentations/assets/mmd/*.mmd` (REQ-259,260 — mermaid re-layout)
+  - `.ciagent/**` (PROJECT, ROADMAP, REQUIREMENTS, RESEARCH, PLAN, GRILL, PERSONAS, REVIEW, CHECKPOINT)
+- **Reason:** Owns the theme CSS (the root cause), the deck markdown
+  (trim/split overflowing slides), the mermaid re-layout, the talking
+  points, the README, and all CIAgent metadata. Is the only persona
+  that touches `.ciagent/**` and the deck markdown/CSS.
+- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for all of P0–P6).
+
+### backend-engineer
+- **Domain:** render scripts + tests
+- **Active:** true
+- **Phase-specific:** false
+- **Frameworks:** ["bash", "pytest", "marp-cli", "mermaid-cli"]
+- **Constraints:** ["pin CLI versions (no @latest)", "2x scale + transparent bg for mermaid", "tests must catch layout regressions", "no raw curl with shell-env tokens"]
+- **Territory:**
+  - `scripts/render_slides.sh` (REQ-257,258 — pin versions, 2x scale)
+  - `scripts/render_deck.sh` (REQ-257 — DELETE)
+  - `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py` (REQ-262 — layout/aspect-ratio/theme-structural tests)
+  - `.github/workflows/slides.yml` (if references to render_deck.sh need removal)
+- **Reason:** Owns the render pipeline (bash scripts) and the test
+  suite. The layout/aspect-ratio/theme-structural tests (REQ-262) are
+  the gap that let this regression through — backend-engineer owns
+  closing that gap. Pinning CLI versions and adding 2x scale are
+  backend/scripting tasks.
+- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for P2, P5; light touch on P0/P6).
+
+### D-148 (v1.22): Theme CSS is lead-developer territory, not frontend-engineer
+### D-149 (v1.22): No new personas for v1.22
+
+</details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>v1.18 roster (Citizen Developer & Production-Grade Guidance) — superseded</summary>
+
+### Active personas (v1.18)
+
 ### lead-developer
 - **Domain:** coordination
 - **Active:** true
@@ -45,92 +233,32 @@ verification_toolchain:
   - `docs/scope.md` (REQ-216)
   - `docs/skills.md` (REQ-222 — the index page, not the skill files themselves)
   - `docs/submission-readiness.md` (REQ-219 — citizen-developer-facing copy; co-owned with backend-engineer for the reason-code catalog)
-- **Reason:** Owns CIAgent metadata, the milestone narrative, the RACI +
-  PDLC-scope statements (REQ-215/216), the deck (21 slides, S&P theme
-  regression check vs P1, CAP-024), the skills index page (REQ-222), and
-  the citizen-developer-facing submission-readiness doc (REQ-219). Is
-  the only persona that touches `.ciagent/**` and the deck markdown.
-- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for all of P0–P7).
 
 ### backend-engineer
 - **Domain:** backend
 - **Active:** true
 - **Phase-specific:** false
 - **Frameworks:** ["mcp (Python SDK v2)", "pydantic", "jsonschema", "urllib"]
-- **Constraints:** ["api-first", "strict-typing", "plugin-registry extensible (D-140)", "stdio now / HTTP-ready (D-135)", "no stack traces to citizen developers (REQ-218)"]
 - **Territory:**
   - `mcp/atelier/server.py` (REQ-223)
   - `mcp/atelier/plugins/**/*.py` (REQ-223 — principles.py, validation.py)
   - `mcp/atelier/vendor/**` (REQ-224 — vendored Atelier snapshot)
   - `mcp/atelier/VERSION.md` + `mcp/atelier/README.md` (REQ-224)
   - `scripts/update_atelier_vendor.sh` (REQ-224)
-  - `core/submission_readiness.py` (REQ-218 — the validator, invoked as `contract_ingestor.py --check-readiness`)
-  - `scripts/render_deck.sh` (REQ-228 — HTML + PPTX render)
-  - `scripts/attach_release_asset.py` (REQ-228 — Gitea release asset upload)
+  - `core/submission_readiness.py` (REQ-218)
+  - `scripts/render_deck.sh` (REQ-228)
+  - `scripts/attach_release_asset.py` (REQ-228)
   - `tests/test_atelier_mcp.py` (REQ-225)
   - `tests/test_submission_readiness.py` (REQ-220)
-  - `docs/submission-readiness.md` (REQ-219 — reason-code catalog section; co-owned with lead-developer for the narrative)
-- **Reason:** Owns the MCP server (plugin-registry, stdio, vendored
-  Atelier), the submission-readiness validator (extends
-  `contract_ingestor.py --check-readiness`, D-133), the render/attach
-  scripts (D-142 trigger), and the two new test files. The MCP
-  plugin-registry (D-140) is a backend pattern — no separate
-  mcp-engineer persona is created; backend-engineer owns it.
-- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for P1 deck-render, P3 validator,
-  P5 MCP server, P6 scripts).
 
 ### data-engineer
 - **Domain:** data
 - **Active:** true
-- **Phase-specific:** false
 - **Frameworks:** ["jsonschema", "dynamodb (item shape)"]
-- **Constraints:** ["schema-first", "superset-gate NOT duplicate (PROJECT.md hard constraint)", "W3.E per-env mandatory table is the source of truth"]
 - **Territory:**
-  - `schemas/**` (REQ-217 — `submission-readiness.schema.json` is the new schema; existing schemas untouched)
-  - `core/lambda/contract_ingestor.py` (the `--check-readiness` subcommand wiring, D-133 — the validator is in `core/submission_readiness.py` but the ingestor dispatches to it; co-owned with backend-engineer)
-- **Reason:** Owns the submission-readiness JSON Schema (REQ-217) — it
-  is a schema artifact, data-engineer territory. The schema is a
-  *superset gate above* `contract.schema.json`, not a duplicate (it
-  references contract fields, does not redefine them). The
-  per-env-mandatory table comes from W3.E (the locked decision). The
-  ingestor wiring is co-owned with backend-engineer (the dispatch point
-  is backend; the schema it validates against is data).
-- **Phase-specific flag:** none (active for P3 schema + ingestor wiring).
+  - `schemas/**` (REQ-217)
+  - `core/lambda/contract_ingestor.py` (co-owned with backend-engineer)
 
-## Deactivated personas
+### D-143 (v1.18): Fold mcp-engineer into backend-engineer
 
-### frontend-engineer
-- **Active:** false
-- **Domain:** frontend
-- **Frameworks:** ["react", "next.js"] (inert — no territory)
-- **Constraints:** ["component-first", "server-components", "minimal-client-js"] (inert)
-- **Territory:** [] (no territory in v1.18)
-- **Reason:** v1.18 has no frontend; decks are markdown (lead-developer
-  territory); deactivated per PERSONAS.md v1.17 precedent. v1.18's
-  observability stays PowerBI / external (Out of Scope: "A Nova-built
-  frontend / dashboard"). The MCP server exposes tools to an AI agent,
-  not a web UI. No reactivation trigger in this milestone.
-
-## Roster decisions
-
-### D-143 (0.90): Fold mcp-engineer into backend-engineer
-The MCP plugin-registry (D-140: `plugins/<name>.py register(mcp)`) is a
-backend code pattern — Python modules, type hints, stdio transport,
-urllib for the Gitea asset API. It shares nothing with the data domain
-(schemas/DynamoDB) and is not a new engineering discipline. Creating a
-separate `mcp-engineer` persona would fragment ownership of the server +
-its tests + the render/attach scripts (all backend). **Decision:** fold
-into backend-engineer. backend-engineer's `frameworks` list gains
-`mcp (Python SDK v2)`. Confidence 0.90 — the only counter-argument is
-that MCP is a distinct protocol skill, but the SDK v2 API surface
-(`@mcp.tool()` + type hints) is small and well within backend-engineer's
-range (it's the same Pydantic/FastAPI-style pattern the persona already
-knows).
-
-### Territory-overlap resolution (co-ownership)
-
-| Path | Primary | Co-owner | Why |
-|------|---------|----------|-----|
-| `docs/submission-readiness.md` | lead-developer (narrative + examples) | backend-engineer (reason-code catalog, REQ-218 codes) | The doc is citizen-developer-facing copy (lead) but the reason-code catalog (MISSING_TAGS, ENV_MISSING_MANDATORY, AGENTIC_MISSING_INTENT, MISSING_APP_SOURCE, POLICY_PRECONDITION_MISSING) is backend (it mirrors the validator's return codes). |
-| `core/lambda/contract_ingestor.py` | backend-engineer (dispatch wiring) | data-engineer (the schema it validates against) | D-133 places the `--check-readiness` subcommand on the ingestor (backend dispatch), but the readiness schema it loads is data-engineer territory. |
-| `schemas/submission-readiness.schema.json` | data-engineer (schema artifact) | backend-engineer (the validator must match it) | The schema is data-engineer's; the validator (REQ-218) is backend-engineer's and must stay in sync with it. |
+</details>

.ciagent/PROJECT.md

@@ -1419,3 +1419,161 @@ wrong commit standard, wrong repo.
 | D-145 | Trigger = manual-only (`--release` / `RELEASE_CONFIRMED=1`). | The 2nd release is a deliberate human action, not a CI side-effect. The gate guarantees it can never fire from Gitea Actions, GitHub Actions, or accidental invocation. | Script exits 2 without `--release`. |
 | D-146 | Domain grouping = 13 fixed-order domains by path prefix; messages map positionally over CHANGED domains only. | Avoids the kitchen-sink commit; gives `~/nova` a reviewable, conventional history tailored to platform consumers. Positional-over-changed mapping lets the human supply exactly the messages needed, in domain order, without padding for unchanged domains. | `--list-domains` prints order; `--dry-run` previews; count-mismatch errors clearly. |
 | D-147 | coreci / Atelier review gate = deferred this milestone. | The vendored Atelier (`mcp/atelier/vendor`) could review the synced tree before commit and block on P0, but that's an additive hardening step, not part of establishing the pipeline. Deferred to a future milestone. | Sync ships consumer contents as-is; no review gate. |
+
+### CLARIFY auto-resolved parameters (full autonomy)
+
+The following ambiguities were identified and auto-resolved at full
+autonomy (no human escalation needed — confidence > 0.6 threshold):
+
+1. **Fix scope** — comprehensive (theme CSS + render scripts + mermaid
+   re-layout + deck content + tests) vs. minimal. **Resolved: comprehensive.**
+   The root cause spans all four layers; a theme-only fix would leave
+   the extreme-aspect-ratio diagrams and the stale `render_deck.sh`
+   unfixed. Confidence: 0.95.
+
+2. **Pipeline depth** — full pipeline (SPECIFY→CLARIFY→RESEARCH→PLAN→
+   GRILL→EXECUTE→VERIFY→SHIP) vs. lighter path. **Resolved: full pipeline.**
+   This is a new milestone (v1.22); the full pipeline ensures the plan
+   is grilled and the audit trail is complete. Confidence: 0.9.
+
+3. **Mermaid diagram fixes** — re-layout to LR + re-render vs. CSS-only
+   fix. **Resolved: re-layout to LR + re-render at 2x transparent.**
+   The `telemetry-live-ops.mmd` uses `flowchart TB` (produced a 1024×1628
+   PNG — aspect 0.63); the README (line 168) explicitly says to use
+   horizontal layouts for wide diagrams. CSS-only cannot fix the aspect
+   ratio. Confidence: 0.95.
+
+4. **`render_deck.sh` disposition** — fix (add `--theme`) vs. delete.
+   **Resolved: delete.** The README already documents `render_slides.sh`
+   as canonical; `render_deck.sh` is unreferenced by the build-commands
+   section and is a footgun (produces unthemed output). Confidence: 0.9.
+
+5. **Slide count change** — keep 18 main + 1 appendix vs. split
+   overflowing slides. **Resolved: split slides 3 and 8** (18 → 20 main
+   + 1 appendix). The `test_marp_deck_slide_count` test + README
+   convention are updated to match. Confidence: 0.85.
+
+No human escalation. All decisions logged with confidence scores above
+the 0.6 threshold.
+
+## Objective for Milestone v1.22 (active — Nova Deck Layout Fix)
+
+v1.22 fixes the systemic layout/formatting problems in the Nova
+presentation deck that made every slide look "out of whack" after the
+v1.21 P5 re-render. A full investigation determined the root cause is
+**not a P5 regression** — the `nova-sp-theme.css` has had zero `section`
+padding since it was authored (it declares `/* @theme nova-sp */` as a
+comment, not the `@theme` directive, and does not `@import` Marp's
+default theme, so Marp's default `section { padding: 56px 64px }` never
+applies). Combined with `overflow:hidden` (silent clip), a blunt
+`img { max-height: 320px }` rule, header+footer chrome on every slide,
+and two new P5 diagrams with extreme aspect ratios (13.52× and 0.63×),
+8 of 19 slides overflow and the rest look jammed against the edges.
+
+This milestone is a **comprehensive fix** across four layers: (1) the
+theme CSS (padding, overflow handling, aspect-ratio-aware image rules,
+title-slide chrome suppression, paragraph/list/table spacing); (2) the
+render scripts (delete the stale unthemed `render_deck.sh`, pin
+marp-cli/mermaid-cli versions, add 2x scale + transparent bg to
+mermaid); (3) the two problematic mermaid diagrams (re-layout to LR +
+2-row wrap); (4) the deck content (trim/split the 8 overflowing slides,
+remove the redundant `header:` from frontmatter). It also adds the
+**layout/aspect-ratio/theme-structural tests** that were missing — the
+gap that let this regression through undetected.
+
+**Milestone type:** NFR (all phases are fix/docs/test — no feat/breaking).
+Tags run on the **v1.21.x** patch line (previous minor per
+branch-strategy): `v1.21.0` (P0) → `v1.21.1..v1.21.5` (P1–P5) →
+`v1.21.6` (P6 final = milestone release).
+
+**Phase count:** 7 (P0 pre-execution + 5 execution + 1 final).
+
+**Wave ordering:**
+- Wave 1 (P1 + P2, parallel): theme CSS + render scripts — no
+  interdependency. P1 establishes the padding/overflow/image budget that
+  P4's content trimming relies on; P2 fixes the render pipeline that P3's
+  PNG re-render depends on.
+- Wave 2 (P3 + P4, parallel): mermaid re-layout + deck content. P3
+  depends on P2 (2x scale flag); P4 depends on P1 (padding budget).
+- Wave 3 (P5): re-render HTML + PPTX + add tests. Depends on all above.
+- Wave 4 (P6): final review + audit + milestone ship.
+
+**Hard constraints:**
+- DO NOT change the deck narrative or the 4-beat arc (Problem → Solution
+  → Proof → Roadmap + Ask) — only fix layout/formatting.
+- DO NOT re-introduce badges, version strings, or internal citations
+  (D-###/REQ-###/.py paths) that v1.21 removed.
+- The slide count may change from 18 main + 1 appendix to 20 main + 1
+  appendix (splitting slides 3 and 8 to relieve overflow). The
+  `test_marp_deck_slide_count` test + README "18 main + 1 appendix"
+  convention must be updated to match.
+- PPTX remains a first-class committed artifact + release attachment.
+- No code changes outside `docs/presentations/`, `scripts/render*.sh`,
+  and `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py`.
+
+### Requirements
+
+New requirements REQ-254..REQ-262 — see `REQUIREMENTS.md` §v1.22. Summary:
+
+- **REQ-254:** Theme CSS — add `section` padding + overflow handling.
+- **REQ-255:** Theme CSS — aspect-ratio-aware image rules (replace blunt
+  `max-height:320px`).
+- **REQ-256:** Theme CSS — title-slide chrome suppression + paragraph/
+  list/table spacing tightening.
+- **REQ-257:** Render scripts — delete `render_deck.sh` (or fix `--theme`);
+  pin marp-cli/mermaid-cli versions.
+- **REQ-258:** `render_slides.sh` — add `-s 2 -b transparent` to mermaid-cli
+  (README spec).
+- **REQ-259:** Re-layout `telemetry-live-ops.mmd` from `flowchart TB` →
+  `flowchart LR`; re-render PNG at 2x transparent.
+- **REQ-260:** Re-layout `platform-pipeline.mmd` to 2-row subgraph wrap;
+  re-render PNG at 2x transparent.
+- **REQ-261:** Trim/split 8 overflowing slides (3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15,
+  A1) + remove redundant `header:` from frontmatter.
+- **REQ-262:** Re-render HTML + PPTX + add layout/aspect-ratio/theme-
+  structural tests.
+
+## v1.23 — Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX
+
+> **Active milestone.** NFR (docs/render/test only; no features).
+> Branch: `milestone/v1.23-deck-cleanup-python-pptx`. Tags run on the
+> **v1.22.x** patch line: `v1.22.0` (P0) → `v1.22.1..v1.22.5` (P1–P5) →
+> `v1.22.6` (P6 final = milestone release).
+
+Driven by user feedback that the deck looked "out of whack" and the
+desire to return to the clean, well-formatted style of the old
+`the-developer-experience.html`. Investigation revealed the "clean"
+reference was itself MARP output (using Marp's built-in `default` theme
++ an inline `style:` block); the current deck's standalone
+`nova-sp-theme.css` re-derives all base spacing from scratch and had a
+zero-padding bug (fixed in v1.22, but the standalone approach is
+fragile). The milestone delivers:
+
+- **Single-document consolidation** — `*-marp.md` becomes the sole
+  source of truth; the plain `.md` is deleted; speaker notes + talking
+  points are embedded as Marp HTML comments.
+- **Clean style restoration** — revert to `theme: default` + inline
+  `style:` block (S&P palette); `nova-sp-theme.css` retained as a
+  reference, retired from render.
+- **Self-contained HTML** — base64-inline all images for
+  redistribution.
+- **Parallel python-pptx generator** — structured, editable, S&P-themed
+  PPTX alongside the MARP image-of-slide PPTX.
+- **Targeted word-count trim** + "penetrate" term removal.
+
+**Phase count:** 7 (P0 pre-execution + 5 execution + 1 final).
+
+**Hard constraints:**
+- DO NOT change the deck narrative or the 4-beat arc (Problem → Solution
+  → Proof → Roadmap + Ask) — only trim word count.
+- DO NOT re-introduce badges, version strings, or internal citations.
+- DO NOT remove MARP — it stays for HTML + PPTX; python-pptx runs in
+  parallel.
+- `nova-sp-theme.css` is retained (not deleted) as a styling reference.
+
+### Requirements
+
+New requirements REQ-263..REQ-275 — see `REQUIREMENTS.md` §v1.23.
+Summary: consolidation (REQ-263,264), style restoration (REQ-265,266,267),
+image inlining (REQ-268), python-pptx generator (REQ-269,270), word-count
+trim + "penetrate" removal (REQ-271,272), CI/tests/README (REQ-273,274,275).

.ciagent/REQUIREMENTS.md

@@ -1707,12 +1707,324 @@ release; attach the PPTX.
 
 | REQ | Phase | Status |
 |-----|-------|--------|
-| REQ-245 | P2 | pending |
-| REQ-246 | P1 | pending |
-| REQ-247 | P1 | pending |
-| REQ-248 | P2 | pending |
-| REQ-249 | P2 | pending |
-| REQ-250 | P4 | pending |
-| REQ-251 | P3 | pending |
-| REQ-252 | P2 | pending |
-| REQ-253 | P5 | pending |
+| REQ-245 | P2 | complete |
+| REQ-246 | P1 | complete |
+| REQ-247 | P1 | complete |
+| REQ-248 | P2 | complete |
+| REQ-249 | P2 | complete |
+| REQ-250 | P4 | complete |
+| REQ-251 | P3 | complete |
+| REQ-252 | P2 | complete |
+| REQ-253 | P5 | complete |
+
+## v1.22 — Nova Deck Layout Fix
+
+> Fixes the systemic layout/formatting problems in the Nova presentation
+> deck that made every slide look "out of whack" after the v1.21 P5
+> re-render. Root cause (per investigation): `nova-sp-theme.css` has zero
+> `section` padding (it declares `/* @theme nova-sp */` as a comment, not
+> the `@theme` directive, and does not `@import` Marp's default theme, so
+> Marp's default `section { padding: 56px 64px }` never applies). Combined
+> with `overflow:hidden` (silent clip), a blunt `img { max-height: 320px }`
+> rule, header+footer chrome on every slide, and two new P5 diagrams with
+> extreme aspect ratios (13.52× and 0.63×), 8 of 19 slides overflow and
+> the rest look jammed against the edges. This is NOT a P5 regression —
+> the theme CSS is byte-identical between P3 and P5; P5's denser content
+> made the pre-existing theme flaws visible.
+>
+> Comprehensive fix across four layers: theme CSS, render scripts, mermaid
+> diagrams, deck content. Adds the layout/aspect-ratio/theme-structural
+> tests that were missing (the gap that let this through).
+>
+> Tags run on the v1.21.x line (milestone v1.22 → tags v1.21.0, v1.21.1, …).
+
+### REQ-254 — Theme CSS: section padding + overflow handling
+
+`docs/presentations/assets/nova-sp-theme.css` adds a `section` padding
+rule so content is not jammed against the slide edges. The padding
+reserves space for the header (top) and footer (bottom) chrome: e.g.
+`section { padding: 48px 56px 40px; }`. The theme also adds explicit
+overflow handling on `section` so dense content is not silently clipped
+by the marpit base `overflow:hidden` — either `overflow: auto` as an
+authoring-time signal, or a documented shrink-to-fit rule. The fix does
+NOT re-introduce Marp's default theme via `@import` (the theme remains
+standalone); it explicitly sets the padding the default would have
+provided.
+
+### REQ-255 — Theme CSS: aspect-ratio-aware image rules
+
+The blunt `img { max-height: 320px }` rule is replaced with an
+aspect-ratio-aware rule that does not break the Marp `w:`/`h:` directives:
+`img { max-width: 100%; max-height: 380px; object-fit: contain; }`. A
+`.wide` / `.tall` class convention is added for diagrams (wide diagrams:
+`max-height: 280px`; tall diagrams: `max-height: 480px`) so authors can
+opt into the right bound per diagram instead of fighting a single blunt
+rule. The `w:900` directive on a tall image (slide 9) no longer gets
+silently overridden by `max-height`.
+
+### REQ-256 — Theme CSS: title-slide chrome + spacing tightening
+
+- `section.title header, section.title footer { display: none; }` — the
+  title slide and appendix slide no longer render header/footer chrome
+  that collides with content (the `<!-- _class: title -->` +
+  `<!-- _paginate: false -->` directives only suppress the page number,
+  not the chrome).
+- `section h2 + p { margin-top: 0.2em; }` — tightens the spacing between
+  the `## Slide N — Title` heading and the bold lead paragraph that
+  follows it on every content slide (reclaims ~22px per slide).
+- `section p { margin: 0.4em 0; }` — reduces default `<p>` margins
+  (~1em top/bottom) that waste vertical space on dense slides.
+- `ol` styling added (matches `ul`/`li`).
+- Table cell padding reduced to `4px 8px` for tables with ≥8 rows (via
+  a `table.dense` class or a `:nth-child` heuristic) so 10-13 row tables
+  (slides 8, 12, A1) fit.
+- `@media print` overrides added for PPTX export fidelity.
+
+### REQ-257 — Render scripts: delete render_deck.sh + pin CLI versions
+
+`scripts/render_deck.sh` is **deleted** (it omits `--theme`, relying on
+the frontmatter `theme: nova-sp` which Marp cannot resolve as a custom
+theme without `--theme-set` — it falls back to the default theme,
+producing unthemed output). The README already documents
+`render_slides.sh` as the canonical script. Both `render_slides.sh` and
+the deleted `render_deck.sh` references are removed from any docs/tests.
+`render_slides.sh` pins marp-cli and mermaid-cli to specific versions
+(replace `@latest` with pinned versions) to prevent uncontrolled
+boilerplate-CSS drift like the P3→P5 HTML diff.
+
+### REQ-258 — render_slides.sh: 2x scale + transparent bg for mermaid
+
+The mermaid-cli invocation in `scripts/render_slides.sh` (lines 51-55)
+adds `-s 2 -b transparent` to match the README spec (line 193). This
+produces crisp 2x PNGs with transparent backgrounds instead of the
+current 1x renders (e.g. `platform-pipeline.png` is only 1568px wide
+instead of the 3136px a 2x render would produce).
+
+### REQ-259 — Re-layout telemetry-live-ops.mmd to LR
+
+`docs/presentations/assets/mmd/telemetry-live-ops.mmd` is rewritten from
+`flowchart TB` (top-bottom, produced a 1024×1628 PNG — aspect 0.63, tall)
+to `flowchart LR` (left-right) with subgraph row-wrapping per the README
+convention (line 168). The re-rendered PNG (at 2x transparent, per
+REQ-258) has an aspect ratio in [1.2, 2.5] suitable for a 16:9 slide.
+The Marp deck's `![w:900]` directive on slide 9 is updated to match the
+new dimensions (or replaced with `![h:320]` if the diagram remains
+taller than wide after re-layout).
+
+### REQ-260 — Re-layout platform-pipeline.mmd to 2-row wrap
+
+`docs/presentations/assets/mmd/platform-pipeline.mmd` is rewritten to
+wrap the 10-node LR chain into 2 rows via mermaid subgraphs (or split
+into two stages: static-scan row + runtime-scan row). The current
+1568×116 PNG (aspect 13.52, ultra-wide/short) renders as a 1000×74px
+thin strip at `![w:1000]` — node text is illegible. The re-rendered
+PNG (at 2x transparent) has an aspect ratio in [1.2, 2.5] suitable for
+a 16:9 slide.
+
+### REQ-261 — Trim/split 8 overflowing slides + remove redundant header
+
+The 8 slides identified as overflowing 720px are trimmed or split:
+- **Slide 3** (Objectives + Anti-Goals): split into Slide 3a (4
+  objectives) + Slide 3b (4 anti-goals). Main slide count 18 → 19.
+- **Slide 5** (RACI): apply `table.dense` class (from REQ-256) to
+  reduce cell padding; keep 8 rows.
+- **Slide 6** (Pipeline): reduce to 3 bullets (the 4th is covered by
+  the diagram, now legible after REQ-260).
+- **Slide 8** (Attestation Matrix): split into Slide 8a (qa concerns,
+  3 rows) + Slide 8b (prod/dr concerns, 7 rows). Main slide count
+  19 → 20.
+- **Slide 9** (Telemetry): reduce to 3 bullets; image now legible
+  after REQ-259.
+- **Slide 12** (Deferred): reduce to 6 rows (merge the 3 "Live AWS
+  re-provisioning" blockers into one row).
+- **Slide 15** (Quarter-by-Quarter): drop the "Grounding" column
+  (redundant with the strategic objectives); 4 columns fit better.
+- **Appendix A1** (Glossary): apply `table.dense` class (16px font);
+  keep 13 rows.
+
+The Marp frontmatter `header:` line is removed (keep `footer:` +
+`paginate: true` only). The full 51-char deck title in BOTH header and
+footer on every slide is redundant chrome that eats vertical space;
+the footer alone suffices. The title slide and appendix already use
+`<!-- _class: title -->` which (after REQ-256) suppresses chrome.
+
+The talking-points file is re-distilled to match the new slide
+structure (20 main + 1 appendix). The README "18 main + 1 appendix"
+convention (line 130) and `test_marp_deck_slide_count` are updated to
+assert 20 main + 1 appendix.
+
+### REQ-262 — Re-render HTML + PPTX + add layout/aspect-ratio tests
+
+- Run `bash scripts/render_slides.sh nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery` →
+  re-render all mermaid PNGs (2x transparent) + HTML + PPTX. Verify
+  slide count (20 main + 1 appendix = 21) and media embedding.
+- Add tests to `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py`:
+  - `test_theme_css_has_section_padding` — assert `section` rule
+    contains `padding`.
+  - `test_theme_css_suppresses_title_chrome` — assert
+    `section.title header` / `section.title footer` `display: none`.
+  - `test_png_aspect_ratios_sane` — for every PNG in `assets/png/`,
+    assert aspect ratio ∈ [1.2, 2.5] (catches the 13.52× and 0.63×
+    outliers).
+  - `test_render_slides_has_2x_scale` — assert `render_slides.sh`
+    contains `-s 2` and `-b transparent`.
+  - `test_render_deck_removed` — assert `render_deck.sh` does not
+    exist.
+  - `test_html_embeds_theme` — assert committed HTML contains
+    `--sp-red` and `padding` in the inline `<style>`.
+  - `test_html_slide_count_matches_marp` — parse HTML `<section>`
+    count == marp deck slide count.
+- Run full `pytest` suite (was 686 pass + 1 pre-existing attestation
+  env failure). `run_platform.sh --check-only` exits 0.
+- Milestone ship: tag the final phase on the v1.21.x line; create a
+  release; attach the PPTX.
+
+### Out of Scope (v1.22)
+
+- **Deck narrative changes** — the 4-beat arc (Problem → Solution →
+  Proof → Roadmap + Ask) and slide content are unchanged except for
+  the trim/split needed to relieve overflow.
+- **Re-introduction of badges, version strings, or internal citations**
+  — v1.21 removed these; v1.22 does not re-add them.
+- **Live pilot estate activation** — still deferred.
+- **ML anomaly-forecasting service** — still deferred.
+- **Multi-cloud (Azure/GCP) implementation** — still deferred.
+- **Tamper-evident ledger (S3 Object Lock + JWS)** — still deferred.
+
+### v1.22 Traceability
+
+| REQ | Phase | Status |
+|-----|-------|--------|
+| REQ-254 | P1 | complete |
+| REQ-255 | P1 | complete |
+| REQ-256 | P1 | complete |
+| REQ-257 | P2 | complete |
+| REQ-258 | P2 | complete |
+| REQ-259 | P3 | complete |
+| REQ-260 | P3 | complete |
+| REQ-261 | P4 | complete |
+| REQ-262 | P5 | complete |
+
+## v1.23 — Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX
+
+> **NFR milestone** (docs/render/test only; no features). Tags run on the
+> **v1.22.x** line (milestone v1.23 → tags v1.22.0..v1.22.6). Final patch
+> `v1.22.6` = milestone release.
+>
+> Consolidates the deck to a single source-of-truth markdown document,
+> restores the clean S&P visual style (Marp `default` theme + inline
+> `style:` block, matching the old `the-developer-experience.html`),
+> embeds images as base64 in the HTML for redistribution, builds a
+> parallel structured python-pptx PPTX generator, and trims verbose
+> slides. `nova-sp-theme.css` is retained as a styling reference but
+> retired from the render path.
+
+### Category: Consolidate Docs
+- **REQ-263:** `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` becomes the sole
+  source of truth. Speaker notes + talking points from the plain `.md`
+  are folded into the deck as Marp HTML comments (`<!-- Speaker notes:
+  ... -->`, `<!-- Talking points: ... -->`). The plain
+  `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md` is deleted.
+- **REQ-264:** `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md` is kept
+  as a standalone presenter aid, synced from the deck's `<!-- Talking
+  points: -->` comments. Header note documents the mirror relationship.
+
+### Category: Restore Clean Style
+- **REQ-265:** Revert deck frontmatter `theme: nova-sp` → `theme:
+  default` and add an inline `style:` block porting the S&P visual
+  language (palette #D6002A/#1B1B1B, Akkurat Pro font, black title slide
+  with red top border, tables, blockquotes, code, aspect-ratio-aware
+  images). Keep current structure (H2 + bold-lead, no header, no badges).
+- **REQ-266:** `nova-sp-theme.css` is retained as a styling reference
+  (header comment documents its retired status). `render_slides.sh`
+  drops the `--theme "$THEME_CSS"` argument; the inline `style:` block in
+  frontmatter is the sole styling source at render time.
+- **REQ-267:** Benefit callouts on every slide are restyled: the
+  `**Benefit:**` prefix is removed; the callout becomes a styled
+  element (red top-rule + black italic text; white on title slides)
+  using a `.benefit` class in the inline style block.
+
+### Category: Inline Images
+- **REQ-268:** New `scripts/inline_images.py` (stdlib only: `base64`,
+  `re`, `mimetypes`) post-processes the rendered HTML: finds all
+  `<img src="assets/...">` relative paths, replaces each `src` with a
+  `data:image/<mime>;base64,...` URI. HTML becomes self-contained
+  (redistributable without the `assets/` folder). `render_slides.sh`
+  invokes it after the MARP HTML render, before staging.
+
+### Category: Python PPTX Generator
+- **REQ-269:** New `scripts/render_pptx.py` parses the consolidated
+  `*-marp.md` and produces a structured, editable, S&P-themed PPTX
+  (`nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-python.pptx`) using `python-pptx`.
+  16:9 slides; title slide (black bg, red top bar, white H1); content
+  slides (red H2 title, bold lead, bullets, blockquote, embedded PNGs,
+  native PPTX tables, benefit callouts). HTML-comment speaker
+  notes/talking points are skipped. `python-pptx` added to
+  `pyproject.toml`. `render_slides.sh` invokes it as a new step.
+- **REQ-270:** Both PPTX outputs (MARP image-of-slide + python
+  structured) are produced by `render_slides.sh` and staged. CI
+  workflows install `python-pptx` and commit both. `attach_release_asset.py`
+  attaches both to the release.
+
+### Category: Trim Word Count
+- **REQ-271:** Targeted word-count trim on ~8 verbose slides (1, 5, 7,
+  8, 13, 14, 20, plus the appendix) — ~20-30% reduction on trimmed
+  slides. Tables and short slides are untouched. The spirit of each
+  slide is preserved.
+- **REQ-272:** The term "penetrate" (and derivatives) is removed from
+  all presentation files. Slide 5's "Nova never penetrates it" phrase is
+  removed with no replacement (slide 4 Anti-Goals already excludes the
+  PDLC from scope). `grep -ri penetrat docs/presentations/` returns
+  nothing.
+
+### Category: CI, Tests, README
+- **REQ-273:** CI workflows (`workflows-src/slides.yml` + synced
+  `.github`/`.gitea` copies) install `python-pptx`, run `render_slides.sh`
+  (which produces HTML + both PPTX + inlined images), and commit all
+  rendered artifacts. README documents the new pipeline.
+- **REQ-274:** `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py` is updated for the
+  consolidated doc (no plain `.md`), default theme + inline style
+  assertions (S&P visual properties, not theme filename),
+  `nova-sp-theme.css` retained-as-reference assertion, image-inlining
+  assertions (zero `src="assets/` references, ≥1 base64 per image),
+  python-pptx output existence, benefit callout class, "penetrate"
+  absence. New `tests/test_pptx_generator.py` asserts slide count, title
+  colors, table rendering, image embedding.
+- **REQ-275:** `docs/presentations/README.md` is rewritten to document
+  the single-document process (author `*-marp.md` → render HTML + both
+  PPTX → talking points mirrored), inline `style:` approach,
+  `nova-sp-theme.css` reference status, image inlining, and dual PPTX
+  output.
+
+### Out of Scope (v1.23)
+
+- **Deck narrative / 4-beat arc changes** — the Problem → Solution →
+  Proof → Roadmap + Ask structure is unchanged; only word count is
+  trimmed.
+- **Re-introduction of badges, version strings, or internal citations**
+  — v1.21 removed these; v1.23 does not re-add them.
+- **Removal of MARP** — MARP stays for HTML + PPTX; python-pptx runs in
+  parallel for comparison.
+- **Removal of orphaned `developer-experience-*` assets** — deferred to
+  a future cleanup phase (optional in v1.23 Phase 6 only if time
+  permits).
+- **Mermaid render scoping** — the mermaid render step continues to
+  render all `.mmd` files; scoping to referenced-only is deferred.
+
+### v1.23 Traceability
+
+| REQ | Phase | Status |
+|-----|-------|--------|
+| REQ-263 | P1 | pending |
+| REQ-264 | P1 | pending |
+| REQ-265 | P2 | pending |
+| REQ-266 | P2 | pending |
+| REQ-267 | P2 | pending |
+| REQ-268 | P3a | pending |
+| REQ-269 | P3b | pending |
+| REQ-270 | P3b | pending |
+| REQ-271 | P4 | pending |
+| REQ-272 | P4 | pending |
+| REQ-273 | P5 | pending |
+| REQ-274 | P5 | pending |
+| REQ-275 | P5 | pending |

.ciagent/RESEARCH.md

@@ -2346,3 +2346,927 @@ committed directly).
   backend pattern (decorators, type hints, stdio, urllib). The SDK v2
   API surface is small and FastAPI/Pydantic-style (already in
   backend-engineer's range). D-143 logged in PERSONAS.md records this.
+
+---
+
+# v1.22 Research — Nova Deck Layout Fix (2026-08-11)
+
+> Investigation into the systemic layout/formatting problems in the Nova
+> presentation deck reported as "completely out of whack" after the
+> v1.21 P5 re-render. This research IS the investigation — the findings
+> below are the empirical root-cause analysis that drives the v1.22
+> requirements (REQ-254..262).
+
+## Background — why v1.22 exists
+
+The v1.21 milestone shipped a refined deck (renamed to "Autonomous Cloud
+Delivery Platform", 4-beat arc, 18 main + 1 appendix slides). The P5
+phase re-rendered the HTML + PPTX and added two new mermaid diagrams
+(`platform-pipeline.png`, `telemetry-live-ops.png`). After P5, the user
+reported that the layout is "completely out of whack" and that "they all
+have layout issues." This research identifies the root cause and the fix
+scope.
+
+## FINDING 1 — Theme CSS has ZERO section padding (CONFIDENCE: VERY HIGH)
+
+`docs/presentations/assets/nova-sp-theme.css` line 1 is
+`/* @theme nova-sp */` — a **comment**, not the `@theme` directive that
+Marp uses to register a theme name. The theme does **not `@import`**
+Marp's default theme. Marp's built-in default theme applies
+`section { padding: 56px 64px; }`. Because this custom theme neither
+imports the default nor sets its own `padding`, the rendered `<section>`
+has **zero padding**.
+
+**Verification:** grep for `padding:56px` / `padding:64px` /
+`padding:96px` in the rendered HTML returns **zero matches**. The only
+`section` rules in the rendered HTML are:
+- `section{width:1280px;height:720px;box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;position:relative;...}`
+  (marpit base — no padding)
+- `section{font-family:...;font-size:22px;color:var(--sp-black);background:var(--sp-white)}`
+  (theme — no padding)
+
+**Effect:** Content is jammed against the slide edges (left/top/right/
+bottom all 0px), header/footer chrome overlaps content, and there is no
+breathing room. This alone makes every slide look "out of whack."
+
+## FINDING 2 — overflow:hidden silently clips dense content (CONFIDENCE: VERY HIGH)
+
+The marpit base rule sets `overflow:hidden` on `section`. The theme adds
+no `overflow` override, no scaling, no shrink-to-fit. Any slide whose
+content exceeds 720px is **clipped with no visual indication**. Combined
+with zero padding, content-dense slides (tables, image+bullets) lose
+their bottom rows / benefit paragraphs.
+
+**Per-slide overflow risk table** (available content height ≈ 720px −
+header(~35px) − footer(~35px) − padding(0px) = ~650px):
+
+| # | Slide | Est. height | Fits? | Issue |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 3 | Objectives + Anti-Goals | ~780px | NO | Densest text slide; nested list |
+| 5 | RACI (8-row × 5-col) | ~700px | NO | Cell text wraps to 2 lines |
+| 6 | Pipeline (image + 4 bullets) | ~750px | NO | Image + bullets overflow |
+| 8 | Attestation (10-row × 4-col) | ~780px | NO | Description column wraps |
+| 9 | Telemetry (image + 4 bullets) | ~720px | NO | Image + bullets overflow |
+| 12 | Deferred (8-row table) | ~720px | NO | Blocking-work column wraps |
+| 15 | Quarter-by-Quarter (5-col) | ~720px | NO | Wide table, long text |
+| A1 | Glossary (13-row × 3-col) | ~700px | NO | On title-class (dark bg) |
+| 1,4,10,11,13,16,17,18 | various | ~620px | TIGHT | Cramped with 0 padding |
+| 2,7,14 | various | ~520px | YES | Manageable density |
+
+**8 of 19 slides overflow; 8 more are cramped.**
+
+## FINDING 3 — Image aspect-ratio catastrophe on slides 6 & 9 (CONFIDENCE: HIGH)
+
+The two new P5 PNGs have extreme, opposite aspect ratios:
+
+- `platform-pipeline.png` = **1568×116** (aspect 13.52, ultra-wide/short).
+  The deck uses `![w:1000]`. At width=1000px, height = 1000/13.52 =
+  **74px**. The `max-height:320px` rule never engages. The image renders
+  as a 1000×74 thin strip — text in nodes is nearly unreadable, and the
+  10-node LR flowchart is squashed.
+
+- `telemetry-live-ops.png` = **1024×1628** (aspect 0.63, tall). The deck
+  uses `![w:900]`. At width=900px the natural height would be **1428px**
+  — but `max-height:320px` clamps it, so the image actually renders at
+  **~201×320**. The `w:900` directive is **completely overridden** by
+  `max-height:320px`. The image is tiny and the explicit width is
+  ignored. The `.mmd` uses `flowchart TB` (top-bottom) — exactly the
+  failure mode the README (line 168) warns against.
+
+## FINDING 4 — Header+footer chrome on every slide (CONFIDENCE: HIGH)
+
+The frontmatter sets both `header:` and `footer:` to the full 51-char
+deck title "Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform" on **every**
+slide (including the title slide, which has `data-header`/`data-footer`
+attributes present but `_paginate: false` only suppresses the page
+number, not the header/footer). The theme gives header a `border-bottom`
+and footer a `border-top`, each consuming ~30-40px of vertical chrome.
+With zero section padding, the header text sits at the very top edge and
+the footer at the very bottom edge, visually colliding with slide
+content. This reduces the effective content area from 720px to roughly
+640-650px on every slide.
+
+## FINDING 5 — render_deck.sh produces unthemed output (CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM-HIGH)
+
+`scripts/render_deck.sh` (line 44) runs marp-cli **without `--theme`**,
+relying on the frontmatter `theme: nova-sp`. But `nova-sp` is **not a
+built-in Marp theme** — it's a custom CSS file. Marp resolves `theme:`
+frontmatter against its built-in theme registry (default, gaia, uncover)
+and registered custom themes via `--theme-set`. Without `--theme <file>`
+or `--theme-set`, Marp cannot resolve `nova-sp` and **falls back to the
+default theme** (or errors). The committed HTML was rendered by
+`render_slides.sh` (which correctly passes `--theme`), so the committed
+artifact is fine — but `render_deck.sh` is a stale, dangerous script
+that would produce an unthemed/default-themed deck if anyone ran it.
+The README (line 201) documents `render_slides.sh` as canonical;
+`render_deck.sh` is not mentioned in the build-commands section.
+
+## FINDING 6 — render_slides.sh missing 2x scale + transparent bg (CONFIDENCE: HIGH)
+
+`render_slides.sh` mermaid invocation (lines 51-55) does **NOT** pass
+`-s 2` (2x scale) or `-b transparent`, despite the README (line 193)
+documenting both as required. This is why `platform-pipeline.png` is
+only 1568px wide (1x) instead of 3136px (2x) — the rendered PNGs are
+lower resolution than the README specifies, contributing to illegibility
+when scaled.
+
+## FINDING 7 — P5 marp-cli version bump (CONFIDENCE: LOW — not the cause)
+
+The P3→P5 HTML diff is 831 changed lines, but the **theme CSS portion
+is byte-identical** (verified: `font-size:22px`, `max-height:320px`,
+`marpit-root-font-size:22px`, `--sp-red:#D6002A` all match; `sp-red`
+appears exactly once in both). The large diff is:
+- (a) marp-cli boilerplate (bespoke-marp presenter/overview/transition
+  CSS) changed due to a marp-cli version bump (neither script pins a
+  version — both use `@latest`), and
+- (b) content changes: title "No-Humans Infrastructure Platform" →
+  "Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform", footer "Act %{page}/5 — v1.20"
+  → deck title, slide count 20 → 19.
+
+The version bump did **not** alter the slide layout engine or the theme
+rules. **This is not the regression source.** The layout problems are
+inherent to the theme CSS (zero padding, no overflow handling, blunt
+image rule) which has been unchanged. P5 made the content denser (new
+diagrams with extreme aspect ratios, longer deck-title header/footer)
+which made the pre-existing theme flaws more visible.
+
+## FINDING 8 — Test coverage gaps (CONFIDENCE: VERY HIGH)
+
+`tests/test_slides_pipeline.py` (268 lines) checks **static file
+properties only**:
+- Theme CSS file exists and contains `#D6002A` / `#1B1B1B`
+- Frontmatter references `nova-sp`, not `default`
+- `render_slides.sh` exists, is executable, invokes mermaid-cli + marp-cli
+- Every `.mmd` has a `.png`
+- No maturity badges, no version in footer, slide count = 18+1
+- No D-###/REQ-###/internal `.py` paths in slides
+
+**What is NOT tested (the gaps that let layout regressions through):**
+1. NO rendered-dimension / overflow test — no test renders the HTML and
+   checks that each slide's content height ≤ 720px.
+2. NO theme-CSS structural test — no test asserts `section` has
+   `padding`, that `overflow` is handled, or that `img` rules don't
+   conflict with `w:`/`h:` directives.
+3. NO image aspect-ratio / legibility test — no test checks that PNG
+   dimensions are reasonable for a 16:9 slide.
+4. NO render-script theme-flag test — no test asserts `render_deck.sh`
+   passes `--theme` (it doesn't), so the broken script passes CI.
+5. NO rendered-HTML structural assertion — no test parses the committed
+   HTML to verify the theme is actually embedded.
+6. NO mermaid render-scale test — no test verifies PNGs are 2x scale.
+
+**Conclusion:** A layout regression — including the current zero-padding,
+image-clamping, and table-overflow problems — would pass every existing
+test. This is why the user's "completely out of whack" report was not
+caught.
+
+## Theme CSS gaps (summary)
+
+1. NO `padding` on `section` (lines 21-26 set font/color/bg only).
+2. NO `overflow` handling on `section`.
+3. NO `@import` of a base theme (line 1 is a comment, not `@theme`).
+4. NO rule for the `h2` + bold-lead-paragraph pattern (default `<p>`
+   margins waste ~44px each).
+5. Table cell padding `6px 10px` too generous for 10-13 row tables.
+6. `img { max-height: 320px }` is a blunt instrument that breaks `w:`
+   directives on tall images and does nothing for ultra-wide images.
+7. Header/footer have no padding/margin — collide with content at 0
+   section padding.
+8. `section.title` does not suppress header/footer.
+9. NO rule for `ol` (only `ul`/`li` styled).
+10. NO `@media print` overrides for PPTX export fidelity.
+
+## Assumptions logged (v1.22)
+
+- **A1 (0.95):** The theme CSS is the primary root cause. Adding
+  `section { padding: 48px 56px 40px; }` alone would fix the "jammed
+  against edges" look on all 19 slides. Confidence grounded in the
+  grep verification (zero padding matches in rendered HTML).
+- **A2 (0.9):** The P5 re-render is NOT a regression — the theme CSS is
+  byte-identical P3→P5. P5's denser content (new diagrams, longer
+  header/footer) made pre-existing flaws visible. Grounded in the
+  byte-level diff comparison.
+- **A3 (0.9):** `render_deck.sh` should be deleted, not fixed. The
+  README already documents `render_slides.sh` as canonical; keeping a
+  second broken script is a footgun. Grounded in the README build-
+  commands section (line 201) which does not mention `render_deck.sh`.
+- **A4 (0.85):** Splitting slides 3 and 8 (18 → 20 main) is preferable
+  to trimming content, because the content is leadership-relevant and
+  should not be lost. The slide-count test + README convention are
+  updated to match. Grounded in the overflow estimates (slides 3 and 8
+  are the densest at ~780px).
+- **A5 (0.8):** Pinning marp-cli/mermaid-cli versions is necessary to
+  prevent uncontrolled boilerplate-CSS drift. The exact pinned versions
+  will be determined during P2 execution by testing which version
+  produces stable output in this environment.
+
+## Decisions surfaced (research → bound in CLARIFY)
+
+All 5 CLARIFY decisions are grounded in these findings:
+- Comprehensive scope (FINDINGS 1-8 span 4 layers)
+- Full pipeline (new milestone, complete audit trail)
+- Re-layout to LR (FINDING 3 — TB produced 0.63 aspect)
+- Delete render_deck.sh (FINDING 5 — stale, unthemed)
+- Split slides 3+8 (FINDING 2 — densest overflow)
+
+---
+
+## v1.23 RESEARCH — Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX
+
+> Phase: 0 RESEARCH. Milestone v1.23 (Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX).
+> docs/render/test NFR milestone. Surface: deck markdown, Marp inline
+> style CSS, Python render scripts, tests, CI YAML, README.
+> Researcher: ci-researcher. Sources: ACDL codebase (v1.22 tree) +
+> the deleted clean reference HTML at /root/gl/acdl/docs/presentations/
+> the-developer-experience.html + python-pptx docs + Marp rendered HTML
+> inspection.
+
+### FINDING 1 — Marp `default` theme + inline `style:` block (the clean reference)
+
+The deleted clean reference deck
+`/root/gl/acdl/docs/presentations/the-developer-experience.html`
+(commit eb43e08) used `theme: default` + an inline `style:` block in the
+Marp frontmatter. The exact inline CSS (extracted from the `data-style`
+attribute repeated on every `<section>` in the rendered HTML) is:
+
+```css
+section {
+  font-family: "Akkurat Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Arial", sans-serif;
+  font-size: 26px;
+  color: #1B1B1B;
+}
+h1 { color: #D6002A; font-size: 40px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; }
+h2 { color: #D6002A; font-size: 32px; margin-bottom: 0.2em; }
+section.title { background: #1B1B1B; color: #fff; border-top: 8px solid #D6002A; }
+section.title h1 { color: #fff; }
+table { font-size: 22px; width: 100%; }
+th { background: #F0F0F0; }
+blockquote { border-left: 4px solid #D6002A; color: #2E2E2E; font-size: 24px; }
+pre { font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3; }
+code { font-size: 16px; }
+img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 280px; }
+.badge {
+  display: inline-block; padding: 2px 8px; border-radius: 4px;
+  font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600;
+}
+.planned { background: #fef3c7; color: #78350f; }
+```
+
+**What Marp's built-in `default` theme provides for free** (from the
+embedded `@theme default` CSS in the reference HTML):
+- `section { width:1280px; height:720px; box-sizing:border-box; overflow:hidden; position:relative }`
+  — slide dimensions + box model.
+- Base section typography: `font-family: var(--fontStack-sansSerif)`
+  (system sans), `font-size: 16px`, `line-height: 1.5`, `color:
+  var(--fgColor-default)`, `background: var(--bgColor-default)` (white).
+  **Note: default does NOT set padding** — wait, correction: the
+  `default` theme's embedded CSS in this Marp version does NOT include
+  an explicit `padding` on `section`; the nova-sp-theme.css comment
+  claiming `padding: 56px 64px` was for a different Marp version. The
+  inline `style:` block above does not set padding either, implying the
+  default theme's inheriting UA stylesheet padding or Marp's container
+  provides it. **This is the key thing to verify in P2:** whether
+  `theme: default` + the inline `style:` block produces padding that
+  reserves header/footer chrome space. The v1.22 root-cause was ZERO
+  padding with the standalone theme; the inline `style:` block above
+  also does not set padding, so the clean look may have relied on the
+  default theme's own padding (which Marp's default theme CSS
+  *does* set: `section{padding:56px 64px}` is in the default theme's
+  canonical CSS even if not visible in this rendered HTML's inlined
+  subset — the rendered HTML strips the theme CSS into a `<style>` block
+  at the top that we did not fully inspect). **Recommendation:** the
+  inline `style:` block for v1.23 SHOULD explicitly set section padding
+  (`padding: 48px 56px 40px` as v1.22 settled on) to be safe, OR verify
+  the default theme provides it. The reference deck's clean look
+  suggests the default theme's padding was adequate.
+- Pagination: `section::after { content: attr(data-marpit-pagination);
+  bottom:0; right:0; padding:inherit }` — page numbers via CSS pseudo-
+  element on `section[data-marpit-pagination]`. Free with `paginate:
+  true`.
+- Header/footer chrome: `default` theme renders `header`/`footer`
+  elements from frontmatter `header:`/`footer:` directives. The inline
+  `style:` block does NOT suppress them on title slides (the reference
+  deck's title slide has `<header>The Developer Experience</header>` +
+  `<footer>Internal</footer>` visible). v1.22's `section.title header,
+  section.title footer { display: none }` rule should be ported into the
+  v1.23 inline `style:` block to keep title slides clean.
+- H1/H2 base sizing: `:is(h1, marp-h1){font-size:2em;margin-block:0.67em}`
+  — the inline `style:` block overrides these with explicit px sizes.
+- Font-family: the default theme uses GitHub's `--fontStack-sansSerif`
+  (system fonts); the inline `style:` overrides to Akkurat Pro stack.
+
+**What the inline `style:` block must override** (not inherited from
+default): font-family (Akkurat Pro stack), font-size (26px vs 16px),
+font-color (#1B1B1B), H1/H2 colors (#D6002A), title-slide background
+(#1B1B1B + 8px red top border), table styling, blockquote styling,
+image max-height. **What it inherits for free:** slide dimensions
+(1280×720), pagination, header/footer rendering, base box model.
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (the CSS is read verbatim from the rendered
+`data-style` attribute on every `<section>`; the default theme
+inheritance is confirmed by the `data-theme="default"` attribute on
+every section).
+
+### FINDING 2 — Marp HTML-in-markdown passthrough
+
+Marp (via Marpit, the underlying markdown-it-based engine) **passes
+through raw HTML blocks** in markdown slides. Confirmed by the
+reference deck:
+`/root/gl/acdl/docs/presentations/the-developer-experience-marp.md`
+contains inline HTML like
+`<span class="badge planned">Planned</span>` inside slide bodies, and
+the rendered HTML (`the-developer-experience.html`) contains the
+verbatim `<span class="badge planned">Planned</span>` inside the
+`<section>` elements. The `.badge` and `.planned` classes are styled
+by the inline `style:` block (Finding 1).
+
+**Gotchas confirmed:**
+- HTML blocks render correctly inside `## Slide N — Title` H2 slides
+  (the reference deck's slide 5 has `<span class="badge planned">` in a
+  table cell; slide 7 has it in a bullet list item).
+- HTML does NOT interfere with pagination (the `data-marpit-pagination`
+  attribute is present on every paginated section regardless of HTML
+  content).
+- HTML inline elements (`<span>`, `<div>`, `<strong>`) render; block
+  elements (`<div class="benefit">text</div>`) also render — Marpit's
+  markdown-it `html: true` option is on by default.
+- **Caveat:** Marp does NOT sanitize HTML by default (no DOMPurify);
+  raw `<script>` would pass through too. For our use case (styling
+  divs/spans) this is fine.
+- The current nova deck markdown does NOT use any `<div>` HTML blocks
+  (`grep -c "<div" nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` = 0 in the
+  slide body; only the bespoke-marp-osc div in the rendered HTML
+  chrome). So the v1.23 plan to add `.benefit` class divs is a NEW
+  pattern — it will work, but is untested in this repo's deck.
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (confirmed by direct inspection of the reference
+deck's source + rendered HTML; Marpit's html passthrough is documented
+behavior).
+
+### FINDING 3 — python-pptx capabilities for the structured PPTX
+
+python-pptx (the `python-pptx` PyPI package) supports all capabilities
+required for `scripts/render_pptx.py`. API calls confirmed against the
+python-pptx documentation (v1.0.2 latest; v0.6.23 is the established
+minimum):
+
+(a) **16:9 slide dimensions:**
+```python
+from pptx import Presentation
+from pptx.util import Inches, Pt
+prs = Presentation()
+prs.slide_width = Inches(13.333)   # 16:9 widescreen
+prs.slide_height = Inches(7.5)
+```
+
+(b) **Slide background color (black for title slide):**
+```python
+from pptx.dml.color import RGBColor
+slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[6])  # blank layout
+bg = slide.background
+bg.fill.solid()
+bg.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0x1B, 0x1B, 0x1B)  # sp-black
+```
+(Note: `slide.background` is available since python-pptx 0.6.19+.)
+
+(c) **Colored rectangle as top border bar:**
+```python
+from pptx.enum.shapes import MSO_SHAPE
+from pptx.util import Inches
+shape = slide.shapes.add_shape(
+    MSO_SHAPE.RECTANGLE,
+    Inches(0), Inches(0),         # left, top
+    Inches(13.333), Inches(0.08) # width, height (8px ≈ 0.08in at 96dpi)
+)
+shape.fill.solid()
+shape.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0xD6, 0x00, 0x2A)  # sp-red
+shape.line.fill.background()  # no border on the rectangle
+```
+
+(d) **Text frames with font family/color/size (Akkurat Pro → Helvetica
+Neue → Arial fallback):**
+```python
+from pptx.util import Pt
+txBox = slide.shapes.add_textbox(Inches(0.5), Inches(0.5), Inches(12), Inches(1))
+tf = txBox.text_frame
+p = tf.paragraphs[0]
+run = p.add_run()
+run.text = "Slide title"
+run.font.name = "Akkurat Pro"
+run.font.size = Pt(40)
+run.font.bold = True
+run.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0xD6, 0x00, 0x2A)
+# Font fallback: python-pptx sets a single font.name; PowerPoint's own
+# font substitution handles the fallback chain. To set a fallback
+# explicitly, set the font's `<a:latin>` + `<a:ea>` + `<a:cs>` typeface
+# attributes, OR rely on PowerPoint rendering "Akkurat Pro" → missing →
+# substitutes Helvetica Neue / Arial per the OS font substitution table.
+# The simplest approach: set name="Akkurat Pro"; PowerPoint does the
+# fallback. For an explicit fallback, manipulate the XML:
+from pptx.oxml.ns import qn
+rPr = run._r.get_or_add_rPr()
+latin = rPr.find(qn('a:latin'))
+if latin is None:
+    latin = rPr.makeelement(qn('a:latin'), {})
+    rPr.append(latin)
+latin.set('typeface', 'Akkurat Pro')
+# (PowerPoint reads only the first typeface; fallback is OS-level.)
+```
+**Key constraint:** python-pptx does NOT support a CSS-style font
+fallback stack. Setting `run.font.name` sets one typeface; PowerPoint's
+font substitution handles the fallback when the font is missing. This
+is adequate for our use case (Akkurat Pro is the named font; on
+systems without it, PowerPoint substitutes Helvetica/Arial).
+
+(e) **Bullet lists:**
+```python
+tf = txBox.text_frame
+for i, item in enumerate(bullets):
+    p = tf.paragraphs[0] if i == 0 else tf.add_paragraph()
+    p.text = item
+    p.level = 0  # bullet level (0 = top)
+    # Bullet character: python-pptx does not expose a high-level bullet
+    # API; the default paragraph style from the layout provides bullets.
+    # For explicit bullet control, manipulate the XML <a:buChar> or
+    # set p.font + use the layout's list style.
+```
+**Constraint:** python-pptx has limited high-level bullet support; the
+`paragraph` level controls indentation but the bullet glyph comes from
+the layout's list style. For a blank layout (layout 6), paragraphs
+have NO bullet by default — you must add `<a:buChar>` to the paragraph
+properties XML, or use a layout that has bullets. **Recommendation:**
+use `slide_layouts[1]` (Title and Content) for bullet slides, which
+provides bullets natively; or inject `<a:buChar char="•"/>` via XML.
+
+(f) **Native tables (`add_table`):**
+```python
+from pptx.util import Inches
+rows, cols = len(data), len(headers)
+table = slide.shapes.add_table(rows, cols, Inches(0.5), Inches(1.5),
+                                Inches(12), Inches(4)).table
+# Headers
+for c, h in enumerate(headers):
+    table.cell(0, c).text = h
+    # style header cell
+    cell = table.cell(0, c)
+    cell.fill.solid()
+    cell.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0)
+# Body
+for r, row in enumerate(data, start=1):
+    for c, val in enumerate(row):
+        table.cell(r, c).text = str(val)
+```
+**Confirmed:** `add_table` is fully supported since 0.6.19; returns a
+`Table` object with `.cell(r,c).text` + `.fill`.
+
+(g) **Embedding images (`add_picture`, auto-embeds in ppt/media/):**
+```python
+slide.shapes.add_picture(
+    "docs/presentations/assets/png/platform-pipeline.png",
+    Inches(1), Inches(1),
+    width=Inches(11), height=Inches(5)
+)
+```
+**Confirmed:** python-pptx auto-embeds the image binary into the
+`ppt/media/` directory inside the .pptx zip; the slide XML references
+it via a relationship ID. This is native — no manual zip manipulation
+needed. The image is copied once; multiple slides referencing the
+same image share the media file.
+
+(h) **Italic text:**
+```python
+run.font.italic = True  # supported since 0.6.0
+```
+
+**Version constraint:** `python-pptx>=0.6.23` is the right minimum
+(stable release with `slide.background`, `add_table`, `add_picture`
+all mature). The latest is 1.0.2 (2024); 0.6.23 (2021) is safe. The
+`slide.background` API landed in 0.6.19; `add_table` in 0.6.19;
+`add_picture` since 0.6.0. **Recommendation:** pin
+`python-pptx>=0.6.23` in `pyproject.toml` `[project.optional-
+dependencies] test`.
+
+**Confidence: 0.90** (API calls confirmed against python-pptx docs;
+the font fallback + bullet limitations are the residual uncertainty —
+both have XML workarounds).
+
+### FINDING 4 — Image inlining (stdlib-only `base64` + `re` + `mimetypes`)
+
+The current rendered HTML
+(`docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.html`) embeds
+images as **plain `<img src="assets/png/...">` tags with relative
+paths** — NOT base64-inlined. Confirmed by grep: `<img
+src="assets/png/platform-pipeline.png" ...>` (slide 7), `<img
+src="assets/png/telemetry-live-ops.png" ...>` (slide 11). They are
+NOT SVG `xlink:href`; they are standard `<img>` elements inside the
+SVG `<foreignObject>` wrapper that Marp uses for slide rendering.
+
+**The stdlib-only approach is sufficient:**
+```python
+import base64, re, mimetypes
+html = Path("...html").read_text()
+def inline(match):
+    src = match.group(1)
+    if src.startswith("data:"):  # already inlined
+        return match.group(0)
+    mime = mimetypes.guess_type(src)[0] or "image/png"
+    data = base64.b64encode(Path(src).read_bytes()).decode()
+    return f'<img src="data:{mime};base64,{data}"'
+# Match <img src="..."> with single or double quotes
+html = re.sub(r'<img\s+src="([^"]+)"', inline_img, html)
+html = re.sub(r"<img\s+src='([^']+)'", inline_img, html)
+```
+
+**Edge cases confirmed:**
+- Marp's SVG-foreignObject wrapper: the `<img>` tags are INSIDE the
+  `<foreignObject><section>...</section></foreignObject>` — the regex
+  still matches them (they're standard HTML img tags in the HTML
+  namespace). No special handling needed.
+- Quoted vs unquoted src: Marp always emits double-quoted `src="..."`;
+  handle both for safety.
+- Relative vs absolute paths: Marp emits relative paths
+  (`assets/png/X.png`); the script must resolve them relative to the
+  HTML file's directory. `Path(html_path).parent / src`.
+- Already-inlined images (`data:` URIs): skip (the regex checks for
+  `src.startswith("data:")`).
+- Marp does NOT use `xlink:href` for images in HTML output (that's
+  only for SVG-only output mode); the HTML output uses standard
+  `<img src>`. Confirmed by grep: 0 occurrences of `xlink:href` in
+  the current HTML.
+- The `--allow-local-files` flag in `render_slides.sh` is what makes
+  Marp keep the local relative paths (without it, Marp would skip
+  local images in the standalone HTML).
+
+**No external library needed.** stdlib `base64` + `re` + `mimetypes`
++ `pathlib` is sufficient.
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (verified by direct inspection of the current
+HTML; the regex handles all observed patterns).
+
+### FINDING 5 — Tests that need updating (`tests/test_slides_pipeline.py`)
+
+Full read of `tests/test_slides_pipeline.py` (373 lines). Tests that
+assert on v1.23-affected surfaces:
+
+**(a) `theme: nova-sp` / `nova-sp-theme.css` via `--theme`:**
+- **Line 55-64 `test_marp_deck_uses_sp_theme`**: asserts `"nova-sp" in
+  frontmatter`. After v1.23: frontmatter should have `theme: default`;
+  this test must assert `"theme: default"` instead (or assert the inline
+  `style:` block is present).
+- **Line 66-74 `test_marp_deck_not_using_default_theme`**: asserts
+  `"theme: default" not in frontmatter`. After v1.23: this test must
+  be DELETED or INVERTED (we're reverting TO `theme: default`).
+- **Line 36-38 `test_sp_theme_css_exists`**: asserts
+  `nova-sp-theme.css` is a file. After v1.23: keep (the CSS is retired
+  from render but kept as a reference file).
+- **Line 41-45 `test_sp_theme_css_has_snp_colors`**: asserts the CSS
+  has S&P colors. After v1.23: keep (reference file still has colors).
+- **Line 275-282 `test_theme_css_has_section_padding`**: asserts the
+  CSS `section` rule has padding. After v1.23: this test targets the
+  RETIRED CSS — it should be retargeted to the inline `style:` block in
+  the marp deck frontmatter (assert the inline style has section
+  padding).
+- **Line 284-293 `test_theme_css_suppresses_title_chrome`**: asserts
+  `section.title header` + `display: none` in the CSS. After v1.23:
+  retarget to the inline `style:` block.
+- **Line 295-302 `test_theme_css_has_aspect_ratio_aware_images`**:
+  asserts `object-fit` + `max-width` in the CSS. After v1.23: retarget
+  to the inline `style:` block (or drop if the inline style uses the
+  simpler `max-height: 280px` from the reference deck).
+- **Line 353-359 `test_html_embeds_theme`**: asserts `"--sp-red"` +
+  `"padding:"` in the committed HTML. After v1.23: the inline `style:`
+  block uses literal `#D6002A` (not the `--sp-red` CSS variable — the
+  reference deck's inline style did NOT use CSS variables). This test
+  must change to assert `"#D6002A"` + `"padding:"` (or `"font-family:
+  \"Akkurat Pro\""`).
+
+**(b) Both `.md` and `-marp.md` existing:**
+- **Line 31 `SOURCE_MD` constant** + **Line 240-263
+  `test_source_md_no_internal_citations_in_slides`** +
+  **Line 266-270 `test_source_md_no_badges`**: assert the plain `.md`
+  is the source of truth. After v1.23: the plain `.md` is DELETED
+  (consolidated into `-marp.md`); these tests must be DELETED or
+  retargeted to the consolidated `-marp.md`.
+
+**(c) `marp-cli` invocation specifics:**
+- **Line 83-90 `test_render_slides_script_renders_mermaid`**: asserts
+  `mermaid-cli` + `sp-theme.json` in the script. After v1.23: keep
+  (mermaid render unchanged).
+- **Line 92-98 `test_render_slides_script_renders_marp`**: asserts
+  `marp-cli` + `.html` + `.pptx` in the script. After v1.23: the script
+  no longer passes `--theme nova-sp-theme.css`; it may still produce
+  `.pptx` via marp-cli OR via the new `render_pptx.py`. This test must
+  be updated to reflect the new invocation (marp-cli for HTML only;
+  render_pptx.py for the structured PPTX).
+- **Line 327-332 `test_render_slides_has_2x_scale`**: asserts `-s 2`
+  + `-b transparent`. After v1.23: keep (mermaid flags unchanged).
+- **Line 335-344 `test_render_slides_pins_cli_versions`**: asserts
+  `marp-cli@` + `mermaid-cli@` pinned, no `@latest`. After v1.23: keep
+  for mermaid; if marp-cli is still used for HTML, keep for marp too.
+- **Line 346-351 `test_render_deck_removed`**: asserts
+  `render_deck.sh` is deleted. After v1.23: keep.
+
+**(d) Slide count:**
+- **Line 204-218 `test_marp_deck_slide_count`**: asserts 20 main + 1
+  appendix = 21 slides. After v1.23: the word-count trim may change
+  the count; update to match the final count (likely stays 20+1 or
+  drops to fewer if slides merge).
+- **Line 361-373 `test_html_slide_count_matches_marp`**: asserts the
+  HTML `<section>` count matches the deck count. After v1.23: keep
+  (recompute expected from the final deck).
+
+**(e) Other affected tests:**
+- **Line 137-143 `test_readme_no_retired_decks`**: asserts README
+  doesn't list old decks. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 146-150 `test_readme_no_old_deck_name`**: asserts README
+  references `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery`. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 153-156 `test_old_deck_files_removed`**: asserts old
+  `nova-no-humans-platform*` files are gone. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 159-162 `test_marp_deck_no_badges`**: asserts no `badge` in
+  marp deck. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 165-177 `test_marp_deck_no_version_in_footer`**: asserts no
+  version in frontmatter. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 179-190 `test_marp_deck_title_slide_no_version_subtitle`**:
+  asserts no `v1.18` subtitle. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 193-202 `test_marp_deck_title_is_autonomous_cloud_delivery`**:
+  asserts the title. After v1.23: keep (unless "penetrate" removal
+  touches the title — it doesn't).
+- **Line 221-237 `test_marp_deck_no_internal_citations`**: asserts no
+  D-###/REQ-###/.py paths. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 304-324 `test_png_aspect_ratios_sane`**: asserts PNG aspect
+  ratios in [0.4, 4.0]. After v1.23: keep.
+- **Line 107-119 `test_slides_ci_workflow_*`**: asserts slides.yml
+  exists + triggers on presentations. After v1.23: keep (update if the
+  workflow changes).
+
+**Summary:** ~12 tests need updating; the key inversions are
+`test_marp_deck_not_using_default_theme` (delete/invert) and the
+`test_theme_css_*` trio (retarget from the standalone CSS file to the
+inline `style:` block). The `test_source_md_*` tests must be deleted
+(plain `.md` is gone).
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (direct line-by-line read of the test file).
+
+### FINDING 6 — `scripts/attach_release_asset.py`
+
+Read in full (80 lines). Current behavior:
+- CLI: `python3 scripts/attach_release_asset.py <file-path> <release-id>`
+- Resolves `NOVA_GITEA_TOKEN` (or `ACDL_GITEA_TOKEN` fallback) from
+  `.env.secrets`/`.env`.
+- POSTs to `/api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases/{id}/assets` with
+  multipart form: `name=<filename>` + `attachment=<file bytes>`.
+- Single-file upload per invocation.
+
+**Change needed for v1.23:** attach BOTH `.pptx` (Marp PPTX) AND
+`-python.pptx` (python-pptx structured PPTX). Two options:
+1. Call the script twice (once per file) from the ship workflow.
+2. Extend the script to accept multiple file paths: `attach_release_asset.py
+   <file1> <file2> ... <release-id>` (loop over files, same release-id).
+
+**Recommendation:** option 2 (extend to multiple files) — minimal,
+backward-compatible (if only 1 file given, same behavior). The
+release-id stays the last positional arg; all preceding args are file
+paths.
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (direct read; the change is mechanical).
+
+### FINDING 7 — `workflows-src/slides.yml`
+
+Read in full (31 lines). Current CI steps:
+1. `actions/checkout@v4` (fetch-depth 0).
+2. `actions/setup-node@v4` (node 20).
+3. "Install Chrome" — runs `npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@latest
+   --version` + `npx --yes @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli --version` (NOTE:
+   uses `@latest` — NOT pinned, contradicts REQ-257's pinning rule for
+   `render_slides.sh`; the workflow is separate from the script).
+4. "Render slides" — `bash scripts/render_slides.sh`.
+5. "Commit rendered artifacts" — `git add docs/presentations/*.html
+   docs/presentations/*.pptx docs/presentations/assets/png/*.png` +
+   commit + push.
+
+**Where `python-pptx` install would go:** a new step between "Install
+Chrome" and "Render slides":
+```yaml
+- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+  with: { python-version: '3.11' }
+- name: Install python-pptx
+  run: pip install python-pptx>=0.6.23
+```
+Then `render_slides.sh` (or a new `render_pptx.py` invocation) uses
+it. OR: `pip install -e ".[test]"` if python-pptx is added to
+`pyproject.toml [project.optional-dependencies] test`.
+
+**What the commit list should include after v1.23:** the
+`git add` line must include:
+- `docs/presentations/*.html` (re-rendered HTML, with inlined images)
+- `docs/presentations/*.pptx` (Marp PPTX — kept as the "fallback" PPTX)
+- `docs/presentations/*-python.pptx` (NEW — the python-pptx structured
+  PPTX)
+- `docs/presentations/assets/png/*.png` (re-rendered mermaid PNGs)
+
+**Also:** the workflow uses `@latest` for both CLIs in the "Install
+Chrome" step — this should be pinned to match `render_slides.sh`'s
+pinned versions (`@marp-team/marp-cli@4.5.0`,
+`@mermaid-js/mermaid-cli@11.16.0`) for reproducibility.
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (direct read).
+
+### FINDING 8 — `docs/presentations/README.md` current structure
+
+Read in full (249 lines). Current 4-step process structure:
+- **Step 1 — Full markdown (source of truth):** `<deck-name>.md` with
+  `## Slide N — Title` + `> **Speaker notes:**` blocks + mermaid code
+  blocks.
+- **Step 2 — Marp deck synthesis:** `<deck-name>-marp.md` with Marp
+  frontmatter (`theme: nova-sp`), no speaker notes, embedded PNGs, no
+  badges.
+- **Step 3 — Render to HTML and PPTX:** `bash scripts/render_slides.sh
+  <deck-name>`; HTML committed (with base64 images — NOTE: this is
+  aspirational; the current HTML does NOT inline images, which is what
+  `inline_images.py` will fix); PPTX committed + release-attached.
+- **Step 4 — Talking points:** `<deck-name>-talking-points.md` with
+  one section per Marp slide, 3-6 bullets + key takeaway.
+
+**What to rewrite for v1.23:**
+- The 4-step process becomes a **3-step process** (Step 1 plain `.md`
+  is DELETED → consolidated into `-marp.md`; the source of truth IS the
+  `-marp.md` with speaker notes in HTML comments, OR speaker notes are
+  dropped entirely). OR: keep 4 steps but Step 1's output merges into
+  Step 2 (the `-marp.md` becomes the source of truth, with speaker
+  notes preserved as HTML comments that Marp strips from rendering).
+- Step 2 frontmatter: `theme: default` + inline `style:` block (not
+  `theme: nova-sp`).
+- Step 3: HTML rendered by Marp (`render_slides.sh`), images inlined
+  by `scripts/inline_images.py` (NEW), PPTX rendered by BOTH marp-cli
+  (fallback `.pptx`) AND `scripts/render_pptx.py` (structured
+  `-python.pptx`).
+- The directory layout block (line 108-123) must drop the plain `.md`
+  row + add `inline_images.py` + `render_pptx.py` rows + the
+  `-python.pptx` row + note `nova-sp-theme.css` is retired (reference
+  only).
+- The "Current decks" table (line 237-239) must list both PPTX files.
+- The slide-count convention (line 128-136) must reflect the final
+  v1.23 count (after word-count trim + "penetrate" removal).
+- The "Adding a new presentation" section (line 209-233) must be
+  rewritten for the single-document + dual-PPTX pipeline.
+
+**Confidence: 0.95** (direct read).
+
+### FINDING 9 — Persona assessment for v1.23
+
+The v1.23 scope: deck markdown editing (consolidate `.md` + `-marp.md`,
+trim word count, remove "penetrate"), Marp inline `style:` CSS, Python
+scripts (`inline_images.py` + `render_pptx.py`), tests, CI YAML
+(`slides.yml`), README. The v1.22 roster had lead-developer +
+backend-engineer active; frontend + data deactivated.
+
+**Assessment:** the same roster applies, with one territory shift.
+- **lead-developer** (active): owns the deck markdown (consolidation,
+  word-count trim, "penetrate" removal), the inline `style:` CSS block
+  (porting the reference deck's CSS), the README rewrite, and all
+  `.ciagent/**` metadata. The inline CSS is a Marp stylesheet block, not
+  a React/Next.js system — stays lead-developer (D-148 precedent from
+  v1.22).
+- **backend-engineer** (active): owns the Python scripts
+  (`inline_images.py`, `render_pptx.py` — python-pptx is a backend
+  library), the `render_slides.sh` updates, the tests, the CI YAML,
+  and the `attach_release_asset.py` extension. This is a shift from
+  v1.22 (where backend owned bash + pytest); v1.23 adds Python to
+  backend's territory.
+- **frontend-engineer** (deactivated): no React/Next.js. The inline
+  CSS is a Marp stylesheet, not frontend. Stays deactivated (D-148
+  precedent).
+- **data-engineer** (deactivated): no schema/DB/ORM. Stays deactivated.
+
+**Custom "docs/deck" persona?** Not warranted. The work splits cleanly
+into lead-developer (narrative + CSS + markdown + README + metadata)
+and backend-engineer (Python + bash + tests + CI). A "docs-engineer"
+or "slides-engineer" persona would fragment ownership of the deck
+markdown (lead) and the render scripts (backend). D-149 precedent from
+v1.22 applies: no new personas.
+
+**One nuance:** python-pptx is a new dependency (backend territory) but
+the PPTX CONTENT (slide layout, text, image placement) is a design
+decision that overlaps with lead-developer's deck ownership. The
+`render_pptx.py` script is backend (Python code); the slide-by-slide
+layout decisions within it (which image goes where, font sizes) are
+co-owned with lead-developer. Territory enforcement = `warn` (cross-
+territory edits logged, not blocked).
+
+**Confidence: 0.90** (the roster follows v1.22 precedent; the only new
+element is python-pptx, which is unambiguously backend).
+
+### FINDING 10 — Risks / pitfalls (5)
+
+1. **Marp `default` theme padding conflict.** The reference deck's
+   inline `style:` block does NOT set `section` padding. The v1.22
+   root-cause was ZERO padding with the standalone `nova-sp-theme.css`.
+   If `theme: default`'s built-in padding differs from v1.22's settled
+   `48px 56px 40px`, slides may re-overflow. **Mitigation:** explicitly
+   set `section { padding: 48px 56px 40px }` in the v1.23 inline
+   `style:` block (do not rely on the default theme's padding). Verify
+   by re-rendering + visual inspection in P2.
+
+2. **python-pptx font fallback when Akkurat Pro isn't installed.**
+   python-pptx sets a single `run.font.name = "Akkurat Pro"`; on
+   systems without Akkurat Pro (CI, most laptops), PowerPoint
+   substitutes a default font (often Calibri), NOT Helvetica Neue /
+   Arial. The CSS stack `Akkurat Pro → Helvetica Neue → Arial` does
+   NOT translate to python-pptx (no CSS-style fallback). **Mitigation:**
+   accept PowerPoint's OS-level substitution (the deck will render in
+   a sans font either way); OR set `run.font.name = "Arial"` directly
+   for the structured PPTX (guaranteed present on all systems) and
+   document that the Marp HTML deck uses the full Akkurat Pro stack
+   while the python PPTX uses Arial. The dual-PPTX approach lets the
+   Marp PPTX (rendered by Chromium with the CSS stack) carry the
+   brand font, while the python PPTX (structured, editable) carries
+   Arial for editability.
+
+3. **Image inlining breaking if Marp embeds images as SVG
+   `xlink:href`.** The current HTML uses `<img src="assets/png/...">`
+   (confirmed by grep). BUT if a future Marp version switches to SVG
+   `xlink:href` for the HTML output, the `inline_images.py` regex
+   would miss them. **Mitigation:** the regex should ALSO match
+   `xlink:href="assets/..."` patterns as a fallback; OR pin the
+   Marp version (already pinned at `@4.5.0` in `render_slides.sh`) so
+   the output format is stable.
+
+4. **Consolidated doc losing speaker notes if HTML comments are
+   stripped by Marp.** The plan consolidates the plain `.md` (with
+   `> **Speaker notes:**` blockquotes) into the `-marp.md`. Marp strips
+   HTML comments (`<!-- ... -->`) from rendered output but preserves
+   blockquotes (`> ...`) as `<blockquote>` elements. If speaker notes
+   are moved to HTML comments to hide them from the audience, Marp
+   strips them — and they're lost from the rendered HTML. If they stay
+   as blockquotes, they're visible in the audience deck (bad).
+   **Mitigation:** either (a) drop speaker notes entirely from the
+   consolidated `-marp.md` (the talking-points file is the presenter
+   cue sheet; notes aren't needed in the deck), or (b) keep them as
+   HTML comments (Marp strips from render, but they persist in the
+   source markdown for git-diff readability). Option (b) is safer —
+   the source markdown keeps the notes; the rendered HTML + PPTX
+   don't. Verify Marp strips `<!-- -->` from HTML output (confirmed:
+   Marp's markdown-it does strip HTML comments by default).
+
+5. **`test_html_embeds_theme` asserts `--sp-red` CSS variable, but the
+   reference inline `style:` uses literal `#D6002A`.** The v1.22 test
+   (line 353-359) asserts `"--sp-red"` in the committed HTML. The
+   reference deck's inline `style:` block uses literal `#D6002A`, not
+   a CSS variable. If v1.23 ports the reference style verbatim, the
+   test fails. **Mitigation:** update the test to assert `"#D6002A"`
+   (literal) OR use CSS variables in the inline `style:` block (Marp
+   supports `:root { --sp-red: #D6002A }` + `color: var(--sp-red)` in
+   the inline style — but the reference deck didn't, so matching the
+   reference means literal colors). Recommendation: use literal colors
+   in the inline `style:` block (matches the reference deck's clean
+   approach) + update the test.
+
+**Confidence: 0.90** (pitfalls identified from the research findings
+above; mitigations are concrete).
+
+---
+
+## Assumptions logged (v1.23)
+
+| ID | Assumption | Confidence | Rationale |
+|----|------------|------------|-----------|
+| A-1.23.1 | The consolidated `-marp.md` will keep speaker notes as HTML comments (`<!-- -->`), which Marp strips from rendered HTML/PPTX but preserves in the source markdown for git readability. | 0.80 | Marp's markdown-it strips HTML comments by default; the source markdown keeps them. The alternative (drop notes entirely) loses the presenter context. |
+| A-1.23.2 | `python-pptx` will be added to `pyproject.toml [project.optional-dependencies] test` (not the runtime `dependencies`), since the structured PPTX is a build/test artifact, not a runtime dependency. | 0.90 | The render scripts run in CI + locally, not in the platform runtime. Matches the `moto`/`pytest` pattern. |
+| A-1.23.3 | The Marp PPTX (`.pptx`) is kept as a "fallback" alongside the new python-pptx structured PPTX (`-python.pptx`); both are committed + release-attached. | 0.85 | The plan says "dual PPTX"; the Marp PPTX is the quick render, the python PPTX is the editable one. Keeping both gives consumers a choice. |
+| A-1.23.4 | The `nova-sp-theme.css` file is KEPT in `docs/presentations/assets/` as a reference (retired from the render pipeline) but NOT deleted. | 0.90 | The plan says "keep as a reference (retired from render)"; deletion would lose the v1.22 work history. |
+| A-1.23.5 | The slide count after the word-count trim + "penetrate" removal will stay at 20 main + 1 appendix (the trim is within-slide prose, not slide removal). | 0.75 | The plan says "trim word count" (prose), not "remove slides"; but if a slide becomes too thin it may merge. To be confirmed in execution. |
+
+---
+
+## Decisions surfaced (v1.23 research)
+
+These research-grounded decisions will be bound in the CLARIFY stage:
+
+- **D-XXX (0.90):** Revert to `theme: default` + inline `style:` block
+  (port the reference deck's exact CSS from Finding 1). Keep
+  `nova-sp-theme.css` as a retired reference file. Confidence 0.90 —
+  the reference deck's clean look is the target; the CSS is read
+  verbatim.
+
+- **D-XXX (0.85):** Build `scripts/inline_images.py` (stdlib-only:
+  `base64` + `re` + `mimetypes`) to inline `<img src="assets/...">` →
+  `data:` URIs in the rendered HTML. No external library. Confidence
+  0.95 — confirmed the current HTML uses plain `<img src>`.
+
+- **D-XXX (0.85):** Build `scripts/render_pptx.py` using python-pptx
+  (>=0.6.23) for a structured, editable PPTX (`-python.pptx`). Keep
+  the Marp PPTX (`.pptx`) as a fallback. Both committed + release-
+  attached. Confidence 0.90 — python-pptx API confirmed.
+
+- **D-XXX (0.80):** Consolidate the plain `.md` + `-marp.md` into a
+  single `-marp.md`. Speaker notes move to HTML comments (stripped by
+  Marp from render, preserved in source). The plain `.md` is deleted.
+  Confidence 0.80 — the HTML-comment approach preserves notes for git
+  without leaking them to the audience.
+
+- **D-XXX (0.85):** No new personas for v1.23. lead-developer (deck
+  markdown + inline CSS + README + metadata) + backend-engineer
+  (Python scripts + bash + tests + CI). Territory enforcement = `warn`
+  for `render_pptx.py` (script is backend; slide layout decisions are
+  co-owned with lead-developer). Confidence 0.90 — follows v1.22 D-
+  148/D-149 precedent.

.ciagent/ROADMAP.md

@@ -1892,3 +1892,265 @@ release). **DONE.**
   - Milestone branches merged to main.
   - Tag `v1.19.4` created; release notes summarize all 15 requirements.
   - CHECKPOINT cleared; milestone branches deleted.
+
+## v1.21 — Nova Deck Refinement & Pipeline Hardening (complete)
+
+> Leadership-deck refinement based on 33 review notes on the v1.20 deck.
+> Renamed the deck to the professional "Autonomous Cloud Delivery
+> Platform" framing; restructured the narrative (Problem → Solution →
+> Proof → Roadmap + Ask); removed internal provenance from
+> audience-facing slides; hardened the policy pipeline (Checkov before
+> plan, Wiz-or-Checkov on plan); moved the strategic integration
+> objective into the North Star.
+>
+> Tags run on the v1.20.x line (milestone v1.21 → tags v1.20.0..v1.20.6).
+> Flat workflow: commits on main, tags per phase.
+
+### Phase P0 — pre-execution (complete, tag v1.20.0)
+- SPECIFY → CLARIFY → RESEARCH → PLAN. Validated v1.21 requirements
+  (REQ-245..253). Established `active_milestone: "v1.21"`. Synced
+  PROJECT.md strategic-direction pillar.
+
+### Phase P1 — strategic-docs (complete, tag v1.20.1)
+- `git mv .ciagent/NO_HUMANS_THESIS.md .ciagent/AUTONOMY_THESIS.md` +
+  reframe content (autonomy in operations, not "removing humans").
+- `NORTH_STAR.md`: vision polished ("invisible" → "visible"); obj #2
+  deterministic-scoring reword; obj #3 four CTO metrics; obj #4 replaced
+  with integration objective; drop anti-goals 1,4,5; add 2 new
+  anti-goals; anti-goal #3 reworded.
+- `docs/raci.md`: 3 roles → 4 roles (add Quality Engineering; rename
+  Release Mgmt → SRE; split release attestation).
+- `docs/scope.md` + render scripts + ONBOARDING: integration framing +
+  "no-humans" → "autonomous".
+
+### Phase P2 — slides source-of-truth (complete, tag v1.20.2)
+- `git mv` all 5 deck files `nova-no-humans-platform*` →
+  `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery*`.
+- Rewrote source of truth to 18 main + 1 appendix slides, 4-beat arc.
+  All 33 review notes applied. Removed: old Slide 10 (Capability
+  Health), old Slide 12 (Zero-Touch), Appendix A2 (Operating Model &
+  Cost). Global: tech-leadership benefits; no D-###/REQ-###/.py paths in
+  audience slides; no badges; no version in footer.
+
+### Phase P3 — marp deck + talking points + README (complete, tag v1.20.3)
+- Synthesized Marp deck from updated source; frontmatter — title
+  "Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform", footer without
+  version + without "Act N/5", title-slide subtitle "Product Development
+  & Citizen Developer Overview"; no badges.
+- Re-distilled talking points to 18-slide + A1 structure.
+- README updated (deck title, audience, slide count, directory layout,
+  no badge docs).
+- Theme CSS: fixed Appendix A1 table readability (explicit white body
+  on any background).
+- Tests: added v1.21 assertions (no badges, no version, 18+1 slides, no
+  D-###/REQ-###/.py paths, old files removed, default deck renamed).
+
+### Phase P4 — pipeline hardening (complete, tag v1.20.4)
+- Two-stage policy scan (REQ-250): Checkov on static code BEFORE plan
+  (fail-fast); Wiz-or-Checkov on the plan AFTER plan (never both).
+  Implemented in run_platform.sh + run_codegen.sh + run_postapply.sh.
+- `adapters/wiz/wiz_adapter.py`: added --plan mode CLI.
+- `pipelines/contract.yml`: 'checkov' stage replaced by 'checkov-static'
+  (before terraform-plan) + 'runtime-policy-scan' (after). 9 → 10 stages.
+- Tests updated; full suite 686 pass + 1 pre-existing attestation
+  failure (unrelated env issue).
+
+### Phase P5 — render + verify (complete, tag v1.20.5)
+- New mermaid diagrams: platform-pipeline.mmd/.png (slide 6),
+  telemetry-live-ops.mmd/.png (slide 9).
+- Re-rendered HTML + PPTX (20 slides, 21 media files).
+- Verify: 101 v1.21-specific tests pass; 686 full suite pass;
+  check-only pipeline exit 0; no no-humans/D-###/REQ-###/badge in
+  audience-facing deck files.
+
+### Phase P6 — final-review-ship (Final Phase, complete, tag v1.20.6)
+- Multi-file audit: git log matches `.ciagent/` discipline; deck files
+  renamed; forbidden content absent from audience-facing slides.
+- Ship: tag `v1.20.6` (final patch = milestone release). Requirements
+  marked complete; ROADMAP marked complete; CHECKPOINT cleared.
+- **Requirements:** REQ-245..253 (9 requirements, all complete).
+
+## v1.22 — Nova Deck Layout Fix (complete)
+
+> Fixes the systemic layout/formatting problems in the Nova presentation
+> deck that made every slide look "out of whack" after the v1.21 P5
+> re-render. Root cause (per investigation): `nova-sp-theme.css` had
+> zero `section` padding (declared `/* @theme nova-sp */` as a comment,
+> not the `@theme` directive; did not `@import` Marp's default theme).
+> Combined with `overflow:hidden`, a blunt `img { max-height: 320px }`,
+> header+footer chrome on every slide, and two P5 diagrams with extreme
+> aspect ratios (13.52× and 0.63×), 8 of 19 slides overflowed.
+>
+> Tags run on the v1.21.x line (milestone v1.22 → tags v1.21.0..v1.21.6).
+
+### Phase P0 — pre-execution (complete, tag v1.21.0)
+- SPECIFY → CLARIFY → RESEARCH → PLAN → GRILL. Validated v1.22
+  requirements (REQ-254..262). 8 research findings persisted to
+  RESEARCH.md. 5 CLARIFY decisions auto-resolved (comprehensive scope,
+  full pipeline, re-layout to LR, delete render_deck.sh, split slides
+  3+8). Persona roster: 2 active (lead-developer + backend-engineer),
+  2 deactivated (frontend + data). Grill: PROCEED-WITH-REVISIONS
+  (3 revisions: aspect-ratio test scoped to deck PNGs, @import
+  rejection documented, marp version pinning fallback).
+
+### Phase P1 — theme-css (complete, tag v1.21.1)
+- REQ-254: `section { padding: 48px 56px 40px; overflow: auto; }` —
+  root cause fix (zero padding was why every slide looked jammed
+  against the edges).
+- REQ-255: `img { max-width: 100%; max-height: 380px; object-fit:
+  contain; }` + `.wide`/`.tall` classes — replaced blunt
+  `max-height: 320px` that broke `w:` directives on tall images.
+- REQ-256: `section.title header/footer { display: none; }` — title
+  chrome suppression. `h2 + p { margin-top: 0.2em; }`, `p { margin:
+  0.4em 0; }` — spacing tightening. `ol` styling. `table.dense`
+  class. `@media print { section { overflow: hidden; } }` for PPTX.
+
+### Phase P2 — render-scripts (complete, tag v1.21.2)
+- REQ-257: deleted `scripts/render_deck.sh` (omitted `--theme`,
+  produced unthemed output). Pinned marp-cli@4.5.0 + mermaid-cli@
+  11.16.0 in `render_slides.sh`. Removed references from README,
+  sync_to_nova.sh, test_no_forge_mentions.py.
+- REQ-258: added `-s 2 -b transparent` to mermaid-cli invocation
+  (README spec; produces crisp 2x PNGs with transparent backgrounds).
+
+### Phase P3 — mermaid-relayout (complete, tag v1.21.3)
+- REQ-259: `telemetry-live-ops.mmd` kept as `flowchart TB` (the 3-way
+  branch makes LR too wide at 4.22 aspect; TB gives 0.63 which is
+  legible at h:480 with img.tall class). Re-rendered at 2x transparent
+  (1024x1628).
+- REQ-260: `platform-pipeline.mmd` restructured from 10-node LR chain
+  (aspect 13.52, illegible 1000x74 strip) to 4-node TB with combined
+  nodes. Re-rendered at 2x transparent (552x1116, aspect 0.49).
+- Marp deck directives updated: `![w:1000]`/`![w:900]` →
+  `![h:480 class:tall]` so images render at legible height using the
+  img.tall class budget (480px).
+- Aspect-ratio bounds revised from [1.2, 2.5] to [0.4, 4.0] (accepts
+  both tall and wide diagrams; still catches original outliers).
+
+### Phase P4 — deck-content (complete, tag v1.21.4)
+- REQ-261: split slide 3 (Objectives + Anti-Goals) into Slide 3
+  (Objectives) + Slide 4 (Anti-Goals). Split slide 8 (Attestation
+  Matrix) into Slide 9 (QA, 3 rows) + Slide 10 (Prod/DR, 7 rows).
+  Main slide count 18 → 20.
+- Trimmed: slide 7 (Pipeline) to 3 bullets. slide 11 (Telemetry) to
+  3 bullets. slide 14 (Deferred) merged 3 Live-AWS rows into 1 (8→6
+  rows). slide 17 (Quarter-by-Quarter) dropped Grounding column
+  (5→4 cols). Global table cell padding reduced (6px 10px → 4px 8px).
+- Removed `header:` from frontmatter (keep `footer:` + `paginate`
+  only). The full 51-char deck title in BOTH header and footer was
+  redundant chrome eating ~35px on every slide.
+- Source `.md` and talking-points re-synced to 20-slide structure.
+- Updated `test_marp_deck_slide_count` (18→20 main + 1 appendix).
+  Updated README slide-count convention (all 6 references).
+
+### Phase P5 — render-and-test (complete, tag v1.21.5)
+- REQ-262: re-rendered HTML + PPTX via `render_slides.sh` (pinned
+  marp-cli@4.5.0, mermaid-cli@11.16.0, 2x transparent PNGs). 22
+  slides (title + 20 main + 1 appendix), 23 media files embedded.
+  Theme embedded in HTML (--sp-red + padding confirmed).
+- Added 9 tests to `test_slides_pipeline.py` (the gap that let the
+  layout regression through): test_theme_css_has_section_padding,
+  test_theme_css_suppresses_title_chrome,
+  test_theme_css_has_aspect_ratio_aware_images,
+  test_png_aspect_ratios_sane (scoped to deck-referenced PNGs only
+  per GRILL revision 1, bounds [0.4, 4.0]),
+  test_render_slides_has_2x_scale, test_render_slides_pins_cli_versions,
+  test_render_deck_removed, test_html_embeds_theme,
+  test_html_slide_count_matches_marp.
+- 32 slide tests pass (23 original + 9 new). 94 key-file tests pass.
+  `run_platform.sh --check-only` exit 0.
+
+### Phase P6 — final-review-ship (Final Phase, complete, tag v1.21.6)
+- Multi-persona code review: PASS with 3 P1 flags (all fixed in this
+  phase): source .md/talking-points re-synced to 20 slides, `![h:480
+  class:tall]` directives applied, README stale references updated.
+- Audit: git log matches `.ciagent/` discipline; all commits have
+  `---ci---` blocks; branch hygiene verified.
+- Ship: tag `v1.21.6` (final patch = milestone release). Merge
+  `milestone/v1.22-deck-layout-fix` → `main`. Requirements marked
+  complete; ROADMAP marked complete; CHECKPOINT cleared.
+- **Requirements:** REQ-254..262 (9 requirements, all complete).
+
+## v1.23 — Nova Deck Cleanup & Python PPTX (active)
+
+> **NFR milestone** (docs/render/test only; no features). Tags run on the
+> **v1.22.x** line (milestone v1.23 → tags v1.22.0..v1.22.6). Final patch
+> `v1.22.6` = milestone release. Branch: `milestone/v1.23-deck-cleanup-python-pptx`.
+>
+> Driven by the user's feedback that the deck looked "out of whack" and
+> the desire to return to the clean, well-formatted style of the old
+> `the-developer-experience.html` (which used Marp's built-in `default`
+> theme + an inline `style:` block). That investigation revealed:
+> (1) the "clean" reference was itself MARP output — MARP is not the
+> problem; (2) the current deck uses a standalone `nova-sp-theme.css`
+> that re-derives all base spacing from scratch and had a zero-padding
+> bug (fixed in v1.22 but the standalone approach is fragile);
+> (3) there are two markdown documents (a plain source-of-truth `.md`
+> and a manually-synthesized `-marp.md`) that should be consolidated;
+> (4) images are referenced as file paths in the HTML, so the HTML
+> breaks when redistributed without the `assets/` folder; (5) the deck
+> is verbose in places and uses the term "penetrate" which the user
+> wants removed.
+>
+> The milestone delivers: single-document consolidation, clean style
+> restoration (Marp `default` + inline `style:`), self-contained HTML
+> (base64 images), a parallel structured python-pptx PPTX generator,
+> targeted word-count trim, and "penetrate" removal. `nova-sp-theme.css`
+> is retained as a styling reference but retired from the render path.
+
+### Phase P0 — pre-execution (active)
+- SPECIFY → CLARIFY → RESEARCH → PLAN → GRILL. Establishes v1.23
+  requirements (REQ-263..275). Tag `v1.22.0`. Grill PROCEED-WITH-
+  REVISIONS (0.78): 4 binding revisions applied (G-001 repo-wide
+  "penetrate" purge; G-002 P3→P4 serialized; G-003 P3 split P3a+P3b;
+  G-004 P5+P6 merged).
+
+### Phase P1 — consolidate-docs (planned, tag v1.22.1)
+- REQ-263: fold speaker notes + talking points into `*-marp.md` as Marp
+  HTML comments; delete the plain `.md`. `-marp.md` becomes the sole
+  source of truth.
+- REQ-264: keep `*-talking-points.md` as a standalone presenter aid,
+  synced from the deck's `<!-- Talking points: -->` comments.
+
+### Phase P2 — restore-clean-style (planned, tag v1.22.2)
+- REQ-265: revert frontmatter to `theme: default` + inline `style:`
+  block (S&P palette). Keep H2 + bold-lead structure, no header, no
+  badges.
+- REQ-266: retain `nova-sp-theme.css` as a styling reference; drop
+  `--theme` from `render_slides.sh`.
+- REQ-267: restyle benefit callouts — remove `**Benefit:**` prefix; use
+  `.benefit` class (red top-rule + black italic; white on title slides).
+
+### Phase P3a — inline-images (planned, tag v1.22.3)
+- REQ-268: new `scripts/inline_images.py` — base64-embeds all images in
+  the rendered HTML for redistribution. Invoked after the MARP HTML
+  render. Low-risk, mechanical (G-003 isolation).
+
+### Phase P3b — python-pptx-generator (planned, tag v1.22.4)
+- REQ-269: new `scripts/render_pptx.py` — structured, editable, S&P-themed
+  PPTX via `python-pptx`. 16:9; native tables; embedded PNGs; benefit
+  callouts. Add `python-pptx` to `pyproject.toml`. High-risk, isolated
+  (G-003).
+- REQ-270: `render_slides.sh` produces both PPTX outputs; CI installs
+  `python-pptx`; both attached to release.
+
+### Phase P4 — trim-wordcount + repo-wide "penetrate" purge (planned, tag v1.22.5)
+- REQ-271: targeted ~20-30% word-count trim on verbose slides (1, 5, 7,
+  8, 13, 14, 20, appendix). Tables untouched. Spirit preserved.
+- REQ-272: remove "penetrate" (and derivatives) repo-wide (G-001) —
+  `docs/` + `.ciagent/PROJECT.md`/`CLARIFY.md`; RESEARCH.md/PLAN.md/
+  GRILL.md exempt as decision-history. Slide 5's phrase removed with no
+  replacement (slide 4 already excludes the PDLC).
+
+### Phase P5 — ci-tests-readme + review + audit + ship (Final Phase, tag v1.22.6)
+- REQ-273: CI workflows install `python-pptx`, run `render_slides.sh`,
+  commit HTML + both PPTX + inlined images.
+- REQ-274: update `test_slides_pipeline.py` (consolidated doc, inline
+  style assertions, image inlining, python-pptx, benefit class,
+  "penetrate" absence). New `test_pptx_generator.py`.
+- REQ-275: rewrite `README.md` for the single-document + dual-PPTX +
+  image-inlining pipeline.
+- Review + audit + milestone ship (merged P5+P6 per G-004 — NFR docs
+  milestone). Tag `v1.22.6` (final patch = milestone release). Merge
+  `milestone/v1.23-deck-cleanup-python-pptx` → `main`.
+- **Requirements:** REQ-263..275 (13 requirements).

.ciagent/config.json

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
   ],
   "active_project": "acdl",
   "active_projects": ["acdl"],
-  "active_milestone": "v1.21",
+  "active_milestone": "v1.23",
   "autonomy": {
     "level": "full",
     "escalation_hooks": ["deploy", "delete_data", "merge_to_main"],

.ciagent/uat/prereq.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+=== tools ===
+terraform: /usr/bin/terraform
+checkov: /usr/local/bin/checkov
+python3: /usr/bin/python3
+jq: /usr/bin/jq
+rsync: /usr/bin/rsync
+marp: MISSING
+mmdc: MISSING
+Terraform v1.9.8
+3.3.8
+Python 3.12.3
+=== chrome/chromium (for slide render) ===
+found: /root/.cache/ms-playwright/chromium-1217/chrome-linux64/chrome
+=== creds ===
+.env.secrets: present (4 lines)
+.env: present
+=== aws creds loadable? ===
+NOVA_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: set
+AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1
+=== git ===
+main
+v1.18.1-11-gaa868c9
+=== disk ===
+/dev/loop2      148G  140G  1.3G 100% /

.ciagent/uat/v1.20-uat-report.jsonl

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{"id": "T1", "req": "REQ-230", "title": "no forge names in synced files (guard test)", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"test": "test_no_forge_mentions_in_synced_files", "result": "1 passed in 2.20s", "log_tail": ["tests/test_no_forge_mentions.py::test_no_forge_mentions_in_synced_files PASSED [100%]", "1 passed in 2.20s"]}}
+{"id": "T2", "req": "REQ-230", "title": "forge-detection code genericized", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"hardcoded_gitea_gitlab_hits": 0, "genericization_signals": ["contract_ingestor.py: _forge_type() returns 'generic_forge'", "hitl_gates.py: GITHUB_ACTOR or FORGE_ACTOR (no GITEA_ACTOR)", "run_platform.sh:166: GITHUB_ACTOR:-FORGE_ACTOR fallback"]}}
+{"id": "T3", "req": "REQ-231", "title": "synced docs stripped of internal provenance", "pass": false, "rc": 1, "evidence": {"provenance_hit_count": 40, "contaminated_files": ["docs/ONBOARDING.md (REQ-182,183,184; D-113,114,119)", "docs/METRICS.md (REQ-191,192,193,194,211,212; D-083,096,113,114,119)", "docs/presentations/README.md (REQ-214,226,228; D-130,141; .ciagent/PROJECT.md)", "docs/presentations/nova-no-humans-platform.{md,marp.md,html,talking-points.md} (v1.X milestone headers)", "docs/presentations/assets/mmd/developer-experience-08-semver.mmd (v1.12 header)"], "root_cause": "test_no_forge_mentions.py only guards forge names, not provenance IDs", "defect": "F7"}}
+{"id": "T4", "req": "REQ-232", "title": "migration docs removed + thesis moved", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"docs_NOVA_MIGRATION_gone": true, "docs_NOVA_AWS_MIGRATION_gone": true, "docs_NO_HUMANS_THESIS_gone": true, "ciagent_NO_HUMANS_THESIS_present": true}}
+{"id": "T5", "req": "REQ-239", "title": "S&P theme CSS palette on all chrome", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"css_exists": true, "css_size_bytes": 2914, "red_present": true, "black_present": true, "white_present": true, "chrome_covered": ["section/bg", "section.title", "h1-h3 headings", "table th", "blockquote", "pre/code", "header", "footer", "pagination (.bespoke-progress-bar)", "strong"]}}
+{"id": "T6", "req": "REQ-240", "title": "render pipeline script + mermaid theme", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"render_slides_executable": true, "render_slides_size": 2736, "sp_theme_json_has_red": true, "sp_theme_json_has_black": true, "render_deck_sh_still_present": true, "render_deck_excluded_from_sync": true, "caveat": "README:107 still references render_deck.sh (deferred to T9)"}}
+{"id": "T7", "req": "REQ-241", "title": "slides CI workflow path trigger", "pass": false, "rc": 1, "evidence": {"wrong_path_hits": [".github/workflows/slides.yml:8: - 'assets/nova-sp-theme.css' (non-existent)", "workflows-src/slides.yml:8: - 'assets/nova-sp-theme.css' (non-existent)"], "correct_path": "docs/presentations/assets/nova-sp-theme.css", "src_dotgithub_identical": true, "defect": "F6", "impact": "Explicit CSS path trigger points at nothing; only the docs/presentations/** glob catches CSS edits. Dead entry should be corrected or removed."}}
+{"id": "T8", "req": "REQ-242", "title": "slide-pipeline guard test", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"passed": 12, "failed": 0, "duration_s": 1.1, "tests": ["sp_theme_css_exists", "sp_theme_css_has_snp_colors", "sp_theme_json_has_snp_colors", "marp_deck_uses_sp_theme", "marp_deck_not_using_default_theme", "render_slides_script_exists", "render_slides_script_renders_mermaid", "render_slides_script_renders_marp", "slides_ci_workflow_exists", "slides_ci_workflow_triggers_on_presentations", "every_mmd_has_png", "readme_no_retired_decks"], "coverage_gap": "test_slides_ci_workflow_triggers_on_presentations checks docs/presentations/** glob but NOT the explicit CSS path \u2014 gap that allowed F6"}}
+{"id": "T9", "req": "REQ-243", "title": "presentations README documents render pipeline + retired decks gone", "pass": false, "rc": 1, "evidence": {"retired_decks_present": false, "readme_mentions_render_slides": false, "readme_mentions_render_deck": true, "readme_render_deck_line": "docs/presentations/README.md:107: 'automated by scripts/render_deck.sh'", "readme_mentions_theme_css": true, "defect": "F10", "impact": "README documents the retired render_deck.sh pipeline, not the active render_slides.sh. Consumers reading synced README reference a script excluded from sync."}}
+{"id": "T10", "req": "REQ-244", "title": "12-month product roadmap slides 20+21 + talking points", "pass": true, "rc": 0, "evidence": {"marp_slide15": true, "marp_slide20": true, "marp_slide21": true, "talking_points_slide15": true, "talking_points_slide20": true, "talking_points_slide21": true, "quarters": ["Q1 Pilot Activation", "Q2 Provable Trust", "Q3 Compounding ROI", "Q4 Agentic Substrate"], "distinct_from_slide15": true}}

docs/presentations/README.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ every deck and a presenter-ready cue sheet for delivery.
 
 ```
 Step 1: full markdown       Step 2: Marp deck           Step 3: HTML + PPTX         Step 4: Talking points
-(source of truth)    ──►    (lean, 19 slides)    ──►    (rendered)           ──►    (presenter cues)
+(source of truth)    ──►    (lean, 21 slides)    ──►    (rendered)           ──►    (presenter cues)
 *.md                        *-marp.md                   *.html / *.pptx             *-talking-points.md
 + speaker notes             + embedded PNG diagrams                                 + 3-6 bullets per slide
 + mermaid code blocks       + Marp frontmatter                                     + key takeaway per slide
@@ -84,8 +84,7 @@ CHROME_PATH=/root/.cache/ms-playwright/chromium-1217/chrome-linux64/chrome \
 
 HTML export inlines images as base64 data URIs. PPTX export requires
 `--allow-local-files` so the local PNG diagrams are embedded in the file.
-The render + commit + attach pipeline is automated by `scripts/render_deck.sh`
-and `scripts/render_slides.sh`.
+The render + commit + attach pipeline is automated by `scripts/render_slides.sh`.
 
 ### Step 4 — Talking points (presenter cues)
 
@@ -96,7 +95,7 @@ Distill the source of truth (Step 1) into presenter-ready cues, indexed by
 the Marp deck (Step 2) slide structure:
 
 - **One section per Marp slide** — `## Slide N — Title`, matching the Marp
-  deck's 18 main + 1 appendix slide structure exactly.
+  deck's 20 main + 1 appendix slide structure exactly.
 - **3-6 talking point bullets per slide** — punchy, actionable cues distilled
   from the source markdown's speaker notes.
 - **Key takeaway per slide** — the one memorable thing the audience should
@@ -109,8 +108,8 @@ the Marp deck (Step 2) slide structure:
 ```
 docs/presentations/
 ├── README.md                                  ← this file
-├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md                 ← Step 1: full source of truth (18 main slides + speaker notes)
-├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md            ← Step 2: Marp deck (18 main + 1 appendix = 19 slides)
+├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md                 ← Step 1: full source of truth (20 main slides + speaker notes)
+├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md            ← Step 2: Marp deck (20 main + 1 appendix = 21 slides)
 ├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.html               ← Step 3: rendered HTML (committed, S&P-themed)
 ├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.pptx               ← Step 3: rendered PPTX (committed, S&P-themed)
 ├── nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md  ← Step 4: presenter cues (19 sections)
@@ -127,10 +126,11 @@ docs/presentations/
 
 ### Appendix structure
 
-Each Marp deck has **18 main slides + 1 appendix slide**. The main 18 are the
-presentation; the appendix is for Q&A backup.
+Each Marp deck has **20 main slides + 1 appendix slide**. The main 20 are the
+presentation; the appendix is for Q&A backup. (v1.22 split slides 3 and 8
+to relieve overflow, increasing the count from 18 to 20.)
 
-- **Main slides** (1-18): the story arc — Problem → Solution → Proof →
+- **Main slides** (1-20): the story arc — Problem → Solution → Proof →
   Roadmap + Ask. These are what the audience sees during the talk.
 - **Appendix slide** (A1): the Metrics Glossary — detail-heavy reference for
   Q&A.
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ attached to the phase's release.
 
 | Deck | Source of truth (Step 1) | Marp deck (Step 2) | Rendered HTML + PPTX (Step 3) | Talking points (Step 4) | Slides | Audience |
 |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-| Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md` | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.html` + `.pptx` (committed + release-attached) | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md` | 18 main + 1 appendix (19) | CTO, Head of Cloud, Head of Infra, Head of DevOps |
+| Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md` | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.html` + `.pptx` (committed + release-attached) | `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md` | 20 main + 1 appendix (21) | CTO, Head of Cloud, Head of Infra, Head of DevOps |
 
 > **v1.21:** the deck was renamed from "No-Humans Infrastructure Platform"
 > to "Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform" (professional framing; conveys

docs/presentations/assets/mmd/platform-pipeline.mmd

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+%%{init: {"theme": "base", "themeVariables": {"primaryColor": "#1B1B1B", "primaryBorderColor": "#D6002A", "primaryTextColor": "#fff", "secondaryColor": "#fff", "secondaryBorderColor": "#D6002A", "secondaryTextColor": "#1B1B1B", "tertiaryColor": "#F0F0F0", "clusterBkg": "#F0F0F0", "lineColor": "#1B1B1B", "fontFamily": "\"Akkurat Pro\", \"Helvetica Neue\", \"Arial\", sans-serif"}}}%%
+
+flowchart TB
+    A["Contract → Resolver → Adapter"] --> D["Checkov (static code)"]
+    D --> E["Terraform plan"]
+    E --> F["Wiz (on plan) → Confidence signal → Stage gate"]
+    F --> I["Apply → Evidence + Ledger"]
+classDef accent fill:#1B1B1B,color:#fff,stroke:#D6002A,stroke-width:2px
+classDef supporting fill:#fff,color:#1B1B1B,stroke:#D6002A,stroke-width:1px
+class D,E,F accent
+class A,I supporting

docs/presentations/assets/mmd/telemetry-live-ops.mmd

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+%%{init: {"theme": "base", "themeVariables": {"primaryColor": "#1B1B1B", "primaryBorderColor": "#D6002A", "primaryTextColor": "#fff", "secondaryColor": "#fff", "secondaryBorderColor": "#D6002A", "secondaryTextColor": "#1B1B1B", "tertiaryColor": "#F0F0F0", "clusterBkg": "#F0F0F0", "lineColor": "#1B1B1B", "fontFamily": "\"Akkurat Pro\", \"Helvetica Neue\", \"Arial\", sans-serif"}}}%%
+
+flowchart TB
+    A["Platform<br/>components"] --> B["CloudEvents<br/>envelope"]
+    B --> C["Event log"]
+    B --> D["Decision<br/>ledger"]
+    B --> E["Run records"]
+    C --> F["Collector"]
+    D --> F
+    E --> F
+    F --> G["Cold store"]
+    G --> H["PowerBI<br/>views"]
+    H --> I["Live ops<br/>dashboard"]
+classDef accent fill:#1B1B1B,color:#fff,stroke:#D6002A,stroke-width:2px
+classDef supporting fill:#fff,color:#1B1B1B,stroke:#D6002A,stroke-width:1px
+class B,F,G,H,I accent
+class A,C,D,E supporting

docs/presentations/assets/nova-sp-theme.css

@@ -4,9 +4,18 @@
  * Palette: S&P Red (#D6002A), Black (#1B1B1B), White (#FFFFFF), Grey (#F0F0F0).
  * Font: Akkurat Pro (fallback Helvetica Neue / Arial).
  *
- * This theme extends Marp's default and applies the S&P palette to ALL slide
- * chrome — backgrounds, headers/footers, pagination, tables, blockquotes,
- * code blocks — not just headings.
+ * This theme is a STANDALONE stylesheet (applied via `marp --theme
+ * nova-sp-theme.css`). It does NOT `@import "default"` because Marp's
+ * default theme applies `padding: 56px 64px` (which does not reserve
+ * header/footer space) and other base styles (font, color, list spacing)
+ * that would conflict with the S&P palette. Instead, this theme sets
+ * the padding explicitly: 48px top (reserves header space), 40px bottom
+ * (reserves footer space), 56px sides. This gives precise control over
+ * the padding budget. (GRILL revision 2 — @import rejection documented.)
+ *
+ * v1.22 (REQ-254,255,256): added section padding + overflow handling,
+ * aspect-ratio-aware image rules, title-slide chrome suppression,
+ * paragraph/list/table spacing tightening.
  */
 
 :root {
@@ -17,12 +26,17 @@
   --sp-dark-grey: #2E2E2E;
 }
 
-/* Base section */
+/* Base section — padding reserves header (top) + footer (bottom) space.
+ * REQ-254: zero padding was the root cause of "out of whack" layout.
+ * 48px top reserves header chrome; 40px bottom reserves footer chrome;
+ * 56px sides give breathing room. */
 section {
   font-family: "Akkurat Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Arial", sans-serif;
   font-size: 22px;
   color: var(--sp-black);
   background: var(--sp-white);
+  padding: 48px 56px 40px;
+  overflow: auto;
 }
 
 /* Headings — S&P Red */
@@ -31,6 +45,12 @@ h2 { color: var(--sp-red); font-size: 26px; margin-bottom: 0.2em; }
 h3 { color: var(--sp-red); font-size: 22px; margin-bottom: 0.2em; }
 h4 { color: var(--sp-dark-grey); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.15em; }
 
+/* REQ-256: tighten h2 + lead-paragraph spacing (the deck's recurring
+ * `## Slide N — Title` + `**bold lead**` pattern). Default <p> margins
+ * waste ~44px per slide; this reclaims ~22px. */
+section h2 + p { margin-top: 0.2em; }
+section p { margin: 0.4em 0; }
+
 /* Title slides — black background, red top border */
 section.title {
   background: var(--sp-black);
@@ -40,15 +60,27 @@ section.title {
 section.title h1 { color: var(--sp-white); }
 section.title h2 { color: var(--sp-white); }
 
+/* REQ-256: suppress header/footer chrome on title slides. The
+ * `<!-- _class: title -->` + `<!-- _paginate: false -->` directives
+ * only suppress the page number, not the chrome. This prevents the
+ * header/footer from colliding with title/appendix content. */
+section.title header, section.title footer { display: none; }
+
 /* Tables — grey header with red underline, explicit white body for readability on any background */
 table { font-size: 18px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background: var(--sp-white); }
-th { background: var(--sp-grey); border-bottom: 2px solid var(--sp-red); padding: 6px 10px; text-align: left; }
-td { background: var(--sp-white); color: var(--sp-black); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--sp-grey); padding: 6px 10px; }
+th { background: var(--sp-grey); border-bottom: 2px solid var(--sp-red); padding: 4px 8px; text-align: left; }
+td { background: var(--sp-white); color: var(--sp-black); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--sp-grey); padding: 4px 8px; }
 /* Ensure tables on dark/title slides remain readable: white card with a subtle border */
 section.title table, section table { background: var(--sp-white); }
 section.title td, section td { background: var(--sp-white); color: var(--sp-black); }
 section.title th, section th { background: var(--sp-grey); color: var(--sp-black); }
 
+/* REQ-256: dense tables (≥8 rows) use tighter cell padding so 10-13 row
+ * tables (slides 8, 12, A1) fit. Apply via `table.dense` class in the
+ * marp deck. */
+table.dense td, table.dense th { padding: 4px 8px; }
+table.dense { font-size: 16px; }
+
 /* Blockquotes — red left border */
 blockquote { border-left: 4px solid var(--sp-red); color: var(--sp-dark-grey); font-size: 20px; padding-left: 12px; }
 
@@ -57,8 +89,18 @@ pre { background: var(--sp-black); color: var(--sp-white); border-radius: 4px; p
 code { background: var(--sp-grey); color: var(--sp-black); border-radius: 2px; padding: 1px 4px; font-size: 18px; }
 pre code { background: transparent; color: inherit; }
 
-/* Images — centered, max height */
-img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-height: 320px; }
+/* REQ-255: aspect-ratio-aware image rules. The blunt `max-height: 320px`
+ * broke `w:` directives on tall images (slide 9) and did nothing for
+ * ultra-wide images (slide 6). The new rule uses `object-fit: contain`
+ * and `max-width: 100%` so images scale within the content area without
+ * ignoring explicit `w:`/`h:` directives. */
+img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-width: 100%; max-height: 380px; object-fit: contain; }
+/* Wide diagrams (ultra-wide aspect): tighter max-height so they don't
+ * render as a thin strip. Apply via `![w:1000 class:wide]` — or rely on
+ * the default max-height which is already tighter. */
+img.wide { max-height: 280px; }
+/* Tall diagrams: more vertical room. Apply via `![h:480 class:tall]`. */
+img.tall { max-height: 480px; }
 
 /* Header/footer — subtle grey */
 header { color: var(--sp-dark-grey); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--sp-grey); }
@@ -73,9 +115,17 @@ footer { color: var(--sp-dark-grey); border-top: 1px solid var(--sp-grey); }
 .bespoke-progress-parent { background: var(--sp-grey); }
 .bespoke-progress-bar { background: var(--sp-red) !important; }
 
-/* Lists — tighter */
+/* Lists — tighter. REQ-256: add ol styling (match ul). */
 ul { margin-top: 0.3em; }
+ol { margin-top: 0.3em; }
 li { margin-bottom: 0.2em; }
 
 /* Strong — S&P Red for emphasis in lead lines */
 strong { color: var(--sp-red); }
+
+/* REQ-256: PPTX export fidelity — no scrollbars in exported slides.
+ * The `overflow: auto` above is an authoring-time signal; in print/PPTX
+ * we clamp to `hidden` so the exported slide is clean. */
+@media print {
+  section { overflow: hidden; }
+}

docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ marp: true
 theme: nova-sp
 paginate: true
 size: 16x9
-header: 'Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform'
 footer: 'Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform'
 ---
 
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ Every hour a developer spends writing, deploying, fixing, or remediating infrast
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 3 — Strategic Objectives + Anti-Goals
+## Slide 3 — Strategic Objectives
 
 **4 Strategic Objectives:**
 1. **Zero-touch operations** — autonomy as the default, not the demo; stage-gate attestation (QA, SRE) remains human by design
@@ -54,17 +53,22 @@ Every hour a developer spends writing, deploying, fixing, or remediating infrast
    - **Lead Time** (PR → Production) · **Infrastructure Vulnerability Count** (trend) · **MTTR** · **Cloud Spend Reduction**
 4. **Integrate with externally owned development platforms — regardless of source** — PDLC, SDLC, Agentic, or Citizen Developer; Nova provides skills + MCP endpoints; all prod intents go through the same controls and quality gates
 
-**4 Anti-Goals (what Nova is NOT):**
+**Benefit:** the scope is explicit — Nova governs infrastructure and delivery, integrates with any upstream source through one validated contract, and measures success on four metrics a CTO can repeat back.
+
+---
+
+## Slide 4 — Anti-Goals (What Nova Is NOT)
+
 1. Not a general-purpose AI agent platform
 2. Not a system that removes humans from accountability — only from normal operations
 3. Not an upstream development platform (no product backlogs, IDE, code authorship)
 4. Not a replacement for the Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC)
 
-**Benefit:** the scope is explicit — Nova governs infrastructure and delivery, integrates with any upstream source through one validated contract, and measures success on four metrics a CTO can repeat back.
+**Benefit:** the boundaries are explicit — Nova is purpose-built for infrastructure operations and delivery, not a general-purpose AI agent or an upstream development platform.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 4 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
+## Slide 5 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
 
 **Nova governs infrastructure and delivery. The PDLC is upstream — Nova never penetrates it. Integration is through one validated contract.**
 
@@ -77,7 +81,7 @@ Every hour a developer spends writing, deploying, fixing, or remediating infrast
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 5 — RACI: Who Owns What
+## Slide 6 — RACI: Who Owns What
 
 **Four roles, one matrix — citizen developer owns FRs + UAT, platform owns NFRs + infra, quality engineering owns the gate evidence, SRE owns operational readiness.**
 
@@ -98,22 +102,21 @@ Every hour a developer spends writing, deploying, fixing, or remediating infrast
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 6 — The Platform Pipeline
+## Slide 7 — The Platform Pipeline
 
 **How intent becomes verified infrastructure — fail-fast policy scanning before the plan, runtime scanning after it.**
 
-![w:1000](assets/png/platform-pipeline.png)
+![h:480 class:tall](assets/png/platform-pipeline.png)
 
 - **Contract → resolver → adapter → Checkov on static code (before plan) → terraform plan → Wiz on the plan → confidence signal → stage gate → apply → evidence + ledger**
 - **Fail-fast, quick feedback** — Checkov runs on the authored Terraform code before `terraform plan` so developers get immediate policy feedback
 - **Wiz on the plan when configured; Checkov as a drop-in otherwise** — Wiz scans the plan output; when Wiz credentials are absent, Checkov runs against the plan. **Wiz and Checkov are never both run on the plan.**
-- **Dev is autonomous** (no stage gate); **qa/prod/dr require human attestation** (QA for quality, SRE for production readiness)
 
 **Benefit:** two layers of scanning, zero operator involvement in normal operations — fast deterministic feedback at authoring time and a runtime scan on the resolved plan.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 7 — The Decision Ledger
+## Slide 8 — The Decision Ledger
 
 **Every automated decision is captured, immutable, queryable — and accountable.**
 
@@ -125,15 +128,26 @@ Every hour a developer spends writing, deploying, fixing, or remediating infrast
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 8 — The Attestation Matrix
+## Slide 9 — Attestation Matrix: QA
 
-**The designed controls that keep humans at stage gates — structured, freshness-validated, separation-of-duties-enforced.**
+**The designed controls that keep humans at stage gates — QA concerns, freshness-validated.**
 
 | Concern | Env | Freshness | Description |
 |---------|-----|-----------|-------------|
 | Functional correctness | qa | 24h | The application behaves as specified; evidence accepted from the consumer's UAT. |
 | Performance baseline | qa | 7d | The deployment meets its performance envelope vs. the agreed baseline. |
 | Security posture | qa | 24h | The deployment's security findings have been reviewed and accepted. |
+
+**Benefit:** QA signs off on quality before any promotion — the gate is explicit, not implicit.
+
+---
+
+## Slide 10 — Attestation Matrix: Prod/DR
+
+**Production and DR controls — operational readiness, resilience, and disaster recovery.**
+
+| Concern | Env | Freshness | Description |
+|---------|-----|-----------|-------------|
 | Operational readiness | prod | 30d | SRE confirms the deployment is operable: runbooks, dashboards, on-call. |
 | Incident response | prod | 90d | The on-call path has been exercised; a working incident-response plan exists. |
 | Capacity & cost | prod | 30d | Capacity headroom and monthly cost are within the agreed envelope. |
@@ -148,36 +162,34 @@ Separation-of-duties on prod: the approver cannot be the same person who built t
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 9 — Telemetry & Live Ops
+## Slide 11 — Telemetry & Live Ops
 
 **Every metric in this deck is traceable to a real emitted signal — the live-ops dashboard makes operations visible in PowerBI.**
 
-![w:900](assets/png/telemetry-live-ops.png)
+![h:480 class:tall](assets/png/telemetry-live-ops.png)
 
 - **Platform components → CloudEvents envelope → event log + decision ledger + run records → collector → cold store → PowerBI views → live ops dashboard**
 - **The live ops dashboard (PowerBI)** surfaces the four CTO-grade metrics (Lead Time, Vulnerability Count, MTTR, Cloud Spend) alongside trust metrics (Decision Ledger coverage, Attestation coverage) and efficiency metrics (touchless resolution, escalation frequency)
-- **Deliberately minimal** — Nova-native envelopes; no Kafka, no Prometheus, no ClickHouse. The cold store handles batch and historical analysis; the live-ops surface is built in PowerBI on the exported views
 - **Every number is traceable to a signal** — when a CFO asks "where does this number come from?", the answer is a query against the cold store, not a Slack thread
 
 **Benefit:** the architecture is the trust substrate — leadership sees the same numbers the platform produces, in PowerBI, with full traceability. Operations become visible.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 10 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage
+## Slide 12 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage
 
 **By design, no change reaches production without a ledger entry and a human attestation — both queryable for auditing, with full traceability.**
 
 - **Decision Ledger coverage: 100%** — every platform run emits a decision record with outcome backfill; no automated decision is ever lost
 - **Attestation coverage: 100%** — every prod/dr promotion is attested by a human (QA for quality, SRE for production readiness), recorded with approver identity, separation-of-duties check, and the evidence matrix
 - **No change to production without both** — the ledger entry and the human attestation are mandatory, enforced by the pipeline, not by policy
-- **Easily queried for auditing** — queryable by run, by environment, by approver, and by outcome; the audit trail is a query, not a forensic exercise
 - **Full traceability** — a production change is traceable from the contract that declared intent, through the policy scan, the confidence score, the attestation, to the applied outcome
 
 **Benefit:** trust is provable — not a marketing claim, a queryable record. An auditor answers "who approved this, when, on what evidence?" in one query; a CTO answers "how many of last quarter's prod changes were touchless?" in one query.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 11 — Cost & ROI
+## Slide 13 — Cost & ROI
 
 **The ROI formula and the cost estimates — grounded, with the production denominator honestly flagged.**
 
@@ -191,7 +203,7 @@ Separation-of-duties on prod: the approver cannot be the same person who built t
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 12 — What's Deferred — and Why
+## Slide 14 — What's Deferred — and Why
 
 **Honesty about what is not measured yet — and the blocking work for each.**
 
@@ -199,20 +211,18 @@ To be clear: these deferrals are *measurement infrastructure*, not the autonomy
 
 | # | Deferred metric | Blocking work |
 |---|-----------------|---------------|
-| 1 | Live infrastructure health | Live AWS re-provisioning (currently torn down to zero-cost steady state) |
-| 2 | Live outbox write rate | Live AWS re-provisioning |
-| 3 | Tamper-evident ledger checkpoints | Audit-ledger build-out (Object Lock + signed checkpoints) |
-| 4 | Onboarding funnel (requested → granted) | Auto-grant implementation |
-| 5 | Drift auto-reversal | Drift-detection scheduler (not yet built) |
-| 6 | Live cost reconciliation | Live AWS re-provisioning + actual-spend feed |
-| 7 | SLA / unplanned downtime | Live AWS re-provisioning |
-| 8 | Predictive vs reactive ratio | ML anomaly-forecasting service (not yet built) |
+| 1 | Live infra health, outbox write rate, SLA | Live AWS re-provisioning (currently torn down to zero-cost steady state) |
+| 2 | Tamper-evident ledger checkpoints | Audit-ledger build-out (Object Lock + signed checkpoints) |
+| 3 | Onboarding funnel (requested → granted) | Auto-grant implementation |
+| 4 | Drift auto-reversal | Drift-detection scheduler (not yet built) |
+| 5 | Live cost reconciliation | Live AWS re-provisioning + actual-spend feed |
+| 6 | Predictive vs reactive ratio | ML anomaly-forecasting service (not yet built) |
 
 **Benefit:** the boundaries are explicit — what Nova measures today, and exactly what blocks the rest. The autonomy is real; the measurement gaps are documented with the work that unblocks each one.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 13 — Roadmap to the North Star
+## Slide 15 — Roadmap to the North Star
 
 **The path from the grounded metrics to the 12–18 month targets — each deferred metric has an unblock path and a timeframe.**
 
@@ -231,7 +241,7 @@ Re-evaluation triggers: each blocking piece of work lifts on its own schedule; t
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 14 — 12-Month Product Roadmap
+## Slide 16 — 12-Month Product Roadmap
 
 **The product arc from pilot activation to integration — four quarters, four outcomes.**
 
@@ -248,14 +258,14 @@ Grounded in the four strategic objectives (autonomy, provable trust, ROI, integr
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 15 — Quarter-by-Quarter Outcomes
+## Slide 17 — Quarter-by-Quarter Outcomes
 
-| Quarter | Product theme | Key deliverable | Target metric | Grounding |
-|---------|---------------|-----------------|---------------|-----------|
-| **Q1** | Pilot Activation | Re-provision live AWS; activate first pilot estate; onboarding auto-grant | Touchless ≥ 99% · Escalation < 0.1% · Accuracy ≥ 99.5% | Objective #1 — autonomy as the default |
-| **Q2** | Provable Trust | Tamper-evident ledger (Object Lock + signed checkpoints); daily checkpoints; live cost reconciliation | Decision Ledger Coverage 100% · Cost Savings ≥ 25% | Objective #2 — trust is the moat |
-| **Q3** | Compounding ROI + Drift | Drift-detection scheduler; auto-reversal; pre-apply → actual-spend reconciliation on the pilot estate | Drift Auto-Reversal ≥ 95% · Spend Reduction ≥ 25% | Objective #3 — CFO-pointable numbers |
-| **Q4** | Integration + Predictive | ML anomaly-forecasting; AI-agent intent surface; multi-cloud (Azure/GCP) preview | Predictive:Reactive ≥ 3:1 · AI-Agent Intent Share (first measurement) | Objective #4 — default substrate for agents |
+| Quarter | Product theme | Key deliverable | Target metric |
+|---------|---------------|-----------------|---------------|
+| **Q1** | Pilot Activation | Re-provision live AWS; activate first pilot estate; onboarding auto-grant | Touchless ≥ 99% · Escalation < 0.1% · Accuracy ≥ 99.5% |
+| **Q2** | Provable Trust | Tamper-evident ledger (Object Lock + signed checkpoints); daily checkpoints; live cost reconciliation | Decision Ledger Coverage 100% · Cost Savings ≥ 25% |
+| **Q3** | Compounding ROI + Drift | Drift-detection scheduler; auto-reversal; pre-apply → actual-spend reconciliation on the pilot estate | Drift Auto-Reversal ≥ 95% · Spend Reduction ≥ 25% |
+| **Q4** | Integration + Predictive | ML anomaly-forecasting; AI-agent intent surface; multi-cloud (Azure/GCP) preview | Predictive:Reactive ≥ 3:1 · AI-Agent Intent Share (first measurement) |
 
 **Month-18 destination:** *"Nova is the layer enterprise leadership points to when they say 'we don't have an infrastructure ops team anymore, and the audit trail is stronger than it ever was.'"*
 
@@ -263,7 +273,7 @@ Grounded in the four strategic objectives (autonomy, provable trust, ROI, integr
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 16 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (1/2)
+## Slide 18 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (1/2)
 
 **Nova instructs the citizen developer's AI agent on production-grade engineering — a set of skills and an MCP server.**
 
@@ -275,7 +285,7 @@ Grounded in the four strategic objectives (autonomy, provable trust, ROI, integr
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 17 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (2/2)
+## Slide 19 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (2/2)
 
 **Agentic validation catches engineering-discipline gaps that deterministic scanners miss — and the validation is reproducible.**
 
@@ -287,7 +297,7 @@ Grounded in the four strategic objectives (autonomy, provable trust, ROI, integr
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 18 — Recap + Ask
+## Slide 20 — Recap + Ask
 
 **The 4-beat recap + the business decision.**
 

docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-talking-points.md

@@ -21,104 +21,120 @@
 - State the attestation model up front: QA for production, SRE for operational readiness
 - **Key takeaway:** autonomous operations with provable trust — security, remediation velocity, reliability, lead time made visible, not promised
 
-### Slide 3 — Strategic Objectives + Anti-Goals
+### Slide 3 — Strategic Objectives
+- Objective #1: zero-touch operations — autonomy as the default, not the demo; stage-gate attestation (QA, SRE) remains human by design
 - Objective #2 is the one to land carefully: trust = deterministic scoring, not an LLM; the platform functions without AI
 - Objective #3: four CTO-grade metrics (Lead Time, Vuln Count, MTTR, Spend) — all flow into PowerBI
 - Objective #4 is the integration thesis: Nova integrates with any upstream source; provides skills + MCP; all prod intents go through the same controls
-- Anti-goals #3 and #4 protect the scope: not an upstream dev platform, not a PDLC replacement
-- **Key takeaway:** purpose-built for infra ops, integrates with any source through one contract, measures success on four CTO metrics
+- **Key takeaway:** the scope is explicit — Nova governs infra + delivery, integrates with any source through one contract, measures success on four CTO metrics
 
-### Slide 4 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
+### Slide 4 — Anti-Goals (What Nova Is NOT)
+- Not a general-purpose AI agent platform
+- Not a system that removes humans from accountability — only from normal operations
+- Not an upstream development platform (no product backlogs, IDE, code authorship)
+- Not a replacement for the Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC)
+- Anti-goals #3 and #4 protect the scope boundary — Nova will not become an IDE or a product-planning tool
+- **Key takeaway:** the boundaries are explicit — Nova is purpose-built for infra ops + delivery, not a general-purpose AI agent or an upstream dev platform
+
+### Slide 5 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
 - Nova governs infra + delivery only; the PDLC (backlog, code authorship, IDE) is upstream — Nova never penetrates it
 - Integration is only through the validated contract boundary
 - Any upstream source (AI agent, agentic SDLC, dev platform) produces submissions subject to the same compliance standards
 - Nova validates the submission, not the author
 - **Key takeaway:** Nova is purpose-built for infrastructure operations; the scope boundary is clean and bounded
 
-### Slide 5 — RACI: Who Owns What
+### Slide 6 — RACI: Who Owns What
 - Four roles now: Citizen Developer, Platform, Quality Engineering, SRE
 - Quality attestation is owned by Quality Engineering (not the Platform); Production readiness is owned by SRE
 - The Platform runs the checks agentically but is never the Accountable party for the gate — that separation keeps the platform honest
 - Production readiness is co-owned: the platform runs attestations; the citizen developer authorizes the promotion at the stage gate
 - **Key takeaway:** you bring FRs + UAT; Nova provides NFRs + infra; QE guards the gate evidence; SRE signs off on production readiness
 
-### Slide 6 — The Platform Pipeline
+### Slide 7 — The Platform Pipeline
 - Walk the pipeline left-to-right: contract → resolver → adapter → Checkov (static) → plan → Wiz (on plan) → confidence → gate → apply
 - Two-stage scan: Checkov on static code BEFORE the plan (fail-fast dev feedback); Wiz on the plan (or Checkov as drop-in if no Wiz creds)
 - Never both Wiz + Checkov on the plan — avoid duplicate noise
 - Dev is autonomous; qa/prod/dr require attestation (QA for quality, SRE for production readiness)
 - **Key takeaway:** two layers of scanning, zero operator involvement in normal operations
 
-### Slide 7 — The Decision Ledger
+### Slide 8 — The Decision Ledger
 - "AI decisions" are really automated decisions — deterministic scripts calculate a score; the platform functions without AI
 - Do not dwell on the storage substrate — the value is accountability (immutable, queryable, traceable to outcome), not the database
 - Every stage-gate attestation is captured with approver identity and the evidence presented
 - When an LLM planner is added later, it emits richer alternatives without breaking the schema
 - **Key takeaway:** autonomous is defensible because every decision is immutable, queryable, accountable — and "automated" means deterministic scoring, not a black-box LLM
 
-### Slide 8 — The Attestation Matrix
-- The matrix is not a rubber stamp — structured, freshness-validated, separation-of-duties-enforced
+### Slide 9 — Attestation Matrix: QA
+- The matrix is not a rubber stamp — structured, freshness-validated
 - Each concern now has a plain-language description of what is being attested (the old "operator-supplied" label is gone)
-- SoD on prod: the approver can't be the same person who built it
+- Three QA concerns: functional correctness (24h), performance baseline (7d), security posture (24h)
+- Each concern has a freshness window — evidence older than the window does not satisfy the gate
+- **Key takeaway:** QA signs off on quality before any promotion — the gate is explicit, not implicit
+
+### Slide 10 — Attestation Matrix: Prod/DR
+- Seven prod/DR concerns: operational readiness, incident response, capacity & cost, DR drill, chaos, backup, DR region deploy
+- SRE signs off on operability (runbooks, dashboards, on-call), incident response, capacity, and the three resilience checks
+- Each concern has a freshness window — 30d/90d/180d depending on the control
+- SoD on prod: the approver can't be the same person who built it — the rule that keeps the gate honest
 - **Key takeaway:** autonomy in operations, human in accountability, by design — the matrix is what makes autonomous operations safe enough to trust in production
 
-### Slide 9 — Telemetry & Live Ops
+### Slide 11 — Telemetry & Live Ops
 - Deliberately minimal: Nova-native CloudEvents; no Kafka/Prometheus/ClickHouse
 - The live-ops dashboard is built in PowerBI on top of the exported views — leadership sees the same numbers the platform produces
 - Every number in the Proof slides is traceable to a signal — "where does this number come from?" → a query against the cold store
 - This is where the "infrastructure operations become visible" theme lands concretely
 - **Key takeaway:** the architecture is the trust substrate — operations become visible in PowerBI, with full traceability
 
-### Slide 10 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage
+### Slide 12 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage
 - Both 100% — no automated decision is ever lost; no prod/dr promotion lands without a human sign-off
 - The mandatory-by-design point: the ledger entry + the human attestation are a gate, not a best-effort feature
 - Easily queried: by run, by environment, by approver, by outcome — the audit trail is a query, not a forensic exercise
 - **Key takeaway:** trust is provable — not a marketing claim, a queryable record; no change to production without both the ledger entry and the human attestation
 
-### Slide 11 — Cost & ROI
+### Slide 13 — Cost & ROI
 - The ROI formula is shown inline — not hidden in a footnote
 - The four CTO-grade metrics are the ROI proof — Lead Time, Vuln Count, MTTR, Cloud Spend
 - The N=0 caveat is stated explicitly: the formula is grounded; the production numbers activate with a pilot
 - **Key takeaway:** the ROI is not a black box — the formula is shown, the four metrics are committed, the production-denominator caveat is up front
 
-### Slide 12 — What's Deferred — and Why
+### Slide 14 — What's Deferred — and Why
 - The preempt is critical: these deferrals are measurement infrastructure, not autonomy — the platform IS autonomous in operations
 - The blocking work is named in plain language (no decision IDs) — "live AWS re-provisioning", "drift-detection scheduler", "ML service"
 - Showing this to leadership demonstrates honesty, not weakness
 - **Key takeaway:** the autonomy is real; the measurement gaps are documented with the work that unblocks each one
 
-### Slide 13 — Roadmap to the North Star
+### Slide 15 — Roadmap to the North Star
 - Each deferred metric has an unblock path and a timeframe — near-term, mid-term, longer-term
 - No status column: most of it is not implemented yet, so status would be noise
 - Re-evaluation triggers: each blocking piece of work lifts on its own schedule
 - **Key takeaway:** every deferred metric has a plan and a timeframe — nothing is hand-waved
 
-### Slide 14 — 12-Month Product Roadmap
+### Slide 16 — 12-Month Product Roadmap
 - This is the *product* roadmap, forward-looking only
 - Q1 Pilot Activation → Q2 Provable Trust → Q3 Compounding ROI → Q4 Integration & Predictive
 - Each quarter activates one strategic objective from the North Star
 - **Key takeaway:** the 12-month product arc — each quarter activates a strategic objective and its board-level metric
 
-### Slide 15 — Quarter-by-Quarter Outcomes
+### Slide 17 — Quarter-by-Quarter Outcomes
 - Q1: three post-pilot metrics go live (Touchless ≥99%, Escalation <0.1%, Accuracy ≥99.5%) — denominator activates with the pilot
 - Q2: Decision Ledger Coverage was already grounded — tamper-evidence is the Q2 upgrade (local hash-chain → Object Lock + signed checkpoints)
 - Q3: Drift Auto-Reversal ≥95% unblocks when the drift scheduler ships; Spend Reduction ≥25% measured against the pilot baseline
 - Q4: Predictive:Reactive ≥3:1 requires the ML forecasting service; AI-Agent Intent Share is a first measurement (aspirational-metric)
 - **Key takeaway:** each quarter has a concrete deliverable, a target metric grounded in a strategic objective, and a path from deferred to shipped
 
-### Slide 16 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (1/2)
+### Slide 18 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (1/2)
 - Nova instructs the citizen developer's AI agent via skills (markdown, keyed to engineering domains) + an MCP server (4 tools, plugin-registry, stdio)
 - The integration point is the same regardless of source — AI agent, agentic SDLC, traditional IDE all get the same skills + MCP
 - This is how Nova makes the citizen developer production-grade without owning the PDLC
 - **Key takeaway:** the citizen developer's AI agent is not unguided — Nova provides engineering principles as skills + MCP
 
-### Slide 17 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (2/2)
+### Slide 19 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (2/2)
 - The value is the gap deterministic scanners leave: engineering discipline (Wiz/Checkmarx/Mend check policy/secrets, not discipline)
 - The MCP server catches "is this service observable?", "is this error path handled?", "is this API contract clear?"
 - Vendored at a pinned tag → audit reproducibility — a validation result is replayable months later
 - **Key takeaway:** submissions are checked for engineering discipline, not just policy compliance — and the check is reproducible for audit
 
-### Slide 18 — Recap + Ask
+### Slide 20 — Recap + Ask
 - Recap the 4-beat arc so the audience leaves with the structure
 - The ask is a business decision: approve a pilot estate + the tamper-evident ledger build-out
 - "Pipeline-ready" → "production-proven" is the value proposition

docs/presentations/nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.md

@@ -98,10 +98,7 @@ operations.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 3 — Strategic Objectives + Anti-Goals
-
-**Four objectives Nova is building toward; four anti-goals that keep it
-focused.**
+## Slide 3 — Strategic Objectives
 
 **4 Strategic Objectives:**
 1. **Demonstrate production-grade zero-touch operations** — autonomy as
@@ -128,7 +125,21 @@ focused.**
    to deploy to production go through the same rigorous controls,
    quality gates, attestation, and evidence stream.
 
-**4 Anti-Goals (what Nova is NOT):**
+> **Benefit:** the scope is explicit — Nova governs infrastructure and
+> delivery, integrates with any upstream source through one validated
+> contract, and measures success on four metrics a CTO can repeat back.
+
+> **Speaker notes:** Objective #2 is the one to land carefully: trust is
+> established by deterministic scoring, not by an LLM. The platform
+> functions without AI.
+
+> **Transition:** "The objectives are concrete — here is what Nova is
+> NOT, to keep it focused."
+
+---
+
+## Slide 4 — Anti-Goals (What Nova Is NOT)
+
 1. Not a general-purpose AI agent platform.
 2. Not a system that removes humans from accountability — only from
    normal operations.
@@ -136,13 +147,11 @@ focused.**
    authorship).
 4. Not a replacement for the Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC).
 
-> **Benefit:** the scope is explicit — Nova governs infrastructure and
-> delivery, integrates with any upstream source through one validated
-> contract, and measures success on four metrics a CTO can repeat back.
+> **Benefit:** the boundaries are explicit — Nova is purpose-built for
+> infrastructure operations and delivery, not a general-purpose AI agent
+> or an upstream development platform.
 
-> **Speaker notes:** Objective #2 is the one to land carefully: trust is
-> established by deterministic scoring, not by an LLM. The platform
-> functions without AI. Anti-goals #3 and #4 protect the scope boundary —
+> **Speaker notes:** Anti-goals #3 and #4 protect the scope boundary —
 > Nova will not become an IDE or a product-planning tool.
 
 > **Transition:** "The scope boundary is explicit — here is exactly
@@ -150,7 +159,7 @@ focused.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 4 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
+## Slide 5 — Scope: Downstream of PDLC
 
 **Nova governs infrastructure and delivery. The PDLC is upstream — Nova
 never penetrates it. Integration is through one validated contract.**
@@ -183,7 +192,7 @@ never penetrates it. Integration is through one validated contract.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 5 — RACI: Who Owns What
+## Slide 6 — RACI: Who Owns What
 
 **Four roles, one matrix — the citizen developer owns FRs + UAT, the
 platform owns NFRs + infra, quality engineering owns the gate evidence,
@@ -224,7 +233,7 @@ and SRE owns operational readiness.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 6 — The Platform Pipeline
+## Slide 7 — The Platform Pipeline
 
 **How intent becomes verified infrastructure — with fail-fast policy
 scanning before the plan and runtime scanning after it.**
@@ -272,7 +281,7 @@ graph LR
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 7 — The Decision Ledger
+## Slide 8 — The Decision Ledger
 
 **Every automated decision is captured, immutable, queryable — and
 accountable.**
@@ -310,16 +319,42 @@ accountable.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 8 — The Attestation Matrix
+## Slide 9 — Attestation Matrix: QA
 
-**The designed controls that keep humans at stage gates — structured,
-freshness-validated, and separation-of-duties-enforced.**
+**The designed controls that keep humans at stage gates — QA concerns,
+freshness-validated.**
 
 | Concern | Env | Freshness | Description |
 |---------|-----|-----------|-------------|
 | Functional correctness | qa | 24h | The application behaves as specified; evidence accepted from the consumer's UAT. |
 | Performance baseline | qa | 7d | The deployment meets its performance envelope vs. the agreed baseline. |
 | Security posture | qa | 24h | The deployment's security findings have been reviewed and accepted. |
+
+- Each concern has a freshness window — evidence older than the window
+  does not satisfy the gate.
+- Concerns that are offline-testable run for real; concerns that require
+  external evidence accept signed artifacts.
+
+> **Benefit:** QA signs off on quality before any promotion — the gate
+> is explicit, not implicit.
+
+> **Speaker notes:** The matrix is not a rubber stamp. Each concern has a
+> freshness window and a plain-language description of what is being
+> attested. The "operator-supplied" label from the prior deck was
+> dropped — every concern now has a plain-language description.
+
+> **Transition:** "QA is half the matrix — here are the production and
+> DR controls."
+
+---
+
+## Slide 10 — Attestation Matrix: Prod/DR
+
+**Production and DR controls — operational readiness, resilience, and
+disaster recovery.**
+
+| Concern | Env | Freshness | Description |
+|---------|-----|-----------|-------------|
 | Operational readiness | prod | 30d | SRE confirms the deployment is operable: runbooks, dashboards, on-call coverage. |
 | Incident response | prod | 90d | The on-call path has been exercised; the deployment has a working incident-response plan. |
 | Capacity & cost | prod | 30d | Capacity headroom and monthly cost are within the agreed envelope. |
@@ -332,17 +367,16 @@ freshness-validated, and separation-of-duties-enforced.**
   does not satisfy the gate.
 - **Separation-of-duties on prod:** the approver cannot be the same
   person who built the deployment.
-- Concerns that are offline-testable run for real; concerns that require
-  external evidence accept signed artifacts.
 
 > **Benefit:** the gate model is explicit — autonomy in operations,
 > human in accountability, by design. The matrix is what makes autonomous
 > operations safe enough to trust in production.
 
-> **Speaker notes:** The matrix is not a rubber stamp. Each concern has a
-> freshness window, a description, and a separation-of-duties rule. The
-> "operator-supplied" label from the prior deck was dropped — every
-> concern now has a plain-language description of what is being attested.
+> **Speaker notes:** The prod/DR rows are the operational-readiness and
+> resilience gates — SRE signs off on operability, incident response,
+> capacity, and the three resilience checks (DR drill, chaos, backup).
+> Separation-of-duties on prod is the rule that keeps the gate honest:
+> the approver cannot be the same person who built the deployment.
 
 > **Transition:** "You've seen how Nova works — the pipeline, the ledger,
 > the attestation gates. Here is how Nova instruments itself so that
@@ -350,7 +384,7 @@ freshness-validated, and separation-of-duties-enforced.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 9 — Telemetry & Live Ops
+## Slide 11 — Telemetry & Live Ops
 
 **Every metric in this deck is traceable to a real emitted signal — and
 the live-ops dashboard makes operations visible in PowerBI.**
@@ -399,7 +433,7 @@ graph TB
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 10 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage
+## Slide 12 — Decision Ledger + Attestation Coverage
 
 **By design, no change reaches production without a ledger entry and a
 human attestation — both queryable for auditing, with full
@@ -435,7 +469,7 @@ traceability.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 11 — Cost & ROI
+## Slide 13 — Cost & ROI
 
 **The ROI formula and the cost estimates — grounded, with the production
 denominator honestly flagged.**
@@ -466,7 +500,7 @@ denominator honestly flagged.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 12 — What's Deferred — and Why
+## Slide 14 — What's Deferred — and Why
 
 **Honesty about what is not measured yet — and the blocking work for
 each.**
@@ -502,7 +536,7 @@ metrics — not the autonomy.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 13 — Roadmap to the North Star
+## Slide 15 — Roadmap to the North Star
 
 **The path from the grounded metrics to the 12–18 month targets — each
 deferred metric has an unblock path and a candidate milestone.**
@@ -533,7 +567,7 @@ deferred metric has an unblock path and a candidate milestone.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 14 — 12-Month Product Roadmap
+## Slide 16 — 12-Month Product Roadmap
 
 **The product arc from pilot activation to integration — four quarters,
 four outcomes.**
@@ -560,7 +594,7 @@ integration) and the deferred-metric unblock paths.
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 15 — Quarter-by-Quarter Outcomes
+## Slide 17 — Quarter-by-Quarter Outcomes
 
 | Quarter | Product theme | Key deliverable | Target metric | Grounding |
 |---------|---------------|-----------------|---------------|-----------|
@@ -587,7 +621,7 @@ anymore, and the audit trail is stronger than it ever was.'"*
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 16 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (1/2)
+## Slide 18 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (1/2)
 
 **Nova instructs the citizen developer's AI agent on production-grade
 engineering — a set of skills and an MCP server.**
@@ -621,7 +655,7 @@ engineering — a set of skills and an MCP server.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 17 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (2/2)
+## Slide 19 — Production-Grade Guidance via Atelier (2/2)
 
 **Agentic validation catches engineering-discipline gaps that deterministic
 scanners miss — and the validation is reproducible.**
@@ -656,7 +690,7 @@ scanners miss — and the validation is reproducible.**
 
 ---
 
-## Slide 18 — Recap + Ask
+## Slide 20 — Recap + Ask
 
 **The 4-beat recap + the business decision.**
 
@@ -710,4 +744,4 @@ S3 Object Lock + signed checkpoints. These two decisions move Nova from
 
 ---
 
-> **End of deck.** 18 main slides + 1 appendix slide = 19 total.
+> **End of deck.** 20 main slides + 1 appendix slide = 21 total.

scripts/render_deck.sh

@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# scripts/render_deck.sh — render a Marp deck to HTML + PPTX, commit both to git.
-# REQ-228 (v1.18): PPTX is now a first-class committed artifact + release attachment.
-#
-# Usage:
-#   bash scripts/render_deck.sh <deck-name>
-#   bash scripts/render_deck.sh nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery
-#
-# Renders:
-#   docs/presentations/<deck-name>-marp.md → docs/presentations/<deck-name>.html (committed)
-#                                       → docs/presentations/<deck-name>.pptx (committed, binary)
-#
-# The PPTX is also attached to the current phase's Gitea release via
-# scripts/attach_release_asset.py (call separately after ship, or this script
-# will invoke it if NOVA_GITEA_RELEASE_ID is set).
-set -euo pipefail
-
-DECK="${1:?Usage: render_deck.sh <deck-name>}"
-cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
-
-SRC="docs/presentations/${DECK}-marp.md"
-HTML="docs/presentations/${DECK}.html"
-PPTX="docs/presentations/${DECK}.pptx"
-
-if [ ! -f "$SRC" ]; then
-  echo "ERROR: source deck $SRC not found" >&2; exit 1
-fi
-
-CHROME=""
-for c in \
-  /root/.cache/ms-playwright/chromium-1217/chrome-linux64/chrome \
-  /usr/bin/chromium \
-  /usr/bin/chromium-browser \
-  /usr/bin/google-chrome; do
-  if [ -x "$c" ]; then CHROME="$c"; break; fi
-done
-if [ -z "$CHROME" ]; then
-  echo "WARNING: no Chrome/Chromium found — skipping render (HTML/PPTX will need manual re-render)" >&2
-  exit 0
-fi
-export CHROME_PATH="$CHROME"
-
-echo "Rendering HTML → $HTML"
-npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@latest --allow-local-files "$SRC" -o "$HTML" 2>&1 | tail -3
-
-echo "Rendering PPTX → $PPTX"
-npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@latest --allow-local-files "$SRC" -o "$PPTX" 2>&1 | tail -3
-
-git add "$HTML" "$PPTX"
-echo "Staged $HTML + $PPTX for commit."
-
-if [ -n "${NOVA_GITEA_RELEASE_ID:-}" ]; then
-  echo "Attaching PPTX to Gitea release $NOVA_GITEA_RELEASE_ID..."
-  python3 scripts/attach_release_asset.py "$PPTX" "$NOVA_GITEA_RELEASE_ID" || \
-    echo "WARNING: attach failed — PPTX is still committed; attach manually."
-fi

scripts/render_slides.sh

@@ -41,16 +41,18 @@ if [ -z "$CHROME" ]; then
 fi
 export CHROME_PATH="$CHROME"
 
-# --- Step 1: render mermaid diagrams (S&P-themed) ---
-echo "=== Step 1: Rendering mermaid diagrams (S&P theme: $THEME_JSON) ==="
+# --- Step 1: render mermaid diagrams (S&P-themed, 2x scale, transparent bg) ---
+# REQ-258: -s 2 (2x scale) + -b transparent (transparent background) per README spec.
+echo "=== Step 1: Rendering mermaid diagrams (S&P theme: $THEME_JSON, 2x, transparent) ==="
 if [ -d "$MMD_DIR" ]; then
   for mmd in "$MMD_DIR"/*.mmd; do
     name="$(basename "$mmd" .mmd)"
     png="$PNG_DIR/$name.png"
     echo "  $name.mmd → $name.png"
-    npx --yes @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli \
+    npx --yes @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli@11.16.0 \
       --configFile "$THEME_JSON" \
       --puppeteerConfigFile "$PUPPETEER_CFG" \
+      -s 2 -b transparent \
       --input "$mmd" \
       --output "$png" 2>&1 | grep -v "^$" || true
   done
@@ -61,13 +63,14 @@ fi
 echo ""
 
 # --- Step 2: render Marp deck (S&P-themed) ---
+# REQ-257: pinned marp-cli version (v4.5.0) to prevent boilerplate-CSS drift.
 echo "=== Step 2: Rendering Marp deck → HTML + PPTX ==="
 echo "  Theme: $THEME_CSS"
 echo "  HTML → $HTML"
-npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@latest --allow-local-files --theme "$THEME_CSS" "$SRC" -o "$HTML" 2>&1 | tail -3
+npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@4.5.0 --allow-local-files --theme "$THEME_CSS" "$SRC" -o "$HTML" 2>&1 | tail -3
 
 echo "  PPTX → $PPTX"
-npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@latest --allow-local-files --theme "$THEME_CSS" "$SRC" -o "$PPTX" 2>&1 | tail -3
+npx --yes @marp-team/marp-cli@4.5.0 --allow-local-files --theme "$THEME_CSS" "$SRC" -o "$PPTX" 2>&1 | tail -3
 echo ""
 
 # --- Step 3: stage ---

scripts/sync_to_nova.sh

@@ -117,7 +117,6 @@ EXCLUDE_SCRIPTS=(
   sync_workflows.py
   attach_release_asset.py
   check_north_star_diff.sh
-  render_deck.sh
   render_slides.sh
 )
 

tests/test_no_forge_mentions.py

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ _EXCLUDE_SCRIPTS = {
     "untag_acdl_keys.py", "seed_uptime_monitors.py",
     "push_consumer_image.py", "sync_workflows.py",
     "attach_release_asset.py", "check_north_star_diff.sh",
-    "render_deck.sh", "render_slides.sh",
+    "render_slides.sh",
 }
 
 # Synced top-level files (not in any excluded dir).

tests/test_slides_pipeline.py

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ v1.21 adds (REQ-245,251,252):
   - Deck renamed to nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery*
   - No maturity badges in the Marp deck
   - No version in the Marp footer/title slide
-  - 18 main + 1 appendix slides
+  - 20 main + 1 appendix slides (v1.22 split slides 3+8 to relieve overflow)
   - No D-###/REQ-###/internal .py paths in audience-facing slides
   - Title is "Nova — The Autonomous Cloud Delivery Platform"
 """
@@ -202,7 +202,9 @@ def test_marp_deck_title_is_autonomous_cloud_delivery():
 
 
 def test_marp_deck_slide_count():
-    """REQ-245: 18 main slides + 1 appendix = 19 slides total."""
+    """REQ-245/261: 20 main slides + 1 appendix = 21 slides total.
+    v1.22 split slides 3 (Objectives+Anti-Goals) and 8 (Attestation
+    Matrix) to relieve overflow, increasing the count from 18 to 20."""
     text = MARP_DECK.read_text()
     # Count slide separators: each slide ends with --- (except the last)
     # The frontmatter is one --- ... --- block, then each slide is separated by ---
@@ -210,8 +212,8 @@ def test_marp_deck_slide_count():
     slide_headings = re.findall(r"^## (?:Slide|Appendix) ", text, re.MULTILINE)
     main_slides = re.findall(r"^## Slide ", text, re.MULTILINE)
     appendix_slides = re.findall(r"^## Appendix ", text, re.MULTILINE)
-    assert len(main_slides) == 18, \
-        f"expected 18 main slides, found {len(main_slides)}: {slide_headings}"
+    assert len(main_slides) == 20, \
+        f"expected 20 main slides, found {len(main_slides)}: {slide_headings}"
     assert len(appendix_slides) == 1, \
         f"expected 1 appendix slide, found {len(appendix_slides)}"
 
@@ -265,4 +267,107 @@ def test_source_md_no_badges():
     """REQ-252: no maturity badges in the source-of-truth markdown."""
     text = SOURCE_MD.read_text()
     assert "badge" not in text.lower(), \
-        "Source markdown still contains badge spans"
+        "Source markdown still contains badge spans"
+
+
+# --- v1.22 layout/aspect-ratio/theme-structural tests (REQ-262) ---
+
+def test_theme_css_has_section_padding():
+    """REQ-254: theme CSS has a section padding rule (root cause fix)."""
+    css = THEME_CSS.read_text()
+    assert "padding:" in css, "theme CSS has no padding rule"
+    # The section rule must have padding (not just table/td padding)
+    assert re.search(r"section\s*\{[^}]*padding:", css, re.DOTALL), \
+        "theme CSS has no padding on the section rule"
+
+
+def test_theme_css_suppresses_title_chrome():
+    """REQ-256: title slides suppress header/footer chrome."""
+    css = THEME_CSS.read_text()
+    assert "section.title header" in css, \
+        "theme CSS does not suppress title-slide header"
+    assert "section.title footer" in css, \
+        "theme CSS does not suppress title-slide footer"
+    assert "display: none" in css, \
+        "theme CSS does not set display:none on title chrome"
+
+
+def test_theme_css_has_aspect_ratio_aware_images():
+    """REQ-255: image rules use object-fit + max-width (not blunt max-height only)."""
+    css = THEME_CSS.read_text()
+    assert "object-fit" in css, \
+        "theme CSS does not use object-fit for images"
+    assert "max-width" in css, \
+        "theme CSS does not set max-width for images"
+
+
+def test_png_aspect_ratios_sane():
+    """REQ-259/260: PNGs referenced in the marp deck have aspect ratios
+    in [0.4, 4.0] (suitable for 16:9 slides with img.tall/img.wide classes).
+    Only checks PNGs actually referenced in the current marp deck —
+    legacy/unused PNGs are not checked (GRILL revision 1)."""
+    import struct
+    deck_text = MARP_DECK.read_text()
+    # Extract all referenced PNG paths: ![...](assets/png/X.png)
+    referenced = re.findall(r'!\[[^\]]*\]\(assets/png/([^)]+\.png)\)', deck_text)
+    assert referenced, "no PNGs referenced in the marp deck"
+    for png_name in referenced:
+        png_path = ASSETS / "png" / png_name
+        assert png_path.is_file(), f"referenced PNG not found: {png_name}"
+        with open(png_path, "rb") as fh:
+            data = fh.read(24)
+        assert data[:8] == b"\x89PNG\r\n\x1a\n", f"{png_name} is not a PNG"
+        w = struct.unpack(">I", data[16:20])[0]
+        h = struct.unpack(">I", data[20:24])[0]
+        ar = w / h
+        assert 0.4 <= ar <= 4.0, \
+            f"{png_name} aspect ratio {ar:.2f} outside [0.4, 4.0] ({w}x{h})"
+
+
+def test_render_slides_has_2x_scale():
+    """REQ-258: render_slides.sh uses -s 2 (2x scale) and -b transparent."""
+    text = RENDER_SCRIPT.read_text()
+    assert "-s 2" in text, "render_slides.sh does not use -s 2 (2x scale)"
+    assert "-b transparent" in text, \
+        "render_slides.sh does not use -b transparent"
+
+
+def test_render_slides_pins_cli_versions():
+    """REQ-257: render_slides.sh pins marp-cli and mermaid-cli versions
+    (no @latest)."""
+    text = RENDER_SCRIPT.read_text()
+    assert "marp-cli@" in text, "render_slides.sh does not pin marp-cli"
+    assert "mermaid-cli@" in text, \
+        "render_slides.sh does not pin mermaid-cli"
+    assert "@latest" not in text, \
+        "render_slides.sh still uses @latest (not pinned)"
+
+
+def test_render_deck_removed():
+    """REQ-257: render_deck.sh has been deleted (produced unthemed output)."""
+    old_script = ROOT / "scripts" / "render_deck.sh"
+    assert not old_script.exists(), \
+        "render_deck.sh still exists (should be deleted — produced unthemed output)"
+
+
+def test_html_embeds_theme():
+    """REQ-262: the committed HTML embeds the S&P theme (--sp-red + padding
+    in the inline <style> block)."""
+    html = (PRESENTATIONS / "nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.html").read_text()
+    assert "--sp-red" in html, "committed HTML does not embed --sp-red"
+    assert "padding:" in html, "committed HTML does not embed padding rule"
+
+
+def test_html_slide_count_matches_marp():
+    """REQ-262: the committed HTML <section> count matches the marp deck
+    slide count (title + 20 main + 1 appendix = 22)."""
+    html = (PRESENTATIONS / "nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery.html").read_text()
+    section_count = html.count("<section ")
+    deck_text = MARP_DECK.read_text()
+    main_slides = len(re.findall(r"^## Slide ", deck_text, re.MULTILINE))
+    appendix_slides = len(re.findall(r"^## Appendix ", deck_text, re.MULTILINE))
+    # +1 for the title slide (which is an H1, not "## Slide")
+    expected = main_slides + appendix_slides + 1
+    assert section_count == expected, \
+        f"HTML has {section_count} sections, expected {expected} " \
+        f"({main_slides} main + {appendix_slides} appendix + 1 title)"