# CLARIFY — v1.30 Single-shot Leadership Deck > **Autonomy:** full. Auto-resolution with assumption logging per > `config.autonomy.level: "full"`. No human escalation unless > confidence < 0.60. The user confirmed the 4 framing decisions > (milestone numbering, render pipeline path, stale intake > assumption override, smoke test PPTX gate) in the pre-run planning > conversation. This file records the formal D-IDs and the spec §7 > open-question resolutions. --- ## Method The clarify stage identifies ambiguities in the v1.30 specification (REQ-372 v1.0, locked 2026-08-20) and resolves them at full autonomy. The spec is the user-provided "REQ-372 — Nova Leadership Presentation Deck." Each ambiguity gets a decision ID (D-241+, continuing from v1.29's D-232..D-240), a resolution, a confidence score, and a rationale. --- ## Prior-conversation resolutions (already locked, restated for the record) These were resolved by the user in the pre-run planning conversation that spawned v1.30. They are load-bearing for v1.30 execution. ### Q-M1 — The cover note/spec say "v1.29.x" but the checkpoint says v1.29 is complete and active_milestone is v1.30. What is the milestone number? **Resolution:** The milestone is **v1.30**. The cover note's "v1.29.x" is the **tag line** (per run.md branch strategy, tags run on the previous minor's patch line: milestone v1.30 → tags v1.29.1, v1.29.2, v1.29.3). The milestone branch is `milestone/v1.30-leadership-deck`. v1.29 is complete (merged to main `9dc5669`, tag `v1.28.6`). **Confidence:** 1.0 (user-confirmed — "Milestone v1.30, tags v1.29.x"). **Decision:** n/a (milestone identity, not a D-ID). ### Q-M2 — The cover note says `scripts/render_pptx.py docs/presentations/nova-leadership-deck.md` but render_pptx.py expects `{deck}-marp.md` naming. How to resolve? **Resolution:** Author the source as `docs/presentations/nova-leadership-deck-marp.md` to fit the existing `-marp.md` pipeline convention. Narrowly extend `render_pptx.py` to accept an explicit source `.md` path + `--output` filename, and to render a right-aligned footer textbox on every slide (python-pptx does not read the Marp `footer:` directive). The output is `nova-leadership-deck.pptx` per spec REQ-372.2. Formalized as D-242. **Confidence:** 1.0 (user-confirmed — "Author source as nova-leadership-deck-marp.md, extend render_pptx.py"). **Decision:** D-242. ### Q-M3 — The post-v1.29 STATE.md intake (assumption 3) says the leadership deck "is a compression, not a rewrite" of the 23-slide citizen-developer deck. The cover note + spec explicitly forbid compression. How to handle? **Resolution:** Override the stale intake assumption. The leadership deck is a **discrete, hand-authored artifact** — NOT a compression. The existing citizen-developer deck (`nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md`) remains untouched. The spec §2.2 + cover note forbid compression/mirroring; the Slide Content Map is hand-authored content, not derived. Update STATE.md intake assumption 3 to reflect the discrete-artifact decision. Formalized as D-241. **Confidence:** 1.0 (user-confirmed — "Override with spec's discrete-artifact decision"). **Decision:** D-241. ### Q-M4 — The smoke test (REQ-372.8f) must assert PPTX file existence. Given the render environment limitations, should the PPTX-existence check be a hard fail or a conditional skip? **Resolution:** **Hard fail** if `.pptx` absent. The deck must be rendered before ship. The render environment is resolved (python-pptx installed via user-site `pip install --user --break-system-packages`; no Chromium needed since python-pptx is the render path, not Marp CLI). If the environment cannot render, that is a ship blocker to resolve — not a reason to weaken the gate. **Confidence:** 1.0 (user-confirmed — "Hard fail if .pptx absent"). **Decision:** n/a (gate severity, not a D-ID — recorded in PLAN.md). --- ## Open questions from the spec's §7 (auto-resolved at full autonomy) ### Q1 — Specific meeting date inside August 2026 **Spec context:** The presentation is in August 2026, but no specific day is named. Slide 7 references "Infrastructure & Operations leadership" without naming a day. **Resolution:** Anchor to **month-only** (August 2026). No specific day in the deck text. November 2026 is the runway anchor (~90 days from August 2026). **Confidence:** 0.95. **Impact if wrong:** Very low — the meeting is what it is; the deck text doesn't depend on a specific day. **Decision:** D-243 (date anchor discipline: month-only). ### Q2 — Explicit non-compression of the existing citizen-developer deck **Spec context:** The two decks (leadership + citizen-developer) remain discrete artifacts. The existing 23-slide `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md` is not compressed or modified. **Resolution:** Document the discrete-artifact constraint in REQ-372.9 (related-artifacts header comment) + D-241 (this file) + D-241 record in PROJECT.md at ship (REQ-372.11). Leave the existing citizen-developer deck untouched. The cover note's hard scope rules ("Do not modify `nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md`") are binding. **Confidence:** 1.0. **Impact if wrong:** None for this milestone. **Decision:** D-241 (restated — the discrete-artifact decision is the same as Q-M3's override). ### Q3 — Assumption: existing `scripts/render_pptx.py` accepts S&P theme directives and Marp speaker notes without modification **Spec context:** The render pipeline is existing; the spec assumes it works for the new deck. If a theme limitation forces a renderer change, scope narrowly and update `render_pptx.py` separately as a non-REQ-372 task. **Resolution (confirmed by research):** The existing `render_pptx.py` has two gaps for REQ-372: (a) it expects a `{deck}` arg and reads `{deck}-marp.md` / writes `{deck}-python.pptx` — it does not accept an explicit source path or custom output filename; (b) it does not read the Marp `footer:` directive (it skips HTML comments at lines 366-379 and never adds a footer textbox). Speaker notes (HTML comments) are skipped entirely — acceptable for REQ-372.4 (smoke test checks source word counts, not PPTX-embedded notes). The narrow extension per D-242 addresses (a) and (b). No other renderer change is needed. The extension is a prerequisite, scoped separately from REQ-372 per spec §3.3 Edge 2. **Confidence:** 0.92. **Impact if wrong:** Small follow-up; doesn't change milestone scope. **Decision:** D-242 (restated). ### Q4 — Assumption: the 18-month runway shape (α–δ) is acceptable as drafted to I&O leadership **Spec context:** Slides 6 + 7 rehearse both architecture-load and political-cover framings. The worked-example granularity was confirmed by the PO. **Resolution:** Accept the α–δ shape as drafted. Slides 6 + 7 are the only slide-by-slide revisions that might be needed if leadership pushes back; everything else is locked. No spec change required unless the architectural claim set shifts (spec §3.3 Edge 3). **Confidence:** 0.85. **Impact if wrong:** Slide 6 and slide 7 are the only revisions; everything else is locked. **Decision:** n/a (acceptance, not a D-ID — the shape is in the locked Slide Content Map). --- ## Decisions (locked, full autonomy — load-bearing for v1.30) ### D-241 — Leadership deck is discrete, hand-authored, NOT a compression **Q-M3 / Q2.** The leadership deck is a **discrete, hand-authored artifact** — NOT a compression of the existing 23-slide citizen-developer pitch (`nova-autonomous-cloud-delivery-marp.md`). This overrides the post-v1.29 STATE.md intake assumption 3 ("is a compression, not a rewrite"). The existing citizen-developer deck remains untouched. The spec §2.2 + cover note forbid compression/mirroring; the Slide Content Map is hand-authored content, not derived. Recorded in PROJECT.md at ship (REQ-372.11). **Confidence:** 1.0. ### D-242 — Narrow render_pptx.py extension (path arg + custom output + footer textbox) **Q-M2 / Q3.** The existing `scripts/render_pptx.py` is narrowly extended to: (a) accept an explicit source `.md` path + `--output` filename (honouring the cover note's invocation pattern), and (b) render a right-aligned footer textbox on every slide with the exact string `Nova Platform - Infrastructure & Operations` (python-pptx does not read the Marp `footer:` directive; REQ-372.5 requires the footer on every rendered slide). The source is authored as `nova-leadership-deck-marp.md` to fit the existing `-marp.md` pipeline convention; the output is `nova-leadership-deck.pptx` per spec REQ-372.2. This extension is a non-REQ-372 prerequisite per spec §3.3 Edge 2 ("scope narrowly and update `render_pptx.py` separately"). No other renderer change (speaker notes are not embedded in the PPTX — acceptable; smoke test checks source word counts). **Confidence:** 0.92. ### D-243 — Date anchor discipline: month-only (August 2026 present, November 2026 runway) **Q1.** August 2026 is a **month-only** presentation anchor (no specific day). November 2026 is the runway anchor (~90 days from August 2026). Slide 7 references "Infrastructure & Operations leadership" without naming a specific day. No spec change required unless the architectural claim set shifts (spec §3.3 Edge 3). **Confidence:** 0.95. --- ## STATE.md intake assumption override The post-v1.29 STATE.md intake (line ~526, Agent Assumptions, item 3) states: "The 23-slide existing deck is the source material — the ≤7-slide leadership deck is a compression, not a rewrite." **Override (D-241):** This assumption is **replaced**. The leadership deck is a discrete, hand-authored artifact — NOT a compression. The existing citizen-developer deck remains untouched. The override is recorded in this CLARIFY.md (D-241) and will be reflected in STATE.md at the v1.30 ship wave (CAP-042 row + intake assumption correction). --- ## Requirements impact No requirements are added, removed, or re-scoped by these decisions. D-241–D-243 are load-bearing context for executing REQ-372.1–.12 as written. The spec is locked (v1.0, 2026-08-20); no spec text changes.