The Relay Loop Audit
A handoff is ready to leave the chat when work can move to the next actor with no spoken explanation from you.
The Relay Loop Audit is the one pass you run to check that. Nine questions. Each maps to one part of the task record or the loop around it. Any “no” is the gap to fix before you hand off.
Run it as a loop: ask, fix the first “no,” ask again, until the task can stand on its own.
The Nine Questions
- Outcome. Can you name the result in one sentence, as a finished thing, not an activity?
- Source. Is every input the next actor needs attached or linked here, not “somewhere in the chat”?
- Owner. Is the next actor named — a specific human or agent — not “whoever picks it up”?
- Allowed actions. Does the actor know what they may touch, and what is off-limits?
- Stop rule. Is there a defined point where the actor must stop and hand back?
- Done evidence. Do you already know what proof will show the work is finished?
- Status. Does the task carry a status the next actor can read without asking you?
- Receipt. Will the actor leave a receipt the actor after them can resume from?
- Departure. Could this task move to a stranger right now with zero verbal context from you?
If question nine is a “no,” one of the first eight is still open.
Why A Loop And Not A Checklist
A checklist is run once and filed. The audit is run every handoff, because the gap moves.
The first time, the outcome is vague. You fix it. The second time, the outcome is clear but the stop rule is missing, so the agent runs past the point where you wanted judgment. You fix that. The work gets cleaner each pass, and the questions stay the same.
The loop ends when a “no” stops appearing, not when you reach the bottom of the list.
What Each Answer Becomes
| Question | Where it lands |
|---|---|
| Outcome | Task: Outcome |
| Source | Task: Source material |
| Owner | Task: Owner / next actor |
| Allowed actions | Task: Allowed actions |
| Stop rule | Task: Stop rules / human gates |
| Done evidence | Task: Done evidence / receipt |
| Status | Task front matter: status |
| Receipt | Receipt record left on the next stop |
| Departure | The whole task record, working as one |
The audit is not extra paperwork. It is the seven-part record, asked as questions instead of filled as fields.
When To Skip It
Skip the audit when the answer never leaves the chat. A quick lookup, a one-off rewrite, a throwaway summary you will read and discard — that is prompt mode, and prompt mode does not need a record.
Run the audit the moment the answer has to reach another person, another agent, or another system. That is the handoff, and the handoff is where work is lost.
Next: Prompt Craft · The 30-Minute Relay