Clarify custom checklist ownership and lifecycle

[WOLIKIMCHENG]

Summary

• Clarify that custom /speckit.checklist outputs are reviewer-owned requirements-quality artifacts.
• Define custom checklist [x] markers as requirements-quality approval, not implementation completion.
• Update /speckit.implement guidance to treat checklist markers as a read-only gate and distinguish the built-in checklists/requirements.md lifecycle.

Closes #3979

Validation

• git diff --check -- docs/quickstart.md docs/reference/agentic-sdd.md templates/commands/checklist.md templates/checklist-template.md templates/commands/implement.md
• PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 .venv/bin/python -m pytest -p no:cacheprovider tests/test_command_template_py_scripts.py -q

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Clarifies ownership and lifecycle semantics for custom versus built-in checklists.

Changes:

• Defines custom checklists as reviewer-owned requirements-quality artifacts.
• Makes implementation treat checklist markers as read-only gates.
• Documents distinct built-in requirements.md behavior.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
docs/quickstart.md	Updates checklist and implementation guidance.
docs/reference/agentic-sdd.md	Documents ownership and lifecycle distinctions.
templates/commands/checklist.md	Adds reviewer ownership rules.
templates/checklist-template.md	Defines checkbox semantics and lifecycle notes.
templates/commands/implement.md	Makes checklist state read-only during implementation.

Review details

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• Files reviewed: 5/5 changed files
• Comments generated: 1
• Review effort level: Balanced

[mnriem]

Please address Copilot feedback

[WOLIKIMCHENG]

Addressed the Copilot feedback by clarifying in the quickstart that implementation does not modify checklist files or markers, and by calling out that checklists/requirements.md is maintained by /speckit.specify and /speckit.clarify while custom checklists remain reviewer-owned.

[Copilot]

Review details

Suppressed comments (3)

templates/checklist-template.md:39

• Use “requirements-quality” consistently with the ownership text above; “requirement-quality” here appears to be a typo.

- Mark items `[x]` only after review confirms the requirement-quality criterion is satisfied

templates/commands/checklist.md:148

• Reserve requirements.md when choosing the custom checklist filename. The current domain-derived naming can select requirements.md, and the append behavior would then mix reviewer-owned items into the built-in checklist that specify/clarify automatically update (or allow specify to overwrite a custom file).

   - Leave every newly generated item unchecked (`[ ]`); checkbox state belongs to the reviewer

docs/quickstart.md:86

• Use “requirements-quality” consistently; this sentence currently switches to the singular form immediately after introducing “requirements-quality review artifacts.”

Generates a custom quality checklist — "unit tests for your requirements" — to confirm the spec is complete, clear, and consistent before you break the work down. These custom checklists are reviewer-owned requirements-quality review artifacts: mark an item `[x]` only when the reviewer determines that requirement-quality criterion is satisfied. Checked custom items do not mean implementation work is complete.

• Files reviewed: 5/5 changed files
• Comments generated: 0 new
• Review effort level: Balanced

[mnriem]

Thank you!