# Fix Verdict Parsing and State Machine Alignment

## Goal

Fix the critical verdict-parsing bug that causes PASS verdicts to be falsely classified as BLOCKED, and align the dashboard's `determine_task_state()` with the orchestrator's state machine specification.

## Requirements

### R1. Use structured status-line parsing instead of substring search

`automaton/dashboard/core/task.py:159-169` currently uses substring search for FAIL/NEEDS_REVIEW/PASS. This means a PASS verdict that *mentions* a previous failure (which `referee.md` explicitly requires when comparing bug finder outputs) gets misclassified as BLOCKED.

**Fix**: Parse the actual status line (`## Status: PASS`, `**Status**: FAIL`, etc.) extracted from the verdict content, falling back to substring search only when no structured status line is found.

### R2. Fix verdict check ordering

The current code checks FAIL/NEEDS_REVIEW substrings *before* PASS. A correctly parsed status line makes this irrelevant for structured verdicts — only fall back to substring search for unstructured verdicts, using the same check order (check FAIL/NEEDS_REVIEW first, then PASS) but document the limitation.

### R3. Use same parsing in `parse_sub_tasks`

`task.py:215-220` has the same substring-search issue for sub-task verdicts. Apply the same fix.

### R4. Align `determine_task_state()` with `orchestrate.md` state machine

Four concrete divergences between `orchestrate.md:266-282` and `task.py:135-198`:

| Orchestrator says | Dashboard does | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| `IMPLEMENTATION.md` → Bug Find | `IMPLEMENTATION.md` → Implement | Match orchestrator: show Bug Find when IMPLEMENTATION.md exists but no BUG_REPORT.md or ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md |
| `BUG_REPORT.md` + `SPEC.md` (no ADV) → Adversarial Bug Find | `BUG_REPORT.md` alone → Bug Find | Match orchestrator: BUG_REPORT.md → Bug Find, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md alone → Adversarial Bug Find. When both exist, advance to Doc Review or Referee. |
| `ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md` alone → not specified | `ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md` alone → ADV_BUG_FIND | Follow orchestrator's intent: a lone ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT without BUG_REPORT technically doesn't reach Adversarial Bug Find per spec. Treat ADV alone same as BUG alone for the dashboard (Bug Find). |
| `SPEC.md` alone → Design or Implement | `SPEC.md` alone → Research | **Keep dashboard behavior.** The orchestrator spec says "Design or Implement" meaning those are the *next* steps the orchestrator would drive. The dashboard should show the task in its *current* state (Research). No change needed. |

### R5. Update `parse_sub_tasks` to match the same logic

Sub-task state determination uses the same function, so these fixes propagate automatically. Verify that sub-tasks with only PARENT_SPEC.md or VRAM_CONFIG.md correctly show as BACKLOG.

### R6. Document the minimal verdict schema

Add a note in `prompts/referee.md` requiring that VERDICT.md include `## Status: PASS` / `## Status: FAIL` / `## Status: NEEDS_REVIEW` as a structured machine-parseable field. The dashboard relies on this for correct classification.

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] `## Status: PASS` verdict mentioning the word "FAIL" in findings → DONE (not BLOCKED)
- [ ] `## Status: PASS` verdict mentioning "NEEDS_REVIEW" in body → DONE (not BLOCKED)
- [ ] `## Status: FAIL` verdict → BLOCKED
- [ ] `## Status: NEEDS_REVIEW` verdict → BLOCKED
- [ ] `IMPLEMENTATION.md` alone (no BUG_REPORT, no ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT) → BUG_FIND (not IMPLEMENT)
- [ ] `BUG_REPORT.md` + `SPEC.md` (no ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT) → BUG_FIND
- [ ] `ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md` + `BUG_REPORT.md` + `SPEC.md` → ADV_BUG_FIND (or higher if DOC_REVIEW/VERDICT present)
- [ ] `SPEC.md` alone → RESEARCH (unchanged, confirmed as correct)
- [ ] Existing tests in `tests/test_task.py` still pass
- [ ] New tests cover: PASS-verdict-mentions-FAIL, unstructured-verdict-fallback, implement-to-bug-find transition
- [ ] `parse_sub_tasks` correctly parses structured sub-task verdicts

## Non-Goals

- Not removing substring fallback entirely (backward compat for unstructured verdicts)
- Not changing orchestrator.md (that spec is the authority)
- Not modifying `ui/app.py` verdict display logic