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automaton/tasks/dashboard-task-review/SPEC.md
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SPEC: Dashboard Task Review and Approval

Overview

The dashboard currently shows tasks grouped by phase but has no workflow for reviewing and approving tasks before they proceed to the next phase. A user should be able to review a task's artifacts (SPEC.md, DESIGN.md, IMPLEMENTATION.md, etc.) and approve or reject it directly from the dashboard.

Motivation

The framework has phases that require user sign-off (Research → SPEC.md review, Design → DESIGN.md review, etc.) but this sign-off happens via agent interaction, not through the dashboard. Adding review/approval to the dashboard provides:

  1. Asynchronous review — approve or flag tasks without an active agent session
  2. Audit trail — who approved what and when
  3. Blocked task management — reject a task to move it to Blocked column
  4. Self-service — approve multiple tasks at a glance

Requirements

1. Review State Per Task

Each task can have a review status:

Status Meaning
pending Awaiting review (default for new artifacts)
approved Reviewer approved, task can proceed
changes_requested Reviewer wants changes, task moves to Blocked
not_needed No review needed (e.g., automated phases)

2. Review Data Storage

Store review state in the task directory:

  • REVIEW.md — review metadata (status, reviewer, timestamp, comments)
  • Or embed in existing artifact files if simpler

3. Dashboard UI

  • Each task card shows review status badge (🟡 pending, ✅ approved, ❌ changes requested)
  • Clicking a task opens a detail panel with:
    • Artifact preview (SPEC.md, DESIGN.md, etc.)
    • Approve / Request Changes buttons
    • Comment box
  • Phase columns show a review filter toggle (show all / show pending only)
  • Stats view includes review metrics (pending approvals count)

4. Integration with Phase Flow

  • A task in "Research" phase with a new SPEC.md starts as pending review
  • When approved, the task proceeds to next phase
  • When "changes requested", the task moves to Blocked column with a note
  • Review status is checked by the Orchestrator before auto-executing next phase

5. API Endpoints

  • GET /api/tasks/{name}/review — get review status
  • POST /api/tasks/{name}/review — submit review (approve/changes_requested + comment)
  • GET /api/review-summary — aggregate review metrics for all tasks

Acceptance Criteria

  • Tasks have review state stored in REVIEW.md
  • Dashboard shows review status badge on task cards
  • Detail panel has Approve / Request Changes buttons
  • Filter for pending reviews only
  • Stats shows pending approval count
  • API serves review data and accepts review submissions
  • Orchestrator checks review status before auto-executing

Out of Scope

  • Multi-user review workflow (single user for now)
  • Email/notification system for pending reviews
  • Role-based permissions

Notes

  • This builds on the existing Blocked column (when changes_requested, task goes to Blocked)
  • Review state is simple — approve or changes_requested, no multi-level approval