A spec reviewer writes 'reset clears q' and the next reviewer assumes reset is asynchronous. The source actually says reset is sampled on a rising edge. The summary sounds accurate but has removed the condition that determines behavior between edges. Handoffs must preserve the smallest complete statement needed for the next decision, including qualifiers and uncertainty. Compression is useful only while the remaining context still supports the intended engineering check.
Treat a handoff as a small evidence packet. Include a stable packet version, input identifiers, requirement IDs, exact short source excerpts, output status and unresolved questions. Keep source text separate from proposed conclusions. A receiver should be able to locate each reference without asking the sender what it meant. If line numbers change after an edit, the snapshot identity prevents a stale reference from silently pointing at different code.
S1 in enable-demo-v1:
"q is cleared when active-low reset is sampled low on a rising edge."
Synthetic spec-review response, not a real model output:
packet_id: spec-pass-01
snapshot: enable-demo-v1
status: complete_for_supplied_excerpt
requirement: S1
obligation: at a rising edge, rst_n=0 implies next q=0
source: spec.txt:S1
unknown: no requirement supplied for behavior between edges
coverage: S1-S3 read; no external constraints availableThe coordinator can now distinguish an actual source omission from an interpretation error. It must not expand complete_for_supplied_excerpt into complete_for_design. If an input is truncated, the packet should name the missing range and mark affected conclusions unresolved. If a worker returns only two of three requested requirements, preserve that coverage gap. Quietly filling it from another worker's confident summary hides both the missing evidence and the failure of the original contract.
A practical context budget starts with the decision rather than the maximum allowed tokens. For a DV handoff, keep the expected sequence, observed sequence, sampling point and checker definition. For STA, keep the path type, corner, units, slack convention and relevant constraints. For PD, keep the report stage and region. Remove unrelated log chatter first. If the remaining packet is still too large, ask a narrower question instead of slicing away the conditions that make a conclusion valid.
A worker returns: 'Latest design, reset OK, all checks complete.' The receiver has only a screenshot of two assignments and no version identifier. List four missing pieces and write a safe coordinator action. Then rewrite the statement so that it conveys what the worker actually inspected. Your rewrite may be incomplete; an honest incomplete result is more useful than a broad statement that nobody can reproduce from the available sources.
Missing pieces include snapshot identity, the exact reset requirement, source references, coverage and a reproducible check. Mark reset unresolved and request the frozen spec/RTL packet; do not accept the broad claim. A safe rewrite is: 'I inspected the two supplied assignments; the version and reset requirement are absent, so I cannot assess reset compliance or complete coverage.'
A packet can be well organized while containing false claims. The receiver must still read the cited evidence, and a human must choose any engineering verification needed. Handoff logging supports investigation but does not prove correctness. For a portable structured representation, RFC 8259, December 2017 defines JSON syntax. A JSON parser can check representation; it cannot decide whether a reset interpretation matches the specification.