ADR-0119 — Independent review is the invariant; the formal review is risk-weighted

Context

The loop marks intake (Pull) and the task packet (Task) as optional formalities, but "Review" read as one mandatory station. That conflates two things: the act of an independent party judging the work, and the formal review artifacts — a reviews/ packet, a review lead running independent lenses (ADR-0086). Requiring the artifacts on every change adds ceremony to a trivial one (ADR-0105) and overstates risk-weighted review (ADR-0094), which scales scrutiny and only forbids skipping review on a large or high-diffusion change.

Decision

Independent review is the invariant; the formal review is the formality that scales.

• Invariant — never skipped for code-changing work. The implementer does not render the verdict; a non-implementer judges the result against its intent, on evidence (ADR-0056, ADR-0077 D8). For a trivial change the owner verifies directly, the owner is that non-implementer.
• Optional — risk-weighted. The formal review artifacts (a reviews/ packet, a review lead orchestrating independent lenses) are the form for a substantial or high-diffusion change, not a requirement for a trivial, low-diffusion one whose owner has verified it. "Small" never excuses skipping review on a large or high-diffusion change (the Hindle caveat, ADR-0094).

The loop's optional formalities are therefore Pull, Task, and the formal Review; the spine is Spec, Run, Close. The no-self-certify floor holds throughout.

Level: convention.

Consequences

• 02-basic-workflow.md and the website mark the formal review as optional/risk-weighted, beside intake and the task packet — not a break with "what not to skip," because the independent judgment still happens.
• "What not to skip → independent review" reads as the judgment by a non-implementer, not the packet.

Status

Accepted. Refines ADR-0094; relates ADR-0056, ADR-0105.