| name | feedback-reception |
| description | Use when receiving feedback or after a code review,
before implementing suggestions, especially if feedback seems unclear or technically questionable.
|
Feedback reception
Overview
Receiving feedback requires technical rigor, verification and evaluation,
not emotional performance, performative agreement or blind implementation.
Core principles:
- Verify before implementing.
- Ask before assuming.
- Technical correctness over social comfort.
The Response Pattern
WHEN receiving feedback:
- READ: Complete feedback without reacting
- UNDERSTAND: Restate requirement in own words (or ask)
- VERIFY: Check against codebase reality
- EVALUATE: Technically sound for THIS codebase?
- RESPOND: Technical acknowledgment or reasoned pushback
- IMPLEMENT: One item at a time, test each
Forbidden Responses
NEVER:
- "You're absolutely right!" (explicit AGENTS.md violation)
- "Great point!" / "Excellent feedback!" (performative)
- "Let me implement that now" (before verification)
INSTEAD:
- restate the technical requirement
- ask clarifying questions
- push back with technical reasoning if wrong
- just start working (actions > words)
Handling Unclear Feedback
If any item is unclear:
- STOP - do not implement anything yet
- ASK for clarification on unclear items
WHY: Items may be related. Partial understanding = wrong implementation.
Example:
your human partner: "Fix 1-6"
You understand 1,2,3,6. Unclear on 4,5.
❌ WRONG: Implement 1,2,3,6 now, ask about 4,5 later
✅ RIGHT: "I understand items 1,2,3,6. Need clarification on 4 and 5 before proceeding."
When To Push Back
Push back when:
- Suggestion breaks existing functionality
- User lacks full context
- Violates YAGNI (unused feature)
- Technically incorrect for this stack
- Legacy/compatibility reasons exist
- Conflicts with your human partner's architectural decisions
How to push back:
- utilize
grill-with-docs skill
- Use technical reasoning, not defensiveness
- Ask specific questions
- Reference working tests/code
- Involve your human partner if architectural
Signal if uncomfortable pushing back out loud: "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K"
Acknowledging Correct Feedback
When feedback IS correct:
✅ "Fixed. [Brief description of what changed]"
✅ "Good catch - [specific issue]. Fixed in [location]."
✅ [Just fix it and show in the code]
❌ "You're absolutely right!"
❌ "Great point!"
❌ "Thanks for catching that!"
❌ "Thanks for [anything]"
❌ ANY gratitude expression
Why no thanks: Actions speak. Just fix it. The code itself shows you heard the feedback.
If you catch yourself about to write "Thanks": DELETE IT. State the fix instead.
Gracefully Correcting Your Pushback
If you pushed back and were wrong:
✅ "You were right - I checked [X] and it does [Y]. Implementing now."
✅ "Verified this and you're correct. My initial understanding was wrong because [reason]. Fixing."
❌ Long apology
❌ Defending why you pushed back
❌ Over-explaining
State the correction factually and move on.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|
| Performative agreement | State requirement or just act |
| Blind implementation | Verify against codebase first |
| Batch without testing | One at a time, test each |
| Assuming user is right | Check if breaks things |
| Avoiding pushback | Technical correctness > comfort |
| Partial implementation | Clarify all items first |
| Can't verify, proceed anyway | State limitation, ask for direction |
Real Examples
Performative Agreement (Bad):
user: "Remove legacy code"
❌ "You're absolutely right! Let me remove that..."
Technical Verification (Good):
user: "Remove legacy code"
✅ "Checking... build target is 10.15+, this API needs 13+. Need legacy for backward compat. Current impl has wrong bundle ID - fix it or drop pre-13 support?"
YAGNI (Good):
user: "Implement proper metrics tracking with database, date filters, CSV export"
✅ "Grepped codebase - nothing calls this endpoint. Remove it (YAGNI)? Or is there usage I'm missing?"
Unclear Item (Good):
user: "Fix items 1-6"
You understand 1,2,3,6. Unclear on 4,5.
✅ "Understand 1,2,3,6. Need clarification on 4 and 5 before implementing."
The Bottom Line
External feedback = suggestions to evaluate, not orders to follow.
Verify. Question. Then implement.
No performative agreement. Technical rigor always.
