# Result convention

## Requirements

Return a result for the requested contract that includes enough evidence for an evaluator to assess fulfillment. Use Markdown and the caller’s requested location or response channel.

The result includes the invocation’s outcome (fulfilled or not fulfilled), the work or references to it, the evidence for assessment, and any material outstanding work, partial effects or uncertainty. Keep referenced evidence accessible to the intended evaluator under the contract’s access requirements. Omit empty details. Do not label a pending acknowledgement as completed work.

Use out for a normal result and error for execution failure. These are two return channels, not mandated filenames or operating-system streams. An evaluator can return a normal assessment that identifies unmet requirements or an unresolved subject judgment. Report an error when the invocation fails to carry out its own contract, preserving available partial work and effects. Uncertainty belongs in the result or failure report; it does not add an “unknown” return channel.

If a program requests a more specific format, retain these meanings within that format. A result is a claim supported by evidence, not independent proof. Required reviewers must assess the actual artifacts.

The outcome belongs to the contract this invocation was asked to fulfill. Name that contract before assigning its status. When reporting an evaluation, distinguish the evaluation’s outcome from its subject findings. If the evaluation’s own requirements are satisfied, report it as fulfilled even when the subject has unmet or unresolved requirements. For example: “Evaluation fulfilled; the supplied evidence does not establish the proposed change’s required approval.” If a required evaluation step failed or remains unfinished, report the evaluation as not fulfilled and retain any supported subject findings. Completing a response or making a correct observation alone does not establish fulfillment. This does not authorize the change or claim the underlying discrepancy is resolved.

Ground summaries, failure explanations and proposed remedies in the available evidence. Distinguish what was observed from what was inferred or not checked; not observing something does not establish its absence. When suggesting a remedy, account for the remaining requirements and disclose what is still unverified. A proposal that changes the agreement must be identified as such; it does not fulfill the original contract or authorize further action.