Unit 06.01: What a reviewer needs on the screen

The quality of a human gate is decided by what the reviewer can see in ten seconds.

Six fields, one of them usually missing

What will happen, whether it can be undone, why, the evidence, what is uncertain, and what happens if they do nothing.

Below is a review card.

{
  "what_will_happen": "post a credit of 240.00 to ACC-1187",
  "reversible": false,
  "why": "invoice INV-1187 was paid twice on 2026-06-14",
  "evidence": [
    "invoice record INV-1187",
    "payment log entries 4471, 4472"
  ],
  "confidence_signals": {
    "both payments found": true,
    "amounts match": true,
    "contract terms checked": false
  },
  "if_you_do_nothing": "the run expires in 24 hours and nothing is posted",
  "actions": [
    "approve",
    "edit the amount",
    "reject with a reason"
  ]
}

the reviewer can approve, change it, or refuse -- without leaving the page

if_you_do_nothing is the field that is nearly always absent and the one that most changes behaviour. A reviewer who does not know the default approves to make the decision go away; a reviewer who knows the run expires harmlessly in 24 hours can leave it.

confidence_signals is the other one worth copying. Showing that the contract terms were *not* checked lets the reviewer weigh the recommendation rather than take it.

The mistake this prevents

The mistake is showing the reviewer the agent's reasoning. Reasoning is long, persuasive, and not evidence - it tells them what the agent thought rather than what is true. Show the evidence and the action; keep the reasoning in the trace.

Takeaway

Show what will happen, whether it is reversible, the evidence, what was not checked, and what happens if they do nothing. Reasoning belongs in the trace, not on the review screen.

Mark complete