Reviewer Pattern — Failures

Pattern: Reviewer
Component: failures.md
Version: 1.1 | Updated: 2026-07-16

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Failure 1: Style volume hides a bug

Symptom: Dozens of naming/import nits; production null-deref on an untested path.
Cause: Review optimized for comment count.
Recovery: Cap nits (e.g. 10). Force Correctness + Security before any style comments. Re-review.

Failure 2: Green CI equals approved

Symptom: Merge after “all checks green”; AC for authZ never tested.
Cause: CI covers happy path only; reviewer skipped AC→test map.
Recovery: Require AC→test matrix. Request changes until critical AC have tests.

Failure 3: Author self-review as final

Symptom: Same agent/human authored the PR and issued Approve.
Cause: No separation of duties.
Recovery: Invalidate approval. Assign independent reviewer + human gate for High-risk.

Failure 4: Unverified “fixed”

Symptom: Findings marked resolved; same bug still in the new revision.
Cause: Reviewer trusted the author’s claim without re-checking.
Recovery: Re-open IDs until verified against the new diff or failing-then-passing test.

Failure 5: Severity miscalibration

Symptom: Everything Critical (alarm fatigue) or internet-exploitable issue marked Nit.
Cause: No shared severity definitions.
Recovery: Apply Critical = reachable + high impact; Block only on Critical; train on examples.