Skip to content

cost-per-accepted-outcome — Cost per accepted outcome, only on measured data

The cost of an accepted outcome is computed from measured telemetry and the finish contract that accepted it, and is reported only where both exist.

BLOCKED 0 of 4 issues done

ready
0
blocked
4
active
0
verify
0
done
0
cancelled
0

Problem

Cost per token is not a useful unit of work. The unit that matters is what an accepted outcome cost, and that cannot be computed without both telemetry and an acceptance record.

Outcome

The cost of an accepted outcome is computed from measured telemetry and the finish contract that accepted it, and is reported only where both exist.

Current state

Not started, and not startable: it needs execution telemetry underneath it.

Desired state

A completed, accepted task can state what it cost, from measurement rather than estimate.

Scope

  • bin
  • lib
  • test/cases
  • docs
  • site/data/generated

Out of scope

  • Any figure derived from elapsed time or token count as a proxy for progress

Acceptance criteria

  • Cost is reported only for outcomes that were accepted by the finish contract
  • An outcome without telemetry reports no cost rather than a modelled one
  • The denominator is a real acceptance, never a count of sessions

Validation

  • bash test/run.sh

Evidence required

  • suite

Risks

  • Accepted outcomes are rare enough early on that the number is noisy; it must say so.

Issues

Each one is an execution contract with its own acceptance criteria, validation command and required evidence. The wave column is the layer of the dependency graph it sits in.

issuestatuswavedepends ontitle
I0401 BLOCKED 0 Define an accepted outcome, and join it to its measurements without storing the join
I0402 BLOCKED 1 I0401 Report cost only where measurement and acceptance both exist
I0403 BLOCKED 2 I0402 Make a thin denominator say so rather than average it away
I0404 BLOCKED 3 I0403 Publish the cost-per-outcome claim with its unit defined beside it

The graph

cost-per-accepted-outcome dependency graphfrom .ai/repo/project
flowchart LR
    I0401["I0401<br/>Define an accepted outcome, and join it to its measurements without storing the join"]:::blocked
    I0402["I0402<br/>Report cost only where measurement and acceptance both exist"]:::blocked
    I0403["I0403<br/>Make a thin denominator say so rather than average it away"]:::blocked
    I0404["I0404<br/>Publish the cost-per-outcome claim with its unit defined beside it"]:::blocked
    I0401 --> I0402
    I0402 --> I0403
    I0403 --> I0404
    classDef done stroke:#16a34a,fill:#052e16,stroke-width:2px
    classDef active stroke:#2563eb,fill:#eff6ff,stroke-width:2px
    classDef verify stroke:#7c3aed,fill:#f5f3ff,stroke-width:2px
    classDef ready stroke:#0891b2,fill:#ecfeff,stroke-width:2px
    classDef blocked stroke:#b45309,fill:#fffbeb,stroke-width:2px
    classDef cancelled stroke:#6b7280,fill:#f9fafb,stroke-width:2px

Canonical record: .ai/repo/project/milestones/cost-per-accepted-outcome.yaml. Read it back with majordomus plan show cost-per-accepted-outcome.