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Example: Post-Incident Remediation

This example demonstrates how remediation is treated as a Change with explicit Intent and Scope.

Incident Context

After an incident where document generation crashed due to missing data structure, remediation was needed.

Remediation as Change

Intent:
- Goal: Ensure document generation handles missing data gracefully
- Not goal: Rewrite entire document system
- Why now: System crashes on missing data, blocking document generation
- Trade-off: Additional null checks add minor complexity

Scope

In scope:
- Document generation error handling
- Data validation before document creation
- Error messages for missing required data

Out of scope:
- Document template redesign
- Historical document regeneration
- Data migration

Constraints

  1. Existing documents must remain unchanged
  2. API contract must not break
  3. Error messages must be actionable

Execution Plan

  1. Add null checks in document generation
  2. Add validation for required fields
  3. Return clear error messages
  4. Add integration tests
  5. Deploy and observe

Observation

  • Monitor document generation success rate
  • Track error types and frequencies
  • Verify no regressions in existing flows

Outcome

  • Document generation no longer crashes
  • Clear error messages help diagnose issues
  • System more resilient to missing data