The words on the page

Reference

Only two marks appear on Tandem’s pages, a tick and a cross. Everything else says what it is in words. This is the lookup table for those words. Every symbol has its meaning written next to it.

TL;DR

Find the line the strip shows in the first table. The second column says where you are, and the third says what the button does next. The other tables cover the marks under a promise (what will be true when the work is done), the state words on the run’s cards, and the words on the report.

The strip

The line beside the button says where you are. The button is the next thing you can do.

The strip says	Where you are	The button
nothing written yet	The box is empty.	none; write a line
N lines written, not read	Lines are in the box; the machine has not read them.	Read these N
reading — reading your list as one description	The reading round is running.	Reading…
N sentences read, not kept	The reading is on the page; nothing is recorded.	Keep these N, or change the words and Read it again
N sentences · not grouped yet	Your sentences are the record; no things to build exist.	Group into things to build
grouping — grouping your sentences into things to build	The grouping round is running.	Grouping…
N sentences · M things to build	Things exist, none in hand.	Build the first
N sentences · M sentences in no thing to build	Sentences read after the things were made belong to nothing yet.	Group the rest
working out what to build — N of M subjects done	The thing in hand is being worked out; the work page opens by itself when it is done.	Working it out…
<thing> — N promises, not started	The work page shows the promises; nothing is signed.	Build these N
building — <thing>	The run is in flight.	■ Stop, on the run page’s header
delivered — waiting for your decision	The run ended and the work was not merged.	Accept it or Not this
delivered — withheld	A promise could not be kept, or the product does not build; nothing was merged.	Run it again
coded, checked and merged into the project	Merged; the platform does not deploy this repository.	Go on to the next
built, deployed and running at <address>	Merged, built, deployed and judged on the running product.	Go on to the next
<thing> — no longer holds	Delivered work that you or the platform refused afterwards.	Build the first, to repair it
N sentences · everything is built	Every thing is built and accepted.	Everything is built, disabled; write a new line to ask for more

The strip says

Where you are

The button

nothing written yet

The box is empty.

none; write a line

N lines written, not read

Lines are in the box; the machine has not read them.

Read these N

reading — reading your list as one description

The reading round is running.

Reading…

N sentences read, not kept

The reading is on the page; nothing is recorded.

Keep these N, or change the words and Read it again

N sentences · not grouped yet

Your sentences are the record; no things to build exist.

Group into things to build

grouping — grouping your sentences into things to build

The grouping round is running.

Grouping…

N sentences · M things to build

Things exist, none in hand.

Build the first

N sentences · M sentences in no thing to build

Sentences read after the things were made belong to nothing yet.

Group the rest

working out what to build — N of M subjects done

The thing in hand is being worked out; the work page opens by itself when it is done.

Working it out…

<thing> — N promises, not started

The work page shows the promises; nothing is signed.

Build these N

building — <thing>

The run is in flight.

■ Stop, on the run page’s header

delivered — waiting for your decision

The run ended and the work was not merged.

Accept it or Not this

delivered — withheld

A promise could not be kept, or the product does not build; nothing was merged.

Run it again

coded, checked and merged into the project

Merged; the platform does not deploy this repository.

Go on to the next

built, deployed and running at <address>

Merged, built, deployed and judged on the running product.

Go on to the next

<thing> — no longer holds

Delivered work that you or the platform refused afterwards.

Build the first, to repair it

N sentences · everything is built

Every thing is built and accepted.

Everything is built, disabled; write a new line to ask for more

While a press is in flight the button reads Starting… or Working it out…. When a press is refused, the page says why in one sentence: a run is in flight — stop it first; signed work is waiting to run — run it, or it stays as it is; a delivery is waiting for your decision; the reading is waiting for keep or edit; nothing has been read yet.

Your sentences

Each kept sentence carries a pencil, say this ask differently, and a plus, amend this ask. In it, what it is about is highlighted and what must become true of it is underlined; names nothing marks a sentence that never names its subject. Under it, its state: approved — these words are part of the record now; nothing is built from them yet; built — delivered, waiting for you to accept it; built and accepted — it is in the project.

Each thing to build carries one word: first, then and later for what is still to build, in the suggested order; signed, building, delivered, accepted; not run for signed work whose run delivered nothing; no longer holds for work delivered and then refused. A thing is dimmed only when its work has landed or is landing.

What it will do

Under What will be true when this is done, each line under a promise says where it stands.

Mark or words	What it means
✓	Proved. A check ran on the real code and passed.
✓ · proved, then the code moved	It passed, and the code it was proved against has changed since. It will be proved again on the next run.
✗	Not proved. A check ran and did not pass.
✗ · no longer holds	It was proved, and then you said otherwise after using it, or the platform’s own build of the merged work failed. The line under it says who said so.
(no mark) · checked when it is built	Nothing has judged it yet. A machine will, when the work runs.
(no mark) · judged by a reviewer at delivery	No machine can check this one. An independent reviewer reads the finished work once and judges it.
(no mark) · nothing could judge it	The check could not run at all. This is never counted against your work.
(no mark) · only you can see this: …	Only the running product can show it. You confirm it by using the thing; the reason is written out.

Mark or words

What it means

✓

Proved. A check ran on the real code and passed.

✓ · proved, then the code moved

It passed, and the code it was proved against has changed since. It will be proved again on the next run.

✗

Not proved. A check ran and did not pass.

✗ · no longer holds

It was proved, and then you said otherwise after using it, or the platform’s own build of the merged work failed. The line under it says who said so.

(no mark) · checked when it is built

Nothing has judged it yet. A machine will, when the work runs.

(no mark) · judged by a reviewer at delivery

No machine can check this one. An independent reviewer reads the finished work once and judges it.

(no mark) · nothing could judge it

The check could not run at all. This is never counted against your work.

(no mark) · only you can see this: …

Only the running product can show it. You confirm it by using the thing; the reason is written out.

N things I decided for you lists the choices your sentences left open, each marked assumed, you did not say this, with the answer the machine chose for you to replace. Not needed on the documentation promise records that no documentation is needed. Beside a delivered promise, Say it does not hold opens a box; what you write makes that promise work again.

The run

State word	What it means
ready	Waiting for what it needs before it can start.
running	A worker is on it.
needs you	Stopped on a question only you can answer, about what you want. Answer in the box the page offers.
passed	Finished and its checks came back green.
failed	Stopped with an error; its promise was not kept. The run goes on with the rest.
never ran	The run stopped, or something this waited on failed, so this was never started. Not a failure of its own.
cut	Also on a card: this card is part of the cut being built now. A cut is one signed piece of work.

State word

What it means

ready

Waiting for what it needs before it can start.

running

A worker is on it.

needs you

Stopped on a question only you can answer, about what you want. Answer in the box the page offers.

passed

Finished and its checks came back green.

failed

Stopped with an error; its promise was not kept. The run goes on with the rest.

never ran

The run stopped, or something this waited on failed, so this was never started. Not a failure of its own.

cut

Also on a card: this card is part of the cut being built now. A cut is one signed piece of work.

The bands name the kinds of card: check, code, tests brought under, on the running product, audit, door, delivery, live. The first and last cards are preparing the tree, The closing gate, handing it over, taking it live. What each one means:

check: a worker writes the checks before the code, without seeing the code.
code: a worker writes the code, without seeing the checks.
tests brought under: after the code has landed, a worker updates the existing tests of that part of the project to the new behaviour. It writes tests only, never code, and the checks must stay green.
on the running product: a reviewer opens the running product in a browser and judges what it sees.
audit: a worker grades the checks against the real state of the project. It writes nothing.
door and preparing the tree: before any worker starts, the run is claimed, the checks are placed, and the working copy is prepared and proved.
delivery and handing it over: after the closing gate, the report is written, the branch is pushed, and the delivery is opened for you.
live and taking it live: the platform builds and deploys the merged work.

The closing gate: every check runs again from a clean tree, with the project’s own suite. Only a green gate merges.

The header counts *N of M workers done · N of M judged on the running product · N never ran*, then *finished*, *finished, with failures* or *not running*. A card's chip reads *passed — N log lines*, *N/M checks passed*, *AC-N failed*, or *some undelivered*. The key under the graph: *── needs what it produces · ╌╌ waits for its own probes*, the checks written before the code.

The report

Cuts lists every signed piece of work; each chip is its number and the day and time. Report and Run and logs switch between the two views of one cut. The sections and every button are on Thinkube Tandem. The word beside each sentence: done, being built, not judged, answered after the merge, landed earlier, or in the project, and it does not do this. What each one means:

done: the checks proved it. They are listed under the sentence.
being built: the work for it is signed and running.
not judged: a check or a reviewer could not reach it. It is never counted as a pass.
answered after the merge: every check passed except some that wait for the platform, the cluster or a person. Those answer after the work is merged.
landed earlier: an earlier piece of work already delivered this sentence.
in the project, and it does not do this: a check failed. The code is in the project, but it does not do what the sentence asks.

The status bar

Tandem: <product> / <repository> names the choice. While a space (thinking space: the page where you write your sentences and follow their work) works: <space>: N/M units, with — needs an answer or — quiet for N min. With more than one space busy: N spaces are busy — a worker needs an answer.

Tandem: Show Defects

A table per month: N found · N healed by the run · N reached the person · N not known, then the columns when, TEP (the number of the signed work, as the Cuts row shows it), slice (the piece of work it was found in), trigger, impact, became, detail. The defect ledger, reference says what they mean.