INFORMATIVEACTIVEDocumentation Governance

Truth Source: Repository schemas and tests are authoritative.

Adoption Signals

1. Purpose

This document defines signals that indicate MPLP adoption stages.

Signals are observable indicators, not metrics. They answer:

"What evidence suggests this system is at a particular adoption stage?"

2. Signal Definition

A signal is an observable artifact or behavior that indicates adoption progress.

Signals are:

• Self-verifiable — No external authority required
• Technical — Based on artifacts, not claims
• Non-prescriptive — Presence indicates stage, absence does not indicate failure

3. Signals by Stage

3.1 Evaluation Stage Signals

Signal	Description	Verification
SDK Installed	MPLP SDK present in project	package.json or requirements.txt
Schema Downloaded	MPLP schemas in project	schemas/v2/*.json present
Docs Accessed	Documentation read	(External signal, not verified)
Golden Flow Attempted	Test fixtures run	Test logs or artifacts

3.2 Pilot Stage Signals

Signal	Description	Verification
Context Created	First Context object generated	Valid mplp-context.schema.json artifact
Plan Generated	First Plan object generated	Valid mplp-plan.schema.json artifact
Trace Recorded	First Trace object generated	Valid mplp-trace.schema.json artifact
Evidence Pack Exported	Full evidence pack created	Manifest + linked artifacts
Conformance Evaluated	Binary conformance result	CONFORMANT or NON-CONFORMANT

3.3 Production Stage Signals

Signal	Description	Verification
Ongoing Evidence	Evidence packs generated regularly	Multiple dated exports
Confirm Gates Active	High-risk actions gated	Confirm objects in evidence
Audit Readiness	Evidence chain complete	Can answer audit questions
Version Binding	Protocol version declared	meta.protocolVersion in all artifacts

4. Signal Progression

Signals form a natural progression:

Evaluation:
  ├── SDK Installed
  ├── Schema Downloaded
  └── Golden Flow Attempted
        │
        ▼
Pilot:
  ├── Context Created
  ├── Plan Generated
  ├── Trace Recorded
  └── Evidence Pack Exported
        │
        ▼
Production:
  ├── Ongoing Evidence
  ├── Confirm Gates Active
  └── Audit Readiness

5. What Signals Are NOT

Signals are NOT:

NOT	Reason
Requirements	Absence doesn't mean failure
Checkboxes	Not a compliance checklist
Metrics	Not measured or scored
Certifications	No external validation

Signals are indicators, not gates.

6. Self-Verification

Organizations can self-verify adoption stage by checking signals:

function getAdoptionStage(signals: Signal[]): Stage {
  if (signals.includes('ongoing_evidence') && 
      signals.includes('audit_readiness')) {
    return 'production';
  }
  if (signals.includes('evidence_pack_exported')) {
    return 'pilot';
  }
  if (signals.includes('sdk_installed')) {
    return 'evaluation';
  }
  return 'none';
}

This is self-declared — no external authority validates or certifies the result.

7. Related Documentation

• Adoption Index — Adoption lifecycle definition
• Evidence Model — Evidence validity
• Conformance Model — Conformance classes

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Purpose: Observable indicators of adoption stage
Key Principle: Signals are indicators, not requirements