Illustrated Outline Quality Audit

Problem/Feature Description

A speaker drafted an illustrated talk and wants a Phase 4 quality audit before they finalize the deck. They hand the agent the talk's outline.yaml and the speaker profile and ask for a thorough review.

Output Specification

Produce the following file:

1. guardrail-report.md — a Phase 4 audit report covering the outline and the speaker profile together. The report should be structured so the speaker can act on its findings.

Input Files

=============== FILE: inputs/speaker-profile.json =============== { "schema_version": 1, "speaker": {"name": "Pat Illustra", "handle": "@patillustra"}, "rhetoric_defaults": { "default_duration_minutes": 45, "modular_design": true, "three_part_close": true, "profanity_calibration": "verbal-only — never on slides" }, "design_rules": { "footer": { "elements": ["@patillustra", "#KubeCon"] }, "slide_numbers": "never" }, "guardrail_sources": { "slide_budgets": [ {"duration_min": 45, "max_slides": 70, "slides_per_min": 1.5} ], "act1_ratio_limits": [ {"duration_range": "45 min", "max_percent": 45} ], "recurring_issues": [ {"id": "rushed_closing", "description": "Rushes final section", "guardrail": "Closing must have at least 3 slides and 3 min", "severity": "warning"} ] } } =============== END OF FILE ===============

=============== FILE: inputs/outline.yaml =============== talk: title: "Observability Beyond Dashboards" slug: "kubecon-eu-2026-observability-beyond-dashboards" speakers: ["Pat Illustra"] duration_min: 45 audience: "SRE practitioners" mode: "provocateur" venue: "KubeCon EU 2026" slide_budget: 70 pacing_wpm: [135, 145] architecture: "narrative-arc" thesis: "Dashboards are not observability. Stop fetishizing them." shownotes_url_base: "https://pat.dev/" profanity_register: "verbal-only — never on slides" applied_patterns: - { id: bookends }

style_anchor: model: "gemini-2.0-flash-preview-image-generation" full: | Detailed architectural blueprint on dark blue background. White and cyan line drawings with precise technical annotations. Grid overlay. Engineering stamp in corner: "APPROVED FOR PRODUCTION." Monospace labels. imgtxt: | Blueprint schematic panel on dark blue background. White line drawing in upper 60% of frame. Technical annotations in cyan monospace. conventions: "Sequential drawing numbers DWG-001 onward; recurring system health gauge."

chapters:

• id: ch-opening title: "Opening" target_min: 3 argument_beats:

  • text: "Hook with the dashboard graveyard image." slide_refs: [1, 2]

• id: ch-problem title: "Act 1: The Problem" target_min: 18 argument_beats:

  • text: "Tool sprawl and alert fatigue." slide_refs: [4, 5]
  • text: "87% of SREs report alert fatigue — needs source." slide_refs: [4] tags: [data-claim]

• id: ch-solution title: "Act 2: The Solution" target_min: 20 argument_beats:

  • text: "Observability-first architecture, the framework." slide_refs: [7]

• id: ch-close title: "Closing" target_min: 2 argument_beats:

  • text: "Wrap up fast — three takeaways and CTA." slide_refs: [9, 10]

slides:

• n: 0 chapter: ch-opening title: "Title Card" format: TITLE text_overlay: "Observability Beyond Dashboards · Pat Illustra · KubeCon EU 2026"

• n: 1 chapter: ch-opening title: "The Dashboard Graveyard" format: FULL visual: "Server room full of flatlined monitoring screens with cobwebs." text_overlay: "How many dashboards did you look at this week?" image_prompt: | [STYLE ANCHOR]. DWG-002. Blueprint elevation view of a server room. Rows of monitoring screens, each showing flatlined graphs labeled "LAST VIEWED: 18 MONTHS AGO." Cobwebs in precise technical pen style. Callout: "FIG. A — THE DASHBOARD GRAVEYARD." applied_patterns:

  • { id: opening-punch, flavors: [challenging, unexpected] }

• n: 2 chapter: ch-opening title: "Bold Claim" format: FULL visual: "Dashboard with a red REJECTED stamp." text_overlay: "Dashboards are not observability." image_prompt: | [STYLE ANCHOR]. DWG-003. Technical cross-section of a monitoring dashboard with large "REJECTED" stamp overlay in red ink. Callout labels: "VANITY METRICS", "UNUSED ALERTS", "COPY-PASTED QUERIES." big_idea: true thesis: preview applied_patterns:

  • id: call-to-adventure big_idea_text: "Dashboards are not observability."

• n: 4 chapter: ch-problem title: "Dashboard Fatigue Survey" format: IMG+TXT visual: "System health gauge in the red zone." text_overlay: "87% of SREs report alert fatigue" image_prompt: | [STYLE ANCHOR]. DWG-005. System health gauge labeled "DASHBOARD FATIGUE INDEX." Needle in the red zone. Scale from "MANAGEABLE" to "CRITICAL OVERLOAD." Monospace annotation: "87% OF SRES REPORT ALERT FATIGUE."

• n: 5 chapter: ch-problem title: "Tool Sprawl" format: FULL visual: "Exploded view of an observability stack." text_overlay: "The observability tool stack (simplified)" image_prompt: | Components flying apart.

• n: 7 chapter: ch-solution title: "The Reframe" format: FULL visual: "Revision overlay drawing — old monitoring crossed out, new architecture overlaid." text_overlay: "REVISION B — observability-first" image_prompt: | [STYLE ANCHOR]. DWG-015. Revision overlay drawing. Old monitoring architecture ghosted/faded. New observability architecture overlaid in bright cyan. Label: "REVISION B — OBSERVABILITY-FIRST ARCHITECTURE." Stamp: "UNDER REVIEW."

• n: 9 chapter: ch-close title: "Summary" format: FULL visual: "System health gauge now at OPTIMAL." text_overlay: "Three takeaways" image_prompt: | [STYLE ANCHOR]. DWG-026. System health gauge — needle now at "OPTIMAL." Stamp: "APPROVED FOR PRODUCTION." Three summary items as engineering specifications. thesis: payoff

• n: 10 chapter: ch-close title: "Thanks + Social" format: EXCEPTION format_justification: "Real social handles + shownotes URL — no generated asset needed." visual: "Social handles and shownotes URL." text_overlay: "@patillustra · pat.dev/observability-beyond" =============== END OF FILE ===============