Govern work across projects

Doc type: Explanation & how-to · Applies to: POSE v7.4.1 · Reviewed: 2026-10-20

Use separate project identities when repositories own independent engineering contracts. Use module metadata and the validation matrix for components inside one project. Registering several roots does not make them parent and child.

Resolve authority before writing

Qualified references use xref:<project-id>/<artifact-ref>. They let dependency, readiness, roadmap and MCP readers resolve the canonical owner rather than inventing a local spec with the same slug.

pose context --project-id <id> --task <xref> --json
pose new-spec-qualified <slug> --task <xref> --expect-context <digest>

Use the authority and current context revision returned by context. Qualified creation refuses an old or conflicting context. An older engine that does not recognize new-spec-qualified fails before writing; do not emulate it with local new-spec against the same slug.

Configure explicit POSE_PROJECT_ROOTS bindings for cross-project writes. Discovery grants visibility, not write authority. With MCP, pass project_id on each call and read pose_mcp_context after changing workspace or configuration. Review MCP project selection before exposing multiple roots.

Consume another project's outcome

A federated roadmap can accept a reviewed source outcome while retaining its own integration and approval gates. Acceptance binds to source revisions, review evidence and trust policy. Changed or unavailable sources and revoked trust block acceptance rather than falling back to a local artifact. Qualified consumers and schema upgrades require explicit adoption through compatible readers. Inspect pose adopt --list before changing these contracts.

A milestone answers for its own edges and members. A later open milestone is not evidence that an earlier milestone failed; the roadmap still owes its registered cut criteria at the final boundary.

Transfer ownership explicitly

Use pose spec-transfer preview to inspect a proposed transfer. Apply or resume only with the preview digest, explicit authorization for each affected project and current roots/context. A transfer preserves source history; it does not create two owners of the same work.

--mode reconcile-terminal handles an executor already closed with terminal evidence. It verifies the destination without writing it and records a requirement map, including explicit open obligations where work remains. Do not use a redirect as proof that those obligations were delivered.

For commands and flags, use the CLI reference; for in-repository component selection and dependency fanout, use monorepo recipes.