rootnode-academy/docs/ROOT_CAPSTONE_READINESS.md

ROOT Capstone Readiness

Phase 6B §9/§10 — the instructional runway that prepares a student for the existing rootnode-capstone assessment, and the server-side fix that makes its unlock rule actually enforced. This document does not redesign the capstone engine itself (assessments.js, 013_assessments.sql) — see docs/PHASE3B_LEARNING_AND_ASSESSMENT.md for that.

1. The Capstone Readiness module

root-capstone-m02-capstone-readiness (sequenced BEFORE the real capstone module, root-capstone-m01-operate-and-recover, within the root-capstone course) — 4 activities:

1. Lesson — What the Capstone Measures & How the Draw Works. Explains the required-vs-random scenario draw, what "unlocked" means, and what completion records. Never publishes the exact scenario IDs in the current pool or any answer.
2. Lesson — Time Management & Troubleshooting Strategy Under a Clock. Budgeting the 90 minutes, reusing the ROOT 10/ROOT 12 frameworks under pressure, and when to move on from a stuck scenario.
3. Knowledge check — Readiness Check: Are You Actually Ready? A genuine self-assessment (not a graded quiz) against concrete criteria, pointing back to specific ROOT_ modules for any "no" answer.
4. Reflection — What Completion Means. Connects passing the Capstone to a durable, demonstrated skill rather than a completion checkbox.

This module derives its own completion the same way every other lesson-only module does (activity_completions, manual_marker) — it is intentionally NOT a prerequisite the real capstone assessment engine checks before allowing a start (see §3 below for why these two gates are deliberately independent).

1b. A third, independent gate added in Phase 6F

Phase 6F added root-09-kubernetes-security to root-capstone's own courses.prerequisites array (alongside the pre-existing root-12-real-ops) — a course-content-model-level gate, distinct from both this readiness module (still non-gating) and the curriculum-path unlock_rule in §3 below (still unchanged: six K8s scenario stages, no security stage). This means the root-capstone COURSE itself (visible in the student/instructor course tree) is now locked until ROOT 09 is also complete, even though the underlying /api/assessments/rootnode- capstone/start route's own gate did not change. See docs/ROOT_V1_CURRICULUM_MANIFEST.md Step 7 for the full evidence and reasoning, and 031_phase6f_capstone_security_prerequisite.sql for the migration. This adds a third independent layer rather than blurring the existing two — consistent with this document's own §3 reasoning for keeping enforcement layers separate.

2. What was NOT built

No answers, no exact scenario IDs from the current pool, no capstone-specific hint content beyond what the Lab's own progressive hints already provide. No new assessment engine, no second capstone, no readiness "score." This is orientation content, not a shadow exam.

3. Why readiness-module completion and the real unlock gate are independent

The real capstone start (POST /api/assessments/rootnode-capstone/start) is gated by the curriculum path's own unlock_rule — all 6 content stages of rootnode-path.json complete (Foundation, Workloads, Networking, Configuration, Troubleshooting, Real Ops) — computed by computeCurriculumState() (curriculum-rules.js), the exact same function GET /api/capstone already used to display lock state. Whether a student has viewed or completed the Capstone Readiness module has NO bearing on this gate.

This is deliberate, not an oversight: hard-locking the real assessment behind a CONTENT-MODEL module (course_modules/module_activities) would mean the security-critical enforcement boundary lives in two different systems that could drift out of sync — the curriculum-path unlock_rule (Postgres-backed, achievement-derived, already proven) and the course-content prerequisite chain (newer, additive, built for teaching sequencing rather than security enforcement). Keeping them independent means: the readiness module is free to be completed early, late, or skipped by a student who's already prepared some other way, while the real gate remains exactly as strict as docs/PHASE3B_LEARNING_AND_ASSESSMENT.md originally specified.

4. The server-side unlock enforcement fix (Phase 6B §10)

The gap (documented in docs/PHASE6A_ROOT_COURSE_FOUNDATION.md §10): POST /api/assessments/ :definitionId/start (learning-routes.js) checked only that the assessment definition existed and was status = 'active' — it never checked unlock_rule at all. GET /api/capstone correctly computed and displayed lock state, and the student UI never exposed a "start" action while locked, but a direct POST to the start route bypassed the check entirely. Student UI state was the only thing standing between a student and an early capstone attempt.

The fix: the start route now resolves whether the requested definition is the curriculum path's OWN configured capstone (path.stages.find(s => s.type === 'capstone' && s .capstone_assessment_id === definition.assessment_definition_id)), and if so, computes the exact same computeCurriculumState() gate /api/capstone already relies on. A locked gate now returns a clean 403 { error: 'locked', message, blocking_stage_ids } — the same blocking_stage_ids shape /api/capstone already exposes, so a client integrating against this route gets consistent, already-documented error shape rather than a new one. No internal state beyond the stage ids that are actually incomplete is ever returned.

What is NOT gated: any assessment definition the curriculum path does NOT name as its capstone (e.g. rootnode-quick-assessment) is completely unaffected — the check only ever triggers for the one definition the path itself points at via capstone_assessment_id.

What remains valid: no existing assessment_sessions row, no achievement, no enrollment completion record was touched by this fix — it only affects a NEW start attempt going forward. A student who already legitimately completed the capstone before this fix keeps that record exactly as it was.

Regression coverage: platform/test/e2e-phase6b.js proves both directions — a direct start attempt before prerequisites are met is rejected (403 locked), and a legitimately unlocked attempt (all 6 stages genuinely complete) still succeeds and completes normally. A pre-existing gap was also found and fixed in e2e-phase5b.js's own capstone-completion test, which had never included the real-ops stage in its completion loop — it was passing only because the very bug this phase fixes let an incomplete curriculum still start the capstone. See that test file's own comment for detail.

5. Phase 6C re-review against the expanded curriculum

Re-checked every item this doc depends on against Phase 6C's changes and found no gap requiring a fix:

• The unlock gate's 6 stages are unchanged: Foundation, Workloads, Networking, Configuration, Troubleshooting, Real Ops (rootnode-path.json). Phase 6C added and upgraded modules within those stages' courses (ROOT 05-07, 10) plus ROOT 09 (Security) and the new ROOT 11 orientation — ROOT 08 (Storage & Scheduling) and ROOT 09 (Security) do not appear among the 6 gating stages and still do not gate the capstone. This is documented architecture, not an oversight — confirmed by direct test (platform/test/e2e-phase6c.js, "the capstone unlock gate is unaffected by ROOT 09 (security) being incomplete") rather than assumed.
• root-capstone-m01-operate-and-recover was promoted from partial to ready this phase as a documented exception (no activity added — its single capstone activity IS the exam; see docs/PHASE6C_CURRICULUM_COMPLETION.md). This changes only its content-model status label, not the real unlock gate described in §3-4 above, which remains entirely independent.
• Random draw pools, timing, hint policy, and completion rule for rootnode-capstone itself were not touched by Phase 6C — no scenario content this phase added or changed feeds that pool.
• The Capstone Readiness module (§1) required no changes — its 4 activities and their relationship to the (still unchanged) real unlock gate remain accurate as described above.

No redesign was made or needed; Phase 6C's curriculum expansion did not require reopening the capstone engine.