Proof

Proof shows what the world will look like after an agent acts, laid over how it looks today, before anything runs. Plan shows the steps; Proof shows the outcome, so a consequence nobody listed is visible in time.

Live specimen

The agent prepared a payment run. Proof lays the account balance after the run over today’s, and the dip below the cash buffer shows before anything is paid. Hold two invoices until November and the dip clears.

Anatomy

When to use

  • Before an agent takes an action whose effect is easier to judge than its steps: payment runs, schedule changes, rent reviews, bulk edits.
  • When the action is reversible for a while, Proof can sit beside an undo. When it isn’t, put a seal on the approval (Seal).
  • Not for actions with one obvious result. “Send this email” needs the email, not a projection.

Behaviour

ElementTodayAfter
Line or stateDashed inkPigment, because the model proposed it
ThresholdOchre dashed lineSame
Worst point—Marked; ochre if it breaks the threshold
Adjustment—Recomputes the overlay at once

Approving turns the proposal into the plan: the overlay settles, today’s line goes, and a murmur offers undo until the action’s cut-off.

Best practices

  • Show the outcome in the form people already judge: a balance line for cash, a calendar for viewings, a table for a rent roll.
  • State the one consequence that matters in words: “Lowest balance S$0.41M on Thu 29 Oct, below your S$0.50M buffer.”
  • Offer the adjustment that fixes it, prepared by the agent, chosen by the person.
  • Keep approve and cancel apart, and mark approve as person only.
DoShow the consequence and the fix next to the approval.
Don’tDon’t ask for approval of a total. The dip below the buffer is invisible until it happens.

Accessibility

  • The chart is an image with a written summary of the outcome; the consequence and changes are text.
  • View buttons are a labelled group; each change is a list item.
  • Adjustments announce their result: “10 payments. Lowest balance S$0.60M, above the buffer.”

Specifications

Today
2 px dashed ink 3
After
2.8 px pigment
Threshold
1.5 px dashed ochre, labelled
Change of state
One signal, 420 ms; still under Still