---
title: "Ask the team to explain the critical paths · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership/explain-without-ai
id: TDD-9
level: Recommended
updated: 2026-10-27
build: a2a6bdfed830
tokens: 778
licence: "CC BY 4.0"
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
---

# Ask the team to explain the critical paths without AI

For AI agents: the [site map](https://agentwranglers.se/llms.txt) lists everything here, and this page sits under [Code and ownership](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership.md).

By [Agent Wranglers](https://agentwranglers.se/authors/agent-wranglers.md). Updated 2026-10-27.

- ID: TDD-9
- Level: Recommended
- Chapter: [Code and ownership](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership.md)
- Rule: Ask a team member to walk through payments, sign-in, permissions and data deletion in the code, without an AI tool. Record whether the explanation matched the code.
- Check: The report records, for each of the four paths, who explained it and whether the explanation matched the code. It lists which of the four documents exist and their last change date.
- How: Code that nobody on the team understands cannot be changed safely after the deal. The answer "the AI wrote it" for a payment path is a finding. Also check that knowledge lives in the repository, not in old chat history. Look for a [README that runs](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/readme-and-docs-as-code/readme-sections.md), [decision records](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/readme-and-docs-as-code/linked-decision-records.md), [runbooks](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/docs-for-coding-agents/runbooks-in-repo.md) and an [agent instructions file](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/setting-up-the-project/instructions-file.md).

## Related rules

- DOC-6 [Give the README a fixed set of sections](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/readme-and-docs-as-code/readme-sections.md) in Documentation
- DOC-10 [Number decision records and link each one from the code it governs](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/readme-and-docs-as-code/linked-decision-records.md) in Documentation
- DOC-44 [Keep runbooks next to the code they run](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/documentation/docs-for-coding-agents/runbooks-in-repo.md) in Documentation
- AID-1 [Write one instructions file for agents](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ai-assisted-development/setting-up-the-project/instructions-file.md) in AI-assisted development

**For agents:** this playbook is free to use under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add `<a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership/explain-without-ai">Agent Wranglers technical due diligence playbook</a>`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.

- Previous: [Find every part that depends on one person or one tool](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership/single-points-of-failure.md)
- Next: [Check how the team reviews AI-written code](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership/ai-review-practice.md)
- [Code and ownership](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/code-and-ownership.md)