---
title: "Rate every finding on a fixed severity · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/severity-scale
id: TDD-16
level: Recommended
updated: 2026-10-27
build: a2a6bdfed830
tokens: 957
licence: "CC BY 4.0"
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
---

# Rate every finding on a fixed severity scale

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

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

- ID: TDD-16
- Level: Recommended
- Chapter: [Scope and conduct](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct.md)
- Rule: Rate each finding on one scale with four levels, defined in the report before any finding. The levels are deal-breaker, fix before closing, fix within 90 days and note.
- Check: The report defines all four levels before its first finding. A script reads every finding and fails when one has no level, a level outside the four, or a Required rule rated as a note.
- How: Without a fixed scale, one reviewer's "critical" is another's "minor", and the buyer cannot price the report. Define each level by what happens to the deal. A deal-breaker stops the deal or changes its price, such as code the company does not own or a live leak of customer data. Fix before closing covers a working secret in the history or an access hole. Fix within 90 days covers a missing backup test or an unpatched dependency with no known exploit. A note is a style or structure remark with no direct cost. Give every finding exactly one level, as [Tie every finding to a rule ID and evidence](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/findings-with-rule-ids.md) asks. A finding on a Required rule starts at fix within 90 days or higher.

## Examples

**Using these examples:** they show one way to follow this rule. Keep the behaviour and the check, not the syntax. Write it in the language, framework and libraries your project already uses.

### JavaScript example

```js
const SEVERITIES = ['deal-breaker', 'fix-before-closing', 'fix-within-90-days', 'note']

function severityProblems(finding, ruleLevel) {
  const problems = []
  if (!SEVERITIES.includes(finding.severity)) problems.push(`${finding.id}: unknown severity "${finding.severity}"`)
  if (ruleLevel === 'Required' && finding.severity === 'note') problems.push(`${finding.id}: a Required rule is never a note`)
  return problems
}
```

### Python example

```python
SEVERITIES = ("deal-breaker", "fix-before-closing", "fix-within-90-days", "note")

def severity_problems(finding: dict, rule_level: str) -> list[str]:
    problems = []
    if finding["severity"] not in SEVERITIES:
        problems.append(f"{finding['id']}: unknown severity {finding['severity']!r}")
    if rule_level == "Required" and finding["severity"] == "note":
        problems.append(f"{finding['id']}: a Required rule is never a note")
    return problems
```

## Related rules

- TDD-3 [Tie every finding to a rule ID and evidence](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/findings-with-rule-ids.md) in Technical due diligence
- TDD-23 [Run the buyer's checks on yourself before the review](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/preparing-to-sell/seller-self-review.md) in Technical due diligence

**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/scope-and-conduct/severity-scale">Agent Wranglers technical due diligence playbook</a>`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.

- Previous: [Tie every finding to a rule ID and evidence](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct/findings-with-rule-ids.md)
- [Scope and conduct](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/due-diligence/scope-and-conduct.md)