Task Library
Verify that every other article linking to the audited definitive article still describes it accurately – and that its own outbound cross-links do the same.
Category: Knowledge System Maintenance
Use this when running the quarterly audit's fourth check – the article itself is sound, and now the entity graph around it must be verified so no link promises content that is not there.
Inputs
- The definitive article under audit (its short URL and full URL)
- Site search or an export of internal links (to find every page referencing this article)
- The entity-linking decision tree from /blog-posting-guidelines
- Audit notes for this article and quarter
Steps
- Find every other article that links to the audited article: search the site for its short URL, full URL, and title mentions. List each inbound cross-reference with its source page.
- For each inbound reference, read the anchor text and the surrounding sentence: does it accurately describe what the audited article currently contains? An accurate link last quarter can be a lie this quarter.
- Flag stale references: links pointing at sections that were renamed or removed, descriptions claiming the article covers something it no longer does, or anchors framing it as a different concept than it now owns.
- Check each anchor against the entity-linking decision tree and anchor standards (descriptive 3-6 word anchors, no "click here"), since you are already touching every link.
- Fix inaccurate references in the source articles directly where you have access; otherwise ticket the owning article's auditor/owner with the exact sentence and the corrected language. Never leave a cross-reference promising content that is not there.
- Reverse the check: audit the article's own outbound cross-links to sibling definitive articles and confirm each still describes its target accurately.
- Record all fixes and tickets in the audit notes. If the same drift pattern keeps appearing (e.g., renames never propagate), file an SOP Amendment Proposal against the renaming/update SOP.
Definition of done (QA checklist)
- Complete inbound-reference list built; every reference read in context and marked accurate or stale
- Every stale reference fixed in the source article or ticketed with exact corrected language
- Outbound cross-links reverse-checked against their targets
- Anchors comply with the entity-linking decision tree and 3-6 word descriptive standard
- Recurring drift patterns escalated as an SOP Amendment Proposal, not just patched
- Results recorded for the status-table update with audit date
- Linked back to the definitive article and relevant siblings
- Complies with Blog Posting Guidelines (if it publishes content)
Example(s)
- /knowledge-system-maintenance – Process 1 defines this integrity check: other articles' links must describe this one accurately for the entity graph to hold.
- Example needed – run the Meta-Article Prompt (/meta-article-prompt-template) after the first real quarterly run and link the meta-article here.
File in the zip: skills/knowledge-system-maintenance/validate-cross-reference-integrity-across-articles.md. Download the Task Library zip.
Index: Task Library. Article guidelines.