2026-04-27 - Phi-4-mini Layers 4–7 Bounded Run-Range Intent

Intent: Start the first actual bounded Phi-4-mini build+test using the new run-range stage for layers 4 through 7 only, following validation-before-scale discipline and the project ANE-only gate policy.

Setup: Planned command shape: the Phi orchestration script run-range --layer-start 4 --layer-end 8 --gatekeeper-go; per-layer flow: preflight before each layer, convert, compile, strict MLComputePlan residency, and numerical smoke.

Result: Intent recorded before execution; no placement, cosine, latency, energy, or artifact-count results yet.

Surprise / hurdle: The key risk is proving the range runner can execute real work for four layers while staying bounded and re-checking resources before each layer.

Lesson: A small real range is the next safe step after dry-run orchestration, but it must not become full 32-layer scale-out.

Next: Run only layers 4–7 through the guarded flow; do not run perf/energy and do not clean up or delete artifacts.

Refs: research/ANE_CHAIN_SCHEMA.md