diff --git a/test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts b/test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts
index 0fd0e3558..9a88765e0 100644
--- a/test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
      'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts'],
 
   // Office Hours
-  'office-hours-spec-review':     [  'office-hours/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+  'office-hours-spec-review':     [  'office-hours/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
     'bin/gstack-office-hours-review', 'lib/office-hours-review.ts', 'lib/fs-atomic.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-dashboard.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/plan-gates.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/spec-review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice-steps.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-scope.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice.ts', 'test/helpers/skill-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
   'office-hours-forcing-energy':  [ 'office-hours/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-office-hours.test.ts', 
     'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts' 
@@ -147,26 +147,26 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   ],
 
   // Plan reviews
-  'plan-ceo-review':                  [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+  'plan-ceo-review':                  [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
     'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/tasks-section.ts', 'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-selective':        [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+  'plan-ceo-review-selective':        [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
     'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/tasks-section.ts', 'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-benefits':         [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+  'plan-ceo-review-benefits':         [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
     'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/tasks-section.ts', 'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-expansion-energy': [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+  'plan-ceo-review-expansion-energy': [  'plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
     'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/tasks-section.ts', 'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
   'plan-eng-review':           [ 
     
     'scripts/resolvers/learnings.ts',
     
-    "test/fixtures/plan-scope-recovery-av.json",  'plan-eng-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+    "test/fixtures/plan-scope-recovery-av.json",  'plan-eng-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
      "scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts", "scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts",
     'scripts/resolvers/testing.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-dashboard.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/plan-gates.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/spec-review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice-steps.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-scope.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice.ts',  'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
   'plan-eng-review-artifact':  [ 
     
     'scripts/resolvers/learnings.ts',
     
-    "test/fixtures/plan-scope-recovery-av.json",  'plan-eng-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+    "test/fixtures/plan-scope-recovery-av.json",  'plan-eng-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
      "scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts", "scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts",
     'scripts/resolvers/testing.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-dashboard.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/plan-gates.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/spec-review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice-steps.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-scope.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice.ts',  'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-attempt.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
   'plan-review-report':        [ 
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
      'test/fixtures/plan-review-report-public.json',
     'scripts/resolvers/learnings.ts',
     
-    "test/fixtures/plan-scope-recovery-av.json",  'plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts',
+    "test/fixtures/plan-scope-recovery-av.json",  'plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts',
      "scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts", "scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts",
     'scripts/resolvers/testing.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-dashboard.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/plan-gates.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/spec-review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice-steps.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-scope.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/outside-voice.ts',  'test/helpers/codex-offering-fixture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/helpers/office-hours-completion.ts', 'test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts'],
 
diff --git a/test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts b/test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts
index 4ed2a48e1..838fbbed3 100644
--- a/test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/workflow-excerpt.ts
@@ -10,12 +10,22 @@ export const ENG_REVIEW_EXCERPT = {
   endMarker: '## Section self-check (before you finish)',
 } as const;
 
+// The question-procedure heading in the plan-review sections, with or without
+// its older "CRITICAL RULE — " prefix.
+export const ASK_QUESTIONS_HEADING = /^## [^\n]*How to ask questions[^\n]*$/m;
+
+export function markerIndex(text: string, marker: string | RegExp, from: number): number {
+  if (typeof marker === 'string') return text.indexOf(marker, from);
+  const at = text.slice(from).search(marker);
+  return at < 0 ? -1 : from + at;
+}
+
 // Same generated two-line pointer consumed by setup-gbrain-fixture.ts.
 const STOP_POINTER =
   /^> \*\*STOP\.\*\* Before [^\n]*sections\/([a-z0-9-]+\.md)[^\n]*\n> in full\.[^\n]*/gm;
 
 /** Expand on-demand sections where the agent reads them, then take the requested excerpt. */
-export function readWorkflowExcerpt(skillPath: string, startMarker: string, endMarker: string | null): string {
+export function readWorkflowExcerpt(skillPath: string, startMarker: string, endMarker: string | RegExp | null): string {
   const secDir = path.join(ROOT, path.dirname(skillPath), 'sections');
   const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, skillPath), 'utf-8').replace(STOP_POINTER, (_pointer, file: string) => {
     const body = fs.readFileSync(path.join(secDir, file), 'utf-8')
@@ -25,7 +35,7 @@ export function readWorkflowExcerpt(skillPath: string, startMarker: string, endM
   });
   const start = content.indexOf(startMarker);
   if (start < 0) throw new Error(`Start marker not found in ${skillPath}: "${startMarker}"`);
-  const end = endMarker ? content.indexOf(endMarker, start) : content.length;
+  const end = endMarker ? markerIndex(content, endMarker, start) : content.length;
   if (end < 0) throw new Error(`End marker not found in ${skillPath}: "${endMarker}"`);
   return content.slice(start, end);
 }
diff --git a/test/helpers/workflow-judge-cache.ts b/test/helpers/workflow-judge-cache.ts
index 272fdcd2d..f1bd4024e 100644
--- a/test/helpers/workflow-judge-cache.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/workflow-judge-cache.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { buildEvalInputIdentity, lookupEvalInputCache, sourceDependencyClosure,
 
 type Thresholds = { clarity: number; completeness: number; actionability: number };
 export interface WorkflowCacheOptions {
-  root: string; testName: string; skillPath: string; startMarker: string; endMarker: string | null;
+  root: string; testName: string; skillPath: string; startMarker: string; endMarker: string | RegExp | null;
   judgeContext: string; judgeGoal: string; model?: string; thresholds: Thresholds; prompt: string; attempt: number;
   references?: readonly string[];
   agentCapability?: 'frontier';
diff --git a/test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts b/test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts
index 36873687b..f661022f1 100644
--- a/test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/workflow-judge-input.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /** Preserve source-file boundaries when a workflow judge reads carved skills. */
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
+import { markerIndex } from './workflow-excerpt';
 
 export interface WorkflowJudgeFile {
   path: string;
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ export function readWorkflowJudgeInput(opts: {
   root: string;
   skillPath: string;
   startMarker: string;
-  endMarker: string | null;
+  endMarker: string | RegExp | null;
   references?: readonly string[];
 }): WorkflowJudgeInput {
   const sources = [{
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ export function readWorkflowJudgeInput(opts: {
   const union = allSources.map(file => file.content).join('\n');
   const start = union.indexOf(opts.startMarker);
   if (start < 0) throw new Error(`Start marker not found in ${opts.skillPath}: "${opts.startMarker}"`);
-  const end = opts.endMarker === null ? union.length : union.indexOf(opts.endMarker, start);
+  const end = opts.endMarker === null ? union.length : markerIndex(union, opts.endMarker, start);
   if (end < 0) throw new Error(`End marker not found in ${opts.skillPath}: "${opts.endMarker}"`);
 
   const files: WorkflowJudgeFile[] = [];
diff --git a/test/workflow-excerpt.test.ts b/test/workflow-excerpt.test.ts
index 50d0090aa..0f93be40d 100644
--- a/test/workflow-excerpt.test.ts
+++ b/test/workflow-excerpt.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
-import { ENG_REVIEW_EXCERPT, readWorkflowExcerpt } from './helpers/workflow-excerpt';
+import { ASK_QUESTIONS_HEADING, ENG_REVIEW_EXCERPT, readWorkflowExcerpt } from './helpers/workflow-excerpt';
 import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 import { tmpdir } from 'os';
 import { join } from 'path';
@@ -106,9 +106,9 @@ describe('workflow judge excerpts', () => {
   });
 
   test('a sliced section is not appended again with its generated header', () => {
-    const text = readWorkflowExcerpt('plan-design-review/SKILL.md', '## Review Sections', '## CRITICAL RULE');
+    const text = readWorkflowExcerpt('plan-design-review/SKILL.md', '## Review Sections', ASK_QUESTIONS_HEADING);
     expect(text.match(/## Review Sections/g)).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(text).not.toContain('## CRITICAL RULE');
+    expect(text).not.toMatch(ASK_QUESTIONS_HEADING);
     expect(text).not.toContain('AUTO-GENERATED');
   });
 
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ console.log(JSON.stringify({calls, results}));
     expect(pendingDecision).toContain("**STOP until the actual answer arrives.**");
     expect(pendingDecision.replace(/\s+/g, ' ')).toContain("Do not apply a remedy, make another call, start the next section or call ExitPlanMode while the choice awaits an answer");
     expect(eng.replace(/\s+/g, ' ')).toContain("Use a scoped Edit to save this record and only the authorized working-plan amendments. Leave other choices unchanged");
-    const design = readWorkflowExcerpt('plan-design-review/SKILL.md', '## Review Sections', '## CRITICAL RULE');
+    const design = readWorkflowExcerpt('plan-design-review/SKILL.md', '## Review Sections', ASK_QUESTIONS_HEADING);
     expect(design).toContain('wait for approval, then edit the plan and re-rate');
     const pass4 = design.slice(design.indexOf('### Pass 4:'), design.indexOf('### Pass 5:'));
     expect(pass4.match(/^### /gm)).toHaveLength(1);