Recent dam projects have highlighted the gap between sophisticated designs and the realities of construction, particularly for embankment dams. The Alberta Dam and Canal Safety Directive explicitly requires quantifiable performance objectives, assessment of performance during construction, and QA/QC, plus instrumentation and monitoring programs that, in effect, include construction phase verification of design intent. This paper presents a practical framework for verifying design intent during the construction of a new zoned earthfill dam in Alberta and shows how it can be used to satisfy both Canadian Dam Association (CDA) guidance and the Alberta Dam and Canal Safety Directive.  A key element of the framework formalizes foundation verification, requiring construction‑phase confirmation that foundation conditions fall within the geotechnical model used for design. From there, the proposed framework expresses design intent in measurable terms for five key domains: (1) geometry and zoning (e.g., core width, key trench depth), (2) material properties and placement (compaction envelopes, moisture ranges, filter gradations), (3) seepage and pore pressures (target phreatic surface, drain performance, uplift), (4) deformation (allowable crest settlement and differential settlement), and (5) internal erosion resilience (filter compatibility). These intent statements are then embedded into the project Quality Management Plan and Inspection and Test Plans via hold points, acceptance criteria, and documentation requirements, linking design assumptions directly to construction records.  The paper concludes with establishing a database schema upfront to feed into a data management plan as a single‑source shared non‑proprietary database that ties each hold point and acceptance decision to the design intent. Practitioners can then adapt it to future earthfill projects to move “verification of design intent” from a vague expectation to a concrete, implementable part of dam design, construction, and early operation.