C.11:4.2.1 - Well-formed comparison state

Well-formedness constraint: a live C.11 comparison state is usable only when the decision record states the following, subject to the stated condition on inquiry:

• one DecisionSubject at one DecisionSubjectGranularity;
• one current OptionSet;
• one current comparison basis through PreferenceOrder or EvaluativeMeasure, plus one BeliefState and one OutcomeModel;
• one active dependence layer for the current comparison, unless the record explicitly says that comparison is still being reopened;
• when an inquiry alternative is live, an account of its feasibility, cost and possible contribution to the choice; when a decision or later use needs a retained inquiry limitation or reason, that minimum content in the same decision result.

An inactive inquiry item requires no empty value, no no-probe statement and no waiver. The chooser, option set, shared comparison basis and applicable dependence layer remain necessary.

The comparison is still unfinished, not yet wrong but not yet closeable, when any of the following remains true:

• the chooser is still shifting between person, team, organization, or another collectivity-bearing level;
• the option set is still changing while the record also claims to rank the options;
• one option is being judged under one belief state and another under one later update that is not itself declared as the next probe result;
• one heavier dependence layer is invoked for rhetorical force, but the record never states what defect of the lighter comparison it repairs;
• the record says more information would help, but never says which probe could still change the choice and why.