C.28.CM:1 - Problem frame

Use this pattern when an explanation names a possible cause but leaves you unable to work out what follows, compare another mechanism, or say what observation could change the explanation. The difficulty can arise in a work process, a physical device or an AI-assisted task. A plausible story is available; the causal relations needed for the question still have to be constructed.

Begin with one outcome, the contrast that matters, and the relevant observations and subject knowledge. Express two materially different accounts when both remain plausible. Work out a consequence on which they differ, or identify the premise that prevents that comparison. An annotated sketch and a conditional explanation can be the first useful result.

The governed object is the causal model, or family of alternative causal models, being constructed for that question. This is the causal branch of broader modeling and explanation work. The model describes proposed mechanisms and the conditions of a consequence; it remains distinct from the situation, its observations and the evidence for those mechanisms.

Use a sufficient existing model directly. A calculation under known physical relations can finish in B.5.FM or C.28.MR. A disagreement about whose objective should govern needs that practical or normative decision; constructing more causal arrows will not supply it. If a subject relation cannot be recovered, ask for that relation or retain the missing premise. Neither a literature review nor a numerical model is a universal prerequisite.