C.40.NU:4.5 - Stop at a useful difference or an exact gap

Stop widening when the retained contrasts expose the unknowns that can change the inquiry at its chosen effort, when an adequate set already exists, or when a missing premise makes further generation uninformative. If the effort limit is reached first, report that limit and any consequential unsearched area; do not describe the search as sufficient merely because the time was spent.

State the next discriminating question and how plausible answers would change the leads. Use C.40.PC when the missing result is the receiver’s worthwhile problem or proposed contribution, and C.40.DC when that result is already adequate and directions need support configurations. A return to one missing frame or characteristic is also a complete outcome.

A two-sentence return can suffice: “Changing the use and support exposed claim-to-evidence recovery and shift-exception handoff as different leads; three other products repeat the first mechanism. We stopped after the agreed source search because the next difference depends on whether receivers need either contribution; accessibility beyond the current office use remains unsearched.”