C.40.OP:9 - Consequences

Practitioners can preserve a weaker current candidate for a specific later use without pretending it is best now. A path exposes what each step inherits and which premise would change the next continuation. A defeated branch can be retired without losing the receiving problem or an independent route.

Retention has a cost, even when only attention is scarce. Some later options remain conditional, and stronger claims need domain evidence. The portfolio can inform recommendation or programme work without deciding either.