| top card means start | Rank substitutes for authority and permission. | Record admission, permission, starter, and start conditions separately. |
| everything is “in progress” | Hidden starts erase residual demand and overload the operation. | Apply an explicit-start limit and give every item a disposition. |
| availability implies capacity | A free slot, worker, rig, tool, or model is treated as a complete capability and access result. | Recover the exact performer, resource relation, capability, permission, and configuration. |
| choose-first option set | An artificial score replaces mandatory conditions or direct rules. | Use the direct branch; compare only genuine admissible alternatives. |
| admission by artifact | Ticket creation, assignment, plan, model output, or code generation becomes “Work started”. | Admit actual Work only from independent performance evidence. |
| rejection without return | Demand silently disappears or repeatedly re-enters. | Keep the reason, residual identity, owner, and retry condition. |
| local rule claims the system | One start limit becomes a universal WIP, queue, capacity, or constraint Method. | Bound the result and return wider policy questions. |