PSD.1:4.4 - Choose a provisional boundary and the next truthful branch
Record what is inside the engagement now, what remains outside, and what observation would move that boundary. Do not treat package order or the numbering of patterns as a practitioner sequence. Choose the next branch from the missing result:
| Current situation | Next truthful branch |
|---|---|
| participants, concerns, consequences, or representation are incomplete | recover the participation and concern account through PSD.2 |
| materially different formulations or intervention logics remain hidden | generate plural problem formulations through PSD.3 |
| the engagement has no usable included/excluded scope and reopen basis | set and reopen the problem boundary through PSD.4 |
| the engagement is bounded but needs a model, a choice or combination of problem-structuring Methods, or facilitation | use PSD.5 for the model, PSD.6 for Method selection or combination, or PSD.7 for facilitated inquiry |
| the engagement is bounded and the live gap is alternatives, uncertainty, comparison, or recommendation | begin with the first missing result in PSD.8–PSD.13 |
| another practice owns a premise that can reverse the return | inspect or request the smallest bounded result through A.15.9 |
| an authorized chooser already has an adequate option set and comparison basis | use C.11 or the direct domain choice rule; stop treating engagement framing as the live question |
Several branches may be live together. Their results can proceed concurrently when their subjects and returns are clear. Co-occurrence does not turn the table into a workflow or make the engagement one Method.