RMP.4:10 - Architectural Rationale

The trace is separate from the protocol because actual conduct can differ from intention, and inherited work may survive without a reliable prospective plan. Both results can be carried in the same notebook or governed collection; the distinction concerns their evidential uses, not document count.

Readiness is tied to a receiving examination because the same material can support one criticism and fail another. That relation gives a stopping rule for capture and a truthful account of loss. Universal capture has no comparable boundary and can create additional disclosure risk.

Existing domain records and generic provenance are the low-cost alternative. RMP.4 adds value where the research question, actual choices, transformations and receiving limitations need to be connected. It does not replace competent recordkeeping with a universal trace schema or transform a record into a warranted conclusion.