STR.5:4.4 - Express the direction as a usable filter

Ask whether the direction can distinguish two real proposals. State the contribution and conditions a fitting proposal must support, the exclusions that matter, and how to treat missing evidence. The filter can be expressed in ordinary language.

Apply all conditions that currently govern the proposal. A proposal may fit the contribution but fail the resource or reversibility condition. Missing evidence leaves fit unresolved; it is not a negative observation. Where a condition is only proposed, show the conditional comparison and retain the rule that currently governs actual choice.

Explain why each exclusion matters. The filter’s protection and opportunity cost can themselves become questions for the responsible chooser. An analyst may propose changing a poor condition; that appraisal does not change its current force or retrospectively alter earlier observations.