SYSE.6:6 - Biases to Watch

Three recurring biases matter here. Record-presence bias treats a complete diagram or file as a current decision; recover the selected option, constraints, accepted losses, effectivity, and reopen conditions. Single-score bias lets a modularity measure, connection count, maturity level, or aggregate score hide different bearers and losses; compare decision-specific criteria. Software-transfer bias imports a software architecture example as a general engineering rule; recheck the physical realization, operating conditions, and evidence of the engineered System.

Agents—for example, people, teams, organizations, robots, or sufficiently agentic AI Systems—may contribute to synthesis, modeling, criticism, evaluation, or implementation when they have the needed capability and assignment. The decision still names the decision subject, authority, accepted losses, evidence, and affected Systems. Application DPFs supply subject-specific Methods—for example, Methods for physics, safety, software, medicine, electrical or civil engineering, shipbuilding, manufacturing, law, environment, or economics.