7. Profile 3: Extended Ontology Controls
Purpose: Determine whether material relationships and relationship paths are governed, evidenced, physically anchored, oriented, constrained, and ready for decision-scope use. Extended Ontology Controls do not prevent relationship discovery. They prevent discovered, inferred, imported, declared, or derived relationships from being treated as ready for stated use by default.
EO-001: Relationship Candidate Is Not Treated as Decision-Ready
Prerequisites: Recorded result required: ET-015 (when the candidate originated in taxonomy work).
Requirement: A relationship candidate shall remain excluded from material reliance unless the applicable recorded Gate disposition explicitly permits its stated use.
Pass: The relationship candidate is recorded in a Relationship Candidate Record and has a recorded readiness state and Gate evidence before material use. If it originated in taxonomy work, the same relationship-candidate identifier and source/provenance are preserved through Extended Ontology review.
Fail: A candidate relationship is relied on for stated use without the applicable Gate evaluation and readiness state, or a taxonomy-origin candidate loses its identifier or provenance during ontology review.
Evidence required: Relationship Candidate Record, stable relationship-candidate identifier, source/provenance, readiness state, Extended Ontology review evidence, Gate Record, and exception record where applicable.
Rationale: Discovery is valuable, but discovery does not establish readiness for stated use.
Application guidance (informative): Inspect candidate containment and Gate evidence before relationship use. Check candidate-identifier continuity when the candidate came from taxonomy work.
EO-002: Relationship Type Is Governed
Prerequisites: Recorded result required: EO-001.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall map to an approved relationship type for the decision scope.
Pass: The relationship type is defined, owned, versioned, and approved for the stated scope.
Fail: The relationship uses an undefined, ambiguous, prohibited, or unapproved type.
Evidence required: Relationship type record, owner, version, approval record, decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: A relationship cannot be tested if its type is not governed.
Application guidance (informative): Find the approved relationship type and confirm its definition, owner, version, and applicability to the intended use.
EO-003: Relationship Orientation Is Declared
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-002.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall declare orientation.
Pass: Orientation is recorded as direction, authority, sequence, dependency, ownership, lineage, hierarchy, flow, support, inclusion, identification, reconciliation, constraint, causality where separately established, or another approved orientation.
Fail: Orientation is missing or an oriented relationship is used as symmetrical without approval.
Evidence required: Orientation record, orientation type, approval record, decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: Many failures occur when association is mistaken for authority, sequence is mistaken for cause, or a one-way relationship is treated as symmetrical.
Application guidance (informative): Record the relationship direction or orientation. Check that traversal does not silently reverse it or assume symmetry.
EO-004: Relationship Assertion Provenance Is Recorded
Prerequisites: Recorded result required: EO-001, EO-002.
Requirement: Each material relationship assertion shall record provenance.
Pass: The assertion records whether it was declared, inferred, discovered, imported, derived, or generated, and includes source, method, responsible authority or approved rule reference, timestamp or effective period, and version.
Fail: Source, creation method, authority or rule reference, timestamp/effective period, or version is missing or cannot be retrieved.
Evidence required: Assertion provenance record, source/method record, responsible authority or approved rule reference, timestamp/effective period, version.
Rationale: Relationship accountability requires knowing how the relationship entered the evidence stream.
Application guidance (informative): Determine how the relationship assertion entered the evidence stream. Inspect its source, creation method, authority, version, and effective time.
EO-005: Physical Relationship Representation or Boundary Evidence Anchor Is Recorded Where Required
Prerequisites: Pass required: CORE-005, EO-004.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall record the physical relationship representation required for the decision scope. Where an external, legacy, proprietary, or third-party system prevents direct inspection, a Boundary Evidence Anchor may represent the relationship boundary only when it identifies the exact external relationship evidence consumed and the inaccessible boundary.
Pass: The relationship can be traced to the required join/event/link/document/API/message or equivalent physical evidence. Alternatively, a complete Boundary Evidence Anchor records the exact external relationship evidence consumed. The anchor includes source identity, interface/feed/contract and version, payload/event/message/document identifier, acquisition time/effective period, fingerprint where possible, and supporting attestation/contract where available. It also records the inaccessible boundary, relationship-candidate or assertion reference, and decision-scope mapping. Vendor attestation alone is not sufficient.
Fail: A material relationship is relied on without traceable physical evidence or a complete Boundary Evidence Anchor.
Evidence required: Physical relationship locator or complete Boundary Evidence Anchor, provenance, relationship reference, inaccessible-boundary statement where applicable, and decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: Extended Ontology closes the gap between governed relationship meaning and real relationship evidence.
Application guidance (informative): Trace the relationship to the physical join, event, link, document, or interface evidence. Inspect a boundary anchor when direct visibility is unavailable.
EO-006: Related Identifier Alignment and Semantic Grain Are Tested
Prerequisites: Pass required: ET-011, EO-003.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall test whether related identifiers and concepts are aligned at compatible semantic grain for the decision scope.
Pass: The record identifies each material endpoint, its identity evidence, business meaning, and semantic grain. The governing equivalence or non-equivalence rule is recorded. Endpoint-alignment test results satisfy that rule for the intended relationship use.
Fail: Relationship endpoints are joined, traversed, counted, or inferred as compatible without required grain and identity evidence.
Evidence required: Endpoint identity records, business-meaning and semantic-grain records, equivalence/non-equivalence rule, endpoint-alignment test results, and decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: A relationship path can fail because its endpoints identify different business things at different grains.
Application guidance (informative): Test whether the endpoints identify the business instances and grains required by the relationship. Compare the results with the recorded alignment rule.
EO-007: Discovery, Inference, or Declaration Method Is Recorded
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-004.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall record the method by which it was declared, discovered, inferred, imported, or derived.
Pass: The record includes method name or process, method owner or authority, input evidence, rule/model/version where applicable, and repeatability condition where applicable.
Fail: The method name/process, authority, input evidence, required rule/model/version, or required repeatability condition is missing or cannot be retrieved.
Evidence required: Method record, input evidence, authority, rule/model/version where applicable, repeatability evidence where applicable.
Rationale: DACS permits relationship discovery. Stated use requires the method evidence declared by EO-007 to review or reproduce the assertion path where the control applies.
Application guidance (informative): Inspect the declaration, discovery, or inference method and its input evidence. Check versions and repeatability evidence where the recorded rule requires them.
EO-008: Minimum Relationship Vector Criteria Are Defined
Prerequisites: Pass required: CORE-002, EO-003.
Requirement: Before a material relationship vector is evaluated, the decision scope shall define the measurement scale and minimum criteria for Strength, Confidence, and Orientation that govern the stated use. DACS supplies no universal numeric floor.
Pass: The criteria record identifies each vector dimension, measurement or qualitative scale, threshold/rule, authority, version/effective period, decision-scope mapping, and reassessment trigger where applicable. The criteria were established before the dependent vector evaluation.
Fail: Criteria are absent, created after seeing the vector result, borrowed from an unrelated scope, or depend on an unspecified DACS default threshold.
Evidence required: Vector-criteria record, scale definitions, thresholds/rules, authority, version/effective period, decision-scope mapping, reassessment triggers, and creation/effective timestamp.
Rationale: A vector only controls use when the decision scope defines what passes.
Application guidance (informative): Locate vector scales and criteria established before testing. Confirm their authority, effective version, and decision-scope mapping.
EO-009: Relationship Vector Is Recorded for Material Relationships
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-007, EO-008.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall carry a relationship vector containing Strength, Confidence, and Orientation.
Pass: Strength, Confidence, and Orientation are recorded with measurement method or approval basis for the decision scope.
Fail: Any vector component is missing for a material relationship.
Evidence required: Relationship vector record, Strength evidence, Confidence evidence, Orientation evidence, decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: The vector makes relationship evaluation testable rather than assumed.
Application guidance (informative): Inspect recorded Strength, Confidence, and Orientation with their supporting method or evidence. A label without support does not establish a vector.
EO-010: Relationship Vector Meets Decision-Scope Criteria
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-009.
Requirement: Each material relationship used for decision evidence for stated use shall meet the decision-scope vector criteria. A constrained-use exception may permit Caution after a failed vector test, but it does not make this control Pass.
Pass: The recorded Strength, Confidence, and Orientation evidence satisfies every applicable decision-scope vector criterion.
Fail: Any applicable vector criterion fails, is missing, or is not evaluated. An approved constrained-use exception may affect the Gate readiness state but the control remains Fail.
Evidence required: Relationship vector evaluation record, applicable vector criteria, threshold or qualitative-rule results, Gate Record, and exception record where constrained use is authorized after a Fail.
Rationale: Relationship use must be controlled by evidence, not plausibility.
Application guidance (informative): Compare each vector dimension with its applicable criterion. Record failures separately from any exception authorizing constrained use.
EO-011: Permitted and Prohibited Relationship Paths Are Declared
Prerequisites: Pass required: CORE-002, EO-003.
Requirement: Each decision scope shall declare permitted and prohibited relationship paths when relationship traversal affects the decision.
Pass: Permitted paths, prohibited paths, path constraints, and traversal limits are recorded.
Fail: A decision path uses relationship traversal without approved path rules.
Evidence required: Permitted/prohibited path record, traversal rule, constraint record, decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: Path control prevents unauthorized semantic traversal.
Application guidance (informative): Inspect the approved traversal paths, prohibited paths, constraints, and limits before accepting the path used by the decision.
EO-012: Relationship Conflict and Jurisdiction Resolution Rule Exists Where Applicable
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-011. Recorded result required: ET-013.
Requirement: When competing relationship assertions, jurisdictions, policies, or authorities can produce mutually exclusive relationship use, a recorded conflict-resolution or jurisdictional precedence rule shall exist before material reliance.
Pass: Each applicable conflict class has a recorded precedence/adjudication rule with authority, scope, version/effective period, tie-break or escalation behavior, and permitted/prohibited path. Each actual conflict affecting material reliance is resolved under that rule before use. A recorded competent-authority decision may resolve the conflict for the bounded scope.
Fail: A conflict is unresolved, precedence is invented during assessment, or a relationship proceeds despite mutually exclusive authoritative constraints.
Evidence required: Precedence/adjudication rule, applicable jurisdictional authorities, scope, version/effective period, tie-break/escalation behavior, and permitted/prohibited path. Include conflict and resolution records when an actual conflict exists.
Rationale: Conflicting relationship evidence cannot support Defensible Analytics without disposition.
Application guidance (informative): Inspect the governing conflict-resolution rule and records resolving actual conflicts. An escalation instruction alone does not authorize unresolved material use.
EO-013: Relationship Constraints Are Applied
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-011. Recorded result required: EO-012.
Requirement: Each material relationship path shall apply the recorded governance, usage, jurisdictional, and conflict-resolution constraints that govern the stated decision scope.
Pass: Every applicable constraint and resolved precedence rule is evaluated before reliance. Prohibited paths are blocked, and bounded exceptions are explicit. Unresolved authoritative conflict results in a failed control and a Stop Gate state unless competent authority has recorded a valid bounded resolution.
Fail: A constraint is ignored, a prohibited path is used, or unresolved jurisdictional conflict is allowed to proceed.
Evidence required: Relationship path, applicable constraint/policy records, jurisdiction/precedence rule, evaluation evidence, exception/resolution record where applicable, and Gate Record.
Rationale: A relationship may be valid in one context and invalid in another.
Application guidance (informative): Compare the executed path with applicable constraints and precedence rules. Check that prohibited or unresolved paths were blocked.
EO-014: Cross-Domain Semantic Compatibility Is Declared Where Applicable
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-006.
Requirement: When a relationship crosses domains, functions, systems, or stewardship authorities, semantic compatibility shall be declared before stated use.
Pass: Cross-domain relationships reference semantic domains, boundary rules, compatible grain, disjointness or overlap rules where material, and authority or stewardship process.
Fail: Cross-domain relationships are relied on for stated use without compatibility evidence.
Evidence required: Semantic domain references, boundary rules, compatibility record, grain rule, authority/stewardship record, decision-scope mapping.
Rationale: Cross-domain use requires more than local application meaning.
Application guidance (informative): For a cross-domain relationship, inspect both domains, their boundaries, grain compatibility, and the authority responsible for that compatibility.
EO-015: Traversal Path Is Determinate Where Used
Prerequisites: Pass required: EO-011. Recorded result required: EO-006, EO-013, EO-014.
Requirement: A relationship traversal used as decision evidence shall return the same path result, or the same unresolved or exception result, when the inputs, rule set, threshold where used, version, and decision scope are unchanged.
Pass: Repeat tests using the same recorded inputs, rules, thresholds where used, versions, and scope return the same path result or the same unresolved or exception result. A repeatable unresolved result does not establish permission to use the relationship.
Fail: Any different traversal outcome under the same inputs, rule set, threshold, version, and decision scope is Fail. A recorded explanation does not convert that failed determinism test into Pass. A changed rule, threshold, version, or scope is a different test case.
Evidence required: Traversal rule and version, tested inputs, thresholds where used, path records, repeat-test results, scope reference, and exception record where applicable.
Rationale: Decision-path reconstruction requires repeatable relationship traversal.
Application guidance (informative): Repeat traversal using unchanged inputs and rules. A consistently unresolved result can demonstrate repeatability without permitting relationship use.
EO-016: Relationship Readiness State Is Declared
Prerequisites: Recorded result required: EO-010, EO-013, EO-015.
Requirement: Each material relationship shall have a readiness state for the stated decision scope.
Pass: The relationship is assigned Proceed, Caution, Stop, or Quarantined with reason, responsible authority or approved rule reference, timestamp, and review condition where required.
Fail: A material relationship is used without a readiness state or the state is unsupported by evidence.
Evidence required: Relationship readiness record, Gate Record, reason, responsible authority or approved rule reference, timestamp, review condition.
Rationale: Relationship evidence requires a decision-scope disposition.
Application guidance (informative): Inspect the relationship Gate state for this scope, including its reason, authority, time, and review condition.
EO-017: Ontology Change Triggers Forward Reassessment
Prerequisites: Pass required: CORE-023. Recorded result required: EO-016.
Requirement: Each material Extended Ontology change shall trigger impact assessment for active or prospective decision scopes that rely on the changed relationship artifact. Historical Gate and Conformance Records remain fixed to the ontology version that governed them.
Pass: A material ontology change is versioned, and affected active or prospective scopes are identified. Prior readiness for new reliance is invalidated or reassessed as defined. Any replacement Gate Record or Conformance Record is linked to the prior record without rewriting it.
Fail: Future reliance continues under a materially changed ontology without reassessment, or historical records are retroactively recalculated or overwritten merely because the ontology changed.
Evidence required: Ontology change/version record, impact rule, affected-scope list, readiness invalidation/reassessment record, replacement Gate/Conformance Record where required, and immutable historical references.
Rationale: Relationship rules can invalidate decision paths previously allowed for stated use.
Application guidance (informative): Trace material relationship-rule changes into affected-scope reassessment before new use. Preserve historical results under the prior ontology version.