Glossary
This page provides minimal definitions
for terms used in this site
that are prone to discrepancies with their common interpretations.
These definitions are not intended for rigor or comprehensiveness.
They serve as reference points for aligning assumptions when reading the main text.
Failure / How It Breaks
In this site, "how it breaks" refers
not to errors or failures themselves,
but to a state where the same kind of problem continues to recur under the same conditions.
The focus is on behavior that has become fixed as a structure, rather than one-off failures.
Pattern / Failure Pattern
A Pattern is
a structure or dynamic repeatedly observed under specific situations,
organized in a reusable form.
A Failure Pattern targets
structures that continue to produce undesirable outcomes, and does not aim to identify causes or culprits.
Context
In this site, Context refers
not only to specifications or requirements, but to the totality of preconditions, constraints, history, and organizational situations that influence decisions.
What is characteristic is that it includes assumptions that are not explicitly stated.
Forces
Forces refer to
a set of conflicting demands, constraints, and pressures acting on a decision or structure.
Forces are not evaluated as good or bad, but organized as factors that shape structures.
Decision
A Decision refers
to the act of selecting one option from among multiple alternatives, under certain assumptions.
In this site, the choice "not to decide" and judgments that have become fixed implicitly are also treated as Decisions.
Responsibility
Responsibility refers to
the concept indicating where accountability and decision authority are tied
with respect to decisions or changes.
The focus is not on titles or positions themselves, but on where decisions are actually taken.
Measure / Measurement
Measure refers to
observational indicators for capturing the outcomes of decisions or changes.
In this site, the emphasis is not on complete accuracy,
but on the perspective of whether decisions can be updated.
Learning Loop
A Learning Loop refers to
a structure in which trial, observation, and updating of decisions circulate.
In this site, a state where this circulation does not hold is treated as a Broken Learning Loop.
Repair / Restore
Repair is
a common term meaning to return a broken state to its original condition.
In this site, without assuming complete repair, the term Restore is used in the sense of
regaining a state where decisions can be made again.
Observation
Observation refers to the act of capturing outcomes or behavior without adding evaluation or interpretation.
In this site, it is treated as distinct from opinions or impressions.