Cascade Engine

What the engine represents

The analysis starts with a bounded representation of a specific decision situation.

• decisions and alternatives,
• dependencies between represented elements,
• constraints and activation conditions,
• shared capacities,
• drivers and configured effects,
• initial conditions and reviewable assumptions.

Information not represented in the model is not part of the analysis.

How alternatives are configured

1. Bound the situationThe organisation and 01 Systems define the decision situation to be represented.
2. Represent the modelDecisions, alternatives, relationships, capacities, conditions and assumptions are made explicit.
3. Establish a shared basisAlternatives are configured so that differences can be compared consistently.
4. Execute the analysisCascade Engine executes the configured model deterministically.

The same represented inputs and assumptions produce the same analytical result. The engine does not decide which assumptions are true or which alternative is preferable.

The analytical workspace

• configure represented model elements,
• select and compare configured alternatives,
• inspect calculated outputs,
• inspect completed deterministic findings.

What the engine calculates

Cascade Engine executes the represented relationships in the configured model.

• structural margin throughout the analysis period,
• changes in represented constraint states,
• differences between configured alternatives,
• development of represented drivers over time,
• traceable analytical findings from the configured model.

The outputs describe the configured representation. They do not establish real-world causality.

Structural Margin

• shows development throughout the modelled analysis period,
• compares margin histories for configured alternatives,
• shows represented constraint windows and model steps.

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Structural Findings

• organises results already calculated,
• shows represented drivers and constraints,
• shows traceable propagation paths,
• does not use a language model.

Structural Findings does not perform a second analysis or discover real-world causes.

Structural Consequences

• when represented effects begin to propagate through the configured model,
• how structural margin changes over the represented analysis period,
• how forward decision flexibility develops,
• how configured alternatives differ over time.

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Product boundaries

Cascade Engine does not:

• predict future events,
• determine which assumptions are correct,
• discover causal relationships automatically,
• optimise decisions,
• recommend a preferred alternative,
• replace domain expertise or executive judgement.

Analysis quality depends on the represented model and its reviewed assumptions.

Human responsibility

Executive judgement remains a human responsibility.

Relationship to Decision Space Analytics

Decision Space Analytics

Defines the analytical question and principles.

Cascade Engine

Represents, executes, compares and makes configured alternatives inspectable.

Product Architecture

Formal analytical responsibilities, modelling principles and deterministic boundaries.