PAT-0270
Density Spike
A structural condition where nodes, edges, dependencies, decisions, or effects concentrate sharply within a localized region beyond declared thresholds.
Primary Lenses
Compression Lens
Reduces structural graphs into stable minimal representations for comparison, redundancy detection, and diffing.
Lens Application
The Compression Lens is a strong inspection mechanism for Density Spike because it can reveal where many nodes, edges, decisions, or effects collapse into a compact region. Stable minimal representations help compare expected structure against localized concentration and detect sharp density changes.
Inspect For
- Local regions that remain unusually dense after compression
- Redundant nodes or edges collapsing into one hotspot
- Dependency clusters exceeding declared thresholds
- Sharp structural differences between compressed graph versions
Avoid
Treat compression artifacts as inspection signals only after checking them against the original structure, not as proof that Density Spike is present.
Variance / Entropy Lens
Measures structural variability across repeated or comparable evaluations and identifies divergence beyond expected bounds.
Lens Application
As a primary inspection mechanism, the Variance / Entropy Lens helps examine whether dependencies, decisions, effects, or connections cluster unevenly in one region compared with comparable areas or prior evaluations. It supports spotting abnormal concentration, rising divergence, or entropy changes that may indicate a density spike.
Inspect For
- Localized variance above expected bounds
- Sharp entropy drops or instability shifts
- Repeated concentration in one node group or region
- Divergence from comparable baseline evaluations
Avoid
Treat elevated variance or entropy change as a signal for closer inspection, not as confirmation that a density spike is present.
Secondary Lenses
Escalation Gradient Lens
Measures structural growth or intensification across sequential executions, states, or transitions.
Lens Application
The Escalation Gradient Lens applies indirectly to Density Spike by helping inspect whether a density spike is emerging through intensification over time rather than appearing as a static cluster. It can surface sequences where dependencies, decisions, effects, or edges progressively concentrate in one region and begin exceeding declared thresholds.
Inspect For
- Rising node, edge, or dependency counts across transitions
- Repeated executions that concentrate effects in the same region
- Threshold crossings that worsen over sequential states
- Localized growth rates outpacing surrounding structure
Avoid
Treat gradient growth as supporting inspection context, not confirmation that Density Spike is present.
Primary Issue Matches
Answer Has Too Many Paths
The answer presents too many possible paths, interpretations, options, or next steps without enough structure to choose among them.
One Prompt Carries Too Many Meanings
A single prompt carries too many meanings, goals, roles, constraints, or implied tasks for the AI to interpret consistently.
Review Queue Becomes Bottleneck
A review queue, approval path, or validation stage accumulates too much work and begins blocking the workflow.
Single Field Carries Too Many Obligations
One field, label, score, status, or structured value is expected to carry too many meanings, decisions, or workflow obligations.
Single Step Carries Too Many Decisions
One prompt, workflow step, review stage, or agent action carries too many decisions for the system or user to evaluate cleanly.
Supporting Issue Matches
Duplicate Fields With Same Meaning
The AI returns multiple fields, labels, sections, or structured elements that carry the same meaning and create ambiguity about which one should be used.
Duplicate Output Sections
The AI repeats sections, headings, blocks, or output areas in a way that creates redundancy, confusion, or downstream handling problems.
Multiple Policies Say the Same Thing
Multiple policies, rules, or guidance documents express the same requirement, creating redundancy and uncertainty about which one governs.
Output Exceeds Length Limit
The AI output exceeds a declared length, token, word, character, section, field, or size limit.
Prompt Has Too Many Valid Interpretations
The prompt allows too many reasonable interpretations, causing the AI to choose among valid paths without enough guidance.
Repeated Constraints Create Confusion
Repeated constraints, instructions, limits, or exclusions make the task harder to interpret instead of clearer.
Retrieval Exceeds Evidence Limit
The AI retrieves, uses, cites, or considers more evidence than the task permits or more than the review surface can support.
Same Rule Declared in Multiple Places
The same rule, constraint, instruction, or policy appears in multiple places, creating redundancy and possible drift.
Same Workflow Check Happens Twice
The same review, validation, approval, routing, or safety check occurs more than once in the workflow without a clear reason.