PAT-0130
Incomplete Declaration
A structural condition where an element is declared but required attributes, dependencies, or linked definitions are missing.
Primary Lenses
Absence Lens
Detects structurally required elements that are missing from the observed structure.
Lens Application
The Absence Lens is a strong inspection mechanism for Incomplete Declaration because incomplete declarations often appear as missing required fields, absent references, or undeclared dependencies. It supports inspection by highlighting where the structure expects something to exist but the observed declaration leaves it empty, unresolved, or disconnected.
Inspect For
- Required attributes left blank or omitted
- Missing dependency declarations
- References to definitions that do not exist
- Declared elements lacking required links
Avoid
Treat missing structural pieces as inspection signals rather than conclusive evidence that the declaration is defective.
Constraint Sufficiency Lens
Evaluates whether declared constraints are sufficient to eliminate structural degrees of freedom.
Lens Application
The Constraint Sufficiency Lens is a primary inspection mechanism for Incomplete Declaration because it examines whether a declared element has enough constraints to determine its required structure. It helps surface missing attributes, absent dependency links, underspecified references, or unresolved definitions that leave the declaration structurally open.
Inspect For
- Required attributes left blank, implicit, or undefined
- Dependencies declared without usable targets
- References to missing or incomplete linked definitions
- Constraints that allow multiple unresolved interpretations
Avoid
Treat insufficient constraints as evidence for further inspection rather than as confirmation that the declaration is incomplete.
Secondary Lenses
Interface Contract Lens
Compares declared interface structure to observed runtime structure to detect contract deviations.
Lens Application
The Interface Contract Lens supports inspection of Incomplete Declaration by highlighting mismatches between what an interface declares and what appears during runtime. For incomplete declarations, those mismatches may point to absent fields, unresolved dependencies, or interface elements that are structurally present but not sufficiently connected.
Inspect For
- Declared fields absent at runtime
- Required dependencies not resolved
- Linked definitions missing or unreachable
- Runtime structures with partial contract coverage
Avoid
Treat contract deviations as signals for further inspection rather than confirmation that an incomplete declaration exists.
Primary Issue Matches
Answer Has No Traceable Source Link
The answer makes a claim, recommendation, citation, or factual statement without a source link or trace path that allows the user to verify where it came from.
Missing Fallback for Unavailable Information
The task does not declare what the AI should do when required information, sources, tools, fields, or evidence are unavailable.
Missing Required Fields
The AI returns structured output that omits fields required by the schema, workflow, parser, form, or downstream consumer.
Relationship Map Has Missing Links
A map of related Issues, rules, patterns, cases, fields, tools, or workflow steps is missing links needed to navigate or reason over the structure.
Review Rubric Missing Required Criteria
A review rubric, grading rule, evaluation checklist, or classification standard lacks criteria required to make the review reliable.
Tool Exists but Required Inputs Are Missing
A usable tool or integration exists, but the AI or agent does not have the required inputs, permissions, fields, identifiers, or context needed to call it correctly.
Workflow Step Lacks Required Conditions
A workflow step can run, route, approve, reject, or continue without the required conditions being declared or checked.
Supporting Issue Matches
Diagnostic Area Has No Coverage
A known diagnostic area, failure mode, requirement, or review dimension has no Issue, check, rubric item, or workflow coverage.
Evaluation Rubric Has Coverage Gap
An evaluation rubric, grading standard, or review checklist leaves part of the required evaluation space uncovered.
Fallback Authority Is Missing
The system does not declare who or what has authority when the primary owner, rule, tool, source, or decision path is unavailable or inconclusive.
Format Rule Too Weak
The format instruction is too vague, incomplete, or optional to reliably produce output that satisfies the expected structure.
Policy Area Has No Examples
A policy, rule, standard, or guidance area has no examples showing how it should apply to real cases.
Policy Decision Depends on Itself
A policy decision requires the outcome of the same policy decision before it can be made.
Saved Memory Not Used
A saved memory, preference, instruction, or durable context item exists but does not affect the AI output when it should.
Task Has No Clear Limit
The task does not declare where the AI should stop, what is out of scope, or what counts as enough work.
Workflow Stage Has Too Few Checks
A workflow stage lacks enough checks, gates, criteria, or review conditions to safely support the work it controls.
Workflow Step Has No Decision Owner
A workflow step requires a decision, approval, judgment, or routing choice, but no owner is declared for making it.