1 Purpose
This document defines the machine-readable objects, validation rules, and access boundaries for Star Decision Engine Specification within the defined Good Taste Awards standards system.
2 Scope
This document applies to the requirements, decisions, records, controls, and outputs expressly identified under Star Decision Engine Specification. Award scope and exclusions are defined by GTA-STD-100; this document shall not create an additional award dimension. Operational prerequisites identified here affect assessment validity and never constitute product certification.
3 Authority and interpretation
The Method Authority owns GTA-DATA-003; the Standards Authority approves it. formal verbs, defined terms, stable requirement identities, policy constants, and generated representations shall be interpreted under GTA-GOV-002, GTA-GOV-005, and the defined registers.
3.1 Registered relationships
| Relationship | Direction | Related document |
|---|---|---|
executes_rules_of | outbound | GTA-SCH-202 |
governed_by | outbound | GTA-GOV-001 |
4 Requirements
GTA-DATA-003-R001 — Engine inputs
The Method Authority shall accept only defined product, decision point, valid response, assessor track, rule version, and confirmation objects.
GTA-DATA-003-R002 — Input validation
The Method Authority shall reject wrong counts, duplicate responses, unconfirmed values, missing identity, and invalid relationships.
GTA-DATA-003-R003 — Composition
The Method Authority shall calculate strict consumer majority and professional minimum for the decision point.
GTA-DATA-003-R004 — Statistics
The Method Authority shall order raw values and calculate median, lower quartile, positive, top, and low counts.
GTA-DATA-003-R005 — One-Star rule
The Method Authority shall implement every initial One-Star condition without compensating weights.
GTA-DATA-003-R006 — Two-Star entry
The Method Authority shall implement every initial entry condition from the defined policy constants.
GTA-DATA-003-R007 — First progressed decision
The Method Authority shall implement the Two-Star rule, Three-Star continuation rule, and defined boundary-extension triggers.
GTA-DATA-003-R008 — Extended decision
The Method Authority shall implement extended Two-Star and Three-Star entry conditions.
GTA-DATA-003-R009 — Final decision
The Method Authority shall implement every final Three-Star condition.
GTA-DATA-003-R010 — Progression
The Method Authority shall emit only confirmed stop, extend, add, replace, hold, invalid, or reassess states.
GTA-DATA-003-R011 — Confirmation ceiling
The Method Authority shall prevent an confirmed result above the candidate and require reason for a lower state.
GTA-DATA-003-R012 — Confirmed-level preservation
The Method Authority shall preserve the confirmed lower star when a higher candidate is not achieved.
GTA-DATA-003-R013 — Calculation object
The Method Authority shall preserve inputs, intermediate values, decisions, rule identity, and verification.
GTA-DATA-003-R014 — Regression suite
The Method Authority shall execute exact boundaries, single-condition failures, invalidations, replacements, and permission cases.
5 Decision-engine contract
Inputs are the product identifier, decision stage, exact valid response identifiers, assessor composition tracks, locked integer Overall Liking values, policy version, preserved confirmed level, and confirmation object. The engine shall reject duplicate response identifiers, wrong counts, invalid values, missing composition, an unconfirmed stage, or a response not locked for the product.
The engine shall order raw values, calculate the unrounded median, calculate the lower quartile where applicable, and calculate each defined response count. It shall evaluate every condition in the applicable policy rule and emit a condition-by-condition Boolean record. It shall never infer confirmation, alter a response, select an assessor, or use the publication index.
Output fields are calculation_id, policy_version, decision_point, response_ids, ordered_values, median, lower_quartile, count_at_or_above_7, count_at_9, count_at_or_below_4, count_at_or_below_3, candidate_state, preserved_level, permitted_next_states, confirmation_required, and validation_errors.
6 State rules
A confirmed lower level shall be carried forward as preserved_level. A failed higher-star test shall not erase it. Post-lock response invalidation shall lead to replacement before calculation or invalidation of the affected stage. A confirmation set without a strict majority shall emit independent_professional_review_required; it shall not emit a statistical extension.
Statistical extension shall be emitted only when exactly one registered boundary condition is at its specified near-miss value and every other condition of the first progressed Two-Star rule is true.
7 Conformity and records
Conformity with Star Decision Engine Specification requires evidence comprising the schema result, object identity, relationship check, permission event, and reconstruction test. The record for each applicable GTA-DATA-003 requirement shall permit reconstruction without relying on an unrecorded explanation.
Evidence created under GTA-DATA-003 shall use stable identifiers, immutable event sequence numbers, and machine event timestamps. A correction shall be append-only. A nonconformity shall place the affected object in a non-releasable state until its consequence and confirmed disposition are recorded. Role combination remains subject to the mandatory separation rules.