| title | AWO Methodological Invariants | ||||||
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| filetype | documentation | ||||||
| type | specification | ||||||
| version | 2.0.0 | ||||||
| doi | 10.5281/zenodo.18201829 | ||||||
| status | Active | ||||||
| created | 2026-01-07 | ||||||
| updated | 2026-01-09 | ||||||
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| license | Apache-2.0 | ||||||
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| ai_assisted | partial | ||||||
| ai_assistance_details | AI-assisted drafting under human oversight; final structure, terminology, and acceptance validated against ARI governance constraints. | ||||||
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This document defines the non-negotiable methodological invariants of Aurora Workflow Orchestration (AWO) v2.0.0.
Invariants are conditions that MUST hold for any workflow to be considered methodologically valid under AWO.
These invariants are normative within the method layer and binding on all AWO-governed workflows.
Methodological validity under AWO does not imply epistemic correctness, governance approval, institutional legitimacy, or enforcement success.
AWO invariants fall into four categories:
- Structural invariants — constraints on workflow structure
- Authority invariants — constraints on role relationships
- Artifact invariants — constraints on required outputs
- Process invariants — constraints on phase transitions
Violation of any invariant renders a workflow methodologically non-compliant with AWO, regardless of outcome quality or intent.
AWO defines methodology only.
No AWO-governed document or workflow MAY:
- implement execution logic,
- define runtime behavior,
- specify tools, engines, or automation,
- or embed enforcement mechanisms.
All execution and enforcement concerns are delegated downstream.
AWO workflows MUST be structurally deterministic.
For any declared workflow:
- phases MUST be explicit,
- transitions MUST be explicit,
- required artifacts MUST be enumerated,
- and permissible orderings MUST be unambiguous.
Implicit, inferred, or non-deterministic structure is prohibited.
Roles referenced within AWO workflows MUST respect the Role Separation Charter.
No workflow MAY:
- collapse methodological, evaluative, and enforcement roles,
- permit silent cross-role action,
- or allow implicit role assumption.
Role declaration is mandatory wherever authority relationships are asserted.
No actor MAY perform a role that asserts evaluative authority over artifacts or decisions originating from the same authority context.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- reviewing one’s own contributions,
- curating releases derived from one’s own evaluative actions,
- or asserting independence where none exists.
The definition, execution, and enforcement of approval or attestation are delegated to downstream systems.
Research outputs are methodologically admissible under AWO only if supported by all required artifacts.
Narrative conclusions, summaries, or claims:
- MUST be derivable from artifacts,
- MUST NOT precede artifact existence,
- MUST NOT substitute for required artifacts.
Artifacts are authoritative within the method layer; prose is interpretive.
All AWO-governed artifacts MUST include compliant YAML metadata as defined by the ARI Metadata Policy v2.0.0.
Artifacts lacking required metadata are methodologically invalid under AWO and MUST NOT be treated as compliant inputs or outputs.
Workflows MUST be designed such that auditability is possible without retrofitting.
This includes:
- explicit phase boundaries,
- preserved intermediate artifacts,
- and reconstructible decision paths.
Auditability is a design requirement, not an afterthought.
Each workflow phase MUST be traceable to:
- a defined purpose,
- required inputs,
- and required outputs.
Opaque transitions or unexplained transformations are prohibited.
These invariants define methodological constraints within AWO.
AWO:
- defines invariants,
- records compliance,
- does not enforce them.
Mechanical validation, enforcement, and attestation are delegated to downstream systems (e.g., CRI-CORE).
Changes that modify:
- required artifacts,
- workflow phases,
- role relationships,
- or invariant meaning,
constitute breaking methodological changes and REQUIRE:
- a major version increment,
- explicit documentation of invariant changes,
- preservation of backward traceability.
Clarifications MAY be released as patch-level updates provided meaning is unchanged.
This document is methodologically valid under AWO only if its metadata block complies with ARI Metadata Policy v2.0.0.
Any modification that renders the metadata non-compliant invalidates this document as an authoritative AWO artifact.