Criteria path
The criteria path is the chain of criteria references the engine cites as it evaluates a PES → ES encumbrance — the specific section numbers, tables, and equations from the underlying criteria document (e.g., 4145.26 paragraph numbers, DESR table rows, NATO equation citations). Each step in the engine's calculation is anchored to a criteria reference, and the criteria path is the running record of those references.
- Distinguish the criteria path from the analysis path and from the engine's general calculation flow
- Identify which inputs cause the engine to cite which criteria references
- Use the criteria path to audit a result against the source criteria document
Criteria path vs analysis path vs calculation path
Three closely related ideas — easy to conflate, useful to keep separate:
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Criteria path | The list of criteria references the engine cites during a single PES → ES analysis — section numbers, table rows, equation IDs from the underlying criteria document. |
| Analysis path | The human-readable, step-by-step explanation of the calculation — a narrated walkthrough of what happened and why. See Tracing analysis paths. |
| Calculation path (or logic flow) | The general procedural steps the engine follows when analyzing any PES → ES encumbrance: type code → (attributes → relationship → barricade) → analysis code → explosive → distance. The criteria path is the citations anchoring each step in the calculation path; the analysis path is the narration of those steps in plain language. |
Facility and explosive
[TODO: FILL IN — how a facility's type code, attributes, and explosive division drive the engine to cite specific criteria references. Show a worked example for a single hazard division and a single criteria set, with the resulting criteria-path citations side-by-side.]
Reading the criteria path
[TODO: FILL IN — where the criteria path is surfaced in the calculator UI, how citations are formatted, and how to map a citation back to the source criteria document.]
The governing criterion
Each result the engine returns names a single Governing Criteria — the criterion entry credited with producing the final value. The governing criterion is part of the criteria path but is surfaced separately so you can identify the controlling rule at a glance.
In the QD worked example, the criteria path lists six entries (Table AP2.T1. → Table AP2.T1., Note 4 → Table AP2.T1., Note 4 - Blast → C5.8.1.7. → C5.8.1.7.2. → C5.8.1.7.2.1.), but the governing criterion is C5.8.1.7.2. — the specific rule that produced the 1,250 ft Required value. When citing a result in a deliverable, the criteria path is the full citation list and the governing criterion is the controlling rule you call out.
The governing criterion is not always the last entry in the path. The path is the full set of citations the engine touched as it walked; the governing criterion is the one credited with the result.