Status: Accepted
Date: 2026-06-30

Context

The D7 (Pattern Recognition) scorer measured pattern coverage via length bands but had no way to assess whether the patterns it detected were genuinely discriminative — i.e., whether they actually helped an agent distinguish between similar situations. Length alone is not a quality signal.

Decision

Add a discriminativeness check as a diagnostics-only signal (no score change yet). Two sub-criteria:

• Negative anchors — patterns that tell the agent what to look out for (distinguishing features)
• Workflow anchors — patterns that guide the agent through branching decisions

The existing length bands remain as the base score (6-10 pts). The discriminativeness signal is published in diagnostics for visibility but does not affect the numeric score until the rubric is validated.

Consequences

• D7 diagnostics now surface pattern quality, not just coverage depth
• No score impact until the rubric is validated with real skills
• Negative anchors and workflow anchors provide a structural basis for future scoring
• Diagnostic-only deployment allows data collection before locking the scoring formula