{"schema_version":1,"experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp03_full320_20260801","cell_id":"layer_decay_and_expiration_management__operations_research","trajectory_id":"R","attempt_index":0,"archetype_slug":"layer_decay_and_expiration_management","domain_slug":"operations_research","decision":"CANDIDATE","problem_id":"stale_recurring_optimization_run_artifact_accumulation","causal_lever_id":"dependency_gated_optimization_artifact_lifecycle","proposal":{"problem":"Recurring optimization systems accumulate model versions, input snapshots, scenario sets, solver outputs, and reports. Obsolete artifacts remain selectable or discoverable as if current, while uncertain lineage and reproducibility needs make operators reluctant to retire them. This increases interpretive error, maintenance burden, and storage cost; indiscriminate deletion can prevent audit or reconstruction.","actors_substrate":["operations-research model owners","planners and analysts consuming optimization outputs","data and platform operators","risk, audit, and compliance reviewers","sequential artifacts from recurring optimization runs"],"observable_state":"For each artifact: stable identity, run and deposition time, model/input lineage, current-versus-superseded status, last access, lifecycle tier, retention class, dependency set, hold status, restore-test result, and disposition history.","consequence":"Stale model runs and outputs can influence current decisions or consume active resources, while poorly gated cleanup can break reproducibility, comparison, audit, or rollback.","affected_objective":"Reduce active-tier cost and stale-output exposure subject to constraints on reproducibility, dependency integrity, legal retention, and bounded restoration time.","structural_mapping":[{"archetype_element":"sequential deposits","domain_realization":"Each optimization cycle deposits a model version, immutable inputs, scenarios, solver configuration, solution, diagnostics, and decision report.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"layers with declining active usefulness","domain_realization":"Superseded runs generally lose operational authority even when they retain benchmark, audit, or reconstruction value.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"},{"archetype_element":"stale layers mistaken for current truth","domain_realization":"Old solutions or scenario outputs remain discoverable without an authoritative supersession state.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"},{"archetype_element":"dependency-sensitive retirement","domain_realization":"Reports, comparisons, investigations, and reproduced decisions may depend on particular run artifacts.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"differentiated disposition","domain_realization":"Artifacts may be refreshed, marked superseded, compacted, moved to cold storage, quarantined, or destroyed.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"bounded stack with preserved memory","domain_realization":"Only current and frequently used artifacts stay active; required historical runs remain restorable and attributable.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"}],"component_map":[{"component":"layer_inventory_and_identity_map","status":"direct","domain_realization":"registry of uniquely identified optimization artifacts and run bundles"},{"component":"deposition_order_and_age_index","status":"direct","domain_realization":"run timestamp and sequence index"},{"component":"retention_policy_matrix","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"artifact-class retention table for inputs, models, solutions, logs, and reports"},{"component":"decay_function_or_aging_rule","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"age and supersession rules reduce active priority, not evidentiary validity"},{"component":"expiration_trigger_definition","status":"direct","domain_realization":"elapsed retention, supersession, inactivity, or project closure triggers review"},{"component":"layer_value_and_risk_score","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"separate utility and deletion-impact indicators rather than one authoritative score"},{"component":"dependency_and_reconstruction_check","status":"direct","domain_realization":"pre-disposition lineage and reproducibility check"},{"component":"pruning_or_archival_pathway","status":"direct","domain_realization":"retain active, tier, compact, quarantine, or destroy"},{"component":"preservation_exception_register","status":"direct","domain_realization":"named benchmark, investigation, historical, and evidentiary exceptions"},{"component":"deletion_audit_and_rollback_window","status":"direct","domain_realization":"audited soft deletion with a restoration deadline"},{"component":"resource_budget_and_storage_tier","status":"direct","domain_realization":"capacity and retrieval targets for hot, warm, and cold artifact stores"},{"component":"review_cadence_and_revalidation_loop","status":"direct","domain_realization":"periodic review of policies, holds, dependencies, and restore evidence"},{"component":"legal_hold_or_compliance_override","status":"direct","domain_realization":"hold blocks demotion or destruction as specified"},{"component":"hot_warm_cold_access_state","status":"direct","domain_realization":"artifact access tier and latency class"},{"component":"orphan_layer_detection","status":"direct","domain_realization":"identify artifacts with no live inbound lineage or report reference"},{"component":"supersession_marker","status":"direct","domain_realization":"authoritative pointer from an obsolete run or output to its successor"},{"component":"layer_compaction_candidate_flag","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"flag bundles suitable for deduplication or lossless packaging"},{"component":"rehydration_or_restore_procedure","status":"direct","domain_realization":"documented restoration and environment-reconnection procedure"},{"component":"deletion_impact_estimate","status":"direct","domain_realization":"estimate affected reports, decisions, users, and reconstruction cost"},{"component":"stale_context_detector","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"detect changed inputs, constraints, objectives, owners, or planning horizons"}],"mechanism_dispositions":[{"slug":"age_weighted_value_score","disposition":"considered_rejected","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"Reject a collapsed score: age is weak evidence of model relevance and can conceal high-impact audit value; retain separate indicators.","counterfactual_removal":"No material change because lifecycle gates use class, supersession, dependencies, holds, and impact separately."},{"slug":"archive_restore_test","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"TEST_DESIGN","adaptation_or_rejection":"Sample archived run bundles across age and format bands and reproduce retrieval, parsing, and lineage reconnection.","counterfactual_removal":"Archive recoverability would remain assumed rather than demonstrated, weakening the safety case."},{"slug":"cache_eviction_rule","disposition":"incompatible","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"Access-based instantaneous eviction is unsuitable as the authoritative disposition rule for reproducibility artifacts.","counterfactual_removal":"No change; tier migration is scheduled and policy-gated rather than cache-victim selection."},{"slug":"dependency_safe_delete_check","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"SAFETY_GUARDRAIL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Trace inbound report, benchmark, lineage, and investigation dependencies; unknown coverage blocks destruction.","counterfactual_removal":"Deletion could silently break reproducibility or dependent decisions, hard-gating viability."},{"slug":"lifecycle_storage_tiering_policy","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"OPERATIONAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Move inactive bundles down cost and latency tiers; permit only lossless compaction unless separately validated.","counterfactual_removal":"Stale-authority control remains, but retained history continues consuming expensive active storage."},{"slug":"log_rotation_and_cleanup_job","disposition":"considered_rejected","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"Run bundles are heterogeneous and value is not determined solely by generation position.","counterfactual_removal":"No change because disposition is artifact-class and dependency specific."},{"slug":"retention_schedule","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"CORE_CAUSAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Map artifact classes to minimums, maximums, review actions, exceptions, and holds.","counterfactual_removal":"No legitimate, repeatable rule would determine when artifacts leave active status or become destroyable."},{"slug":"soft_delete_quarantine_window","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"SAFETY_GUARDRAIL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Hide approved candidates from normal discovery while keeping them restorable for an impact-sized pilot window.","counterfactual_removal":"The first cleanup would become unnecessarily irreversible and operationally unsafe."},{"slug":"stale_layer_detection_dashboard","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"CORE_CAUSAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Inventory artifacts and surface superseded or context-mismatched outputs with owners and evidence.","counterfactual_removal":"Stale artifacts would remain invisible and could continue masquerading as current."},{"slug":"time_to_live_ttl_policy","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"OPERATIONAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Use class-specific TTL only to trigger review or active-state expiry; never authorize destruction alone.","counterfactual_removal":"Review initiation becomes more manual, but safety and final disposition remain intact."},{"slug":"tombstone_or_deletion_marker","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"SAFETY_GUARDRAIL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Leave an identity-preserving deletion or supersession record with successor and disposition metadata.","counterfactual_removal":"Missing artifacts could be confused with never-created artifacts and stale indexes could retain ambiguity."}],"causal_chain":["Registry and context checks expose superseded or mismatched optimization artifacts.","Retention class, holds, dependencies, and impact determine permissible lifecycle transitions.","Superseded artifacts lose active discoverability and move to cheaper tiers without immediate destruction.","Quarantine, tombstones, and tested restoration preserve correction, audit, and reconstruction paths.","Periodic revalidation retires released holds and corrects failed classifications, keeping the active stack bounded."],"baseline":"Shared folders or object stores retain most run artifacts indefinitely; ad hoc names indicate recency, owners manually delete under capacity pressure, and restoration is rarely exercised.","nearest_rival":"Improve cataloging and current-version labels while retaining every artifact in place; this reduces confusion but does not bound active storage or resolve accountable disposition.","authority_safety":{"affected_parties":["planners relying on outputs","model and data owners","platform operators","auditors and investigators","people affected by decisions reconstructed from the runs"],"decision_authority":"The model owner and records or risk owner jointly approve retention classes; platform operators execute transitions but cannot override holds or failed dependency gates.","authorized_first_step":"Run a 30-day shadow pilot on one recurring model family and at most 200 closed-run bundles: inventory and classify all, compare stale flags with owner review, quarantine but do not destroy up to 20 unanimously approved orphaned bundles, and restore every quarantined bundle before pilot close.","excluded_actions":["automatic hard deletion","expiry based only on age or access","lossy compaction of reconstructive inputs","overriding legal or investigation holds","changing current optimization decisions based solely on lifecycle scores"],"halt_rollback":"Halt on any missed live dependency, false current-versus-stale classification affecting use, hold violation, or failed restoration. Restore quarantined bundles, reinstate discovery state, and preserve the audit log for review."}},"negative_tests":{"strongest_counterevidence":"HYPOTHESIS: If existing artifact stores already enforce complete lineage, authoritative supersession, tested restoration, and bounded class-specific retention, the proposed problem is absent or materially smaller.","analogy_break":"Optimization artifacts are not uniformly decaying records: an old benchmark or input snapshot may gain value after a dispute, and model relevance can change discontinuously. Therefore age can trigger review but cannot establish worthlessness.","failure_condition":"The mapping fails if outputs are overwritten rather than sequentially deposited, no historical artifact is discoverable or retained, or reconstruction and audit have no value.","problem_falsifier":"A representative inventory shows active storage and user discovery are already bounded, obsolete artifacts are never presented as current, and no cleanup backlog or unresolved retention ambiguity exists.","intervention_falsifier":"In the bounded pilot, lifecycle classification does not reduce stale artifacts in ordinary discovery or projected active-tier use, or it produces unacceptable dependency misses, restore failures, or reviewer disagreement despite adequate metadata.","risks":["false staleness flags may hide still-valid outputs","incomplete lineage may permit unsafe retirement","quarantine may conflict with destruction obligations","cold-tier latency may impair investigations","retention exceptions may become permanent by neglect","metadata and review cost may exceed savings at small scale"]},"null_rationale":null,"classification":{"candidate_kind":"DOMAIN_TRANSFER","prior_art_status":"UNSEARCHED","evidence_maturity":"HYPOTHESIS"},"revision_change_log":{"revision_kind":"ORIGINAL","prior_problem_id":null,"prior_causal_lever_id":null,"problem_changed":false,"causal_lever_changed":false,"conceptual_changes":[],"operational_changes":[],"repairs_addressed":[]},"confidence":0.83,"generator_notes":"Closed-book structural inference from the supplied packet. Empirical prevalence and performance claims remain hypotheses; no prior-art search was performed."}