Principlev1PR-936
Define quantified error budgets that pre-authorize specific…
Define quantified error budgets that pre-authorize specific, bounded amounts of deviation to prevent system collapse when inevitable errors occur.
Why This Is a Principle
This principle derives from Human memory under stress and cognitive load is unreliable… (memory under stress/load is unreliable) and Increasing options decreases satisfaction and increases… (increasing options decreases satisfaction). Google's SRE error budgets demonstrate that pre-authorizing failure creates resilience. The principle prescribes specific architectural design: quantify acceptable failure rates in advance. This is more concrete than 'systems need error tolerance' (which might be an axiom) but more general than specific budget percentages.