Add boundary clauses to validated schemas

Reformulate validated schemas with explicit boundary clauses that specify the conditions under which they were tested and the conditions under which they remain untested.

When This Fires

After completing schema validation (Test schemas at the smallest possible scale first…, Test each component of a compound schema independently…)
When a validated schema is about to be applied in a new context
During schema documentation when formalizing a belief as operational
When someone asks "does this always work?" about a validated schema

Common Failure Mode

Listing only tested conditions and omitting untested ones: "Validated under: team sizes 5-15, B2B SaaS context, US market." This looks complete but leaves the untested boundary invisible. Adding "Untested under: teams >30, B2C, non-US markets, non-software domains" makes the uncertainty explicit.

The Protocol

After validating a schema: (1) Write the schema statement. (2) Add "Tested under: [specific conditions where validation occurred — context, scale, domain, timeframe]." (3) Add "Untested under: [specific conditions where the schema has NOT been tested — different scales, domains, contexts]." (4) When applying the schema in the future, check: are current conditions in the "tested" or "untested" zone? Tested → apply with confidence. Untested → apply cautiously, treating it as a hypothesis rather than a validated tool.