---
id: object-model.applicability-logic
title: Applicability logic
summary: Explain when a policy or rubric should be used for a case, output, or coverage segment.
kind: reference
product_area: object_model
status: stable
updated: 2026-08-23
canonical: /docs/object-model/applicability-logic
---

# Applicability logic

## Definition

Applicability logic is the boundary that decides whether a policy or rubric should be considered for a specific case, output, or coverage segment. It prevents a good standard from being applied to the wrong behavior.

Use this reference when a benchmark result is hard to explain because a standard seems relevant in some cases but not others. The question is not only whether the policy is correct; it is whether the policy was eligible to judge that output.

## Fields, states, or lifecycle rules

- Applicability sits between the case/output and the policy/rubric that may judge it.
- Weak applicability makes benchmark failures noisy: a candidate can fail a good rubric on a case where the rule should not have applied.
- Strong applicability names the behavior condition, source context, or case segment that brings the standard into scope.
- Applicability changes can make old benchmark evidence stale because the same output may be judged by a different standard boundary.
- This page explains the public object relationship, not a public rule language, API schema, or export contract.

## Related objects

Applicability logic should be read with [Policies](/docs/object-model/policies), [Rubrics](/docs/object-model/rubrics), [Cases](/docs/object-model/cases), and [Coverage Dimensions](/docs/object-model/coverage-dimensions). Use the Correctness Governance workflow to write the boundary and troubleshooting when the observed Case set is wrong.

{% example-demo title="Applicability logic boundary" %}
Raw case: A user asks whether a product works with equipment they already own.

Policy: Compatibility claims require explicit source support.

Applicability logic: The policy applies only when the answer recommends, validates, or compares a product for a concrete use context.

Benchmark interpretation: If the case only asks for a product description, the compatibility rubric should not judge it. If the answer claims the product will work with the user's equipment, the rule is in scope.
{% /example-demo %}

## Source confidence

Code-backed: Policy and Rubric types and their detail routes expose applicability fields and the links among governed standards, Cases, and evaluation checks. This page describes those product relationships; it does not define a portable rule language.

## Related task pages

{% related-card-grid title="Related task pages" %}
- [Work with Policies and Rubrics](/docs/correctness-governance/policies-and-rubrics)
- [Fix weak applicability logic](/docs/troubleshooting/weak-applicability-logic)
- [Resolve conflicting correctness evidence](/docs/governance/conflict-resolution)
- [Product quickstart](/docs/quickstart)
- [Task index](/docs/operating-manual/task-index)
{% /related-card-grid %}