---
id: workflow.troubleshooting.standards
title: Policies, rubric overlap, and applicability
summary: A requirement is too broad, duplicates another check, or applies to the wrong situations.
kind: error
product_area: troubleshooting
status: stable
updated: 2026-11-11
canonical: /docs/troubleshooting/standards
---

# Policies, rubric overlap, and applicability

## Symptom

A requirement is too broad, duplicates another check, or applies to the wrong situations.

## Likely causes

| What you observe | Focused guide |
| --- | --- |
| A policy generalizes beyond the expert requirement | [Overly Broad Policies](/docs/troubleshooting/overly-broad-policies) |
| Several rubrics score the same requirement | [Overlapping Rubrics](/docs/troubleshooting/overlapping-rubrics) |
| A criterion is selected or skipped incorrectly | [Weak Applicability Logic](/docs/troubleshooting/weak-applicability-logic) |
| Proposed standards do not preserve the intended distinction | [Noisy AI Suggestions](/docs/troubleshooting/noisy-ai-suggestions) |

## Fix

Compare the criterion with the expert’s reasoning and the Cases that define its boundary. Clarify the requirement and applicability separately. Use the owning review controls to decide the revised standard.

Follow the focused guide for the actual state you observe; keep accepted records and explicit human decisions intact.

## Prevention

Preserve exact object and version identities, review the relevant source context, and inspect the accepted state before comparing outcomes.

## Related task pages

{% related-card-grid title="Return to the workflow" %}
- [Complete your first alignment loop](/docs/quickstart)
{% /related-card-grid %}

## Related reference pages

{% related-card-grid title="Diagnose the observed state" %}
- [Overly Broad Policies](/docs/troubleshooting/overly-broad-policies)
- [Overlapping Rubrics](/docs/troubleshooting/overlapping-rubrics)
- [Weak Applicability Logic](/docs/troubleshooting/weak-applicability-logic)
- [Noisy AI Suggestions](/docs/troubleshooting/noisy-ai-suggestions)
{% /related-card-grid %}