Chain enumeration
The head grant's chain field, each id resolving to a grant record with mode and liability.
MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention
Give a chain of delegations one intervention at its boundary that reaches every hop, so the composition can be paused, measured, and attributed as a single delegation rather than as conformant parts.
Specification overview
What the mechanism includes and where it sits.
The scope, assets, and linked validators, before the steps.
Spec essentials
What this mechanism includes
- 4 steps with checklist-ready owners.
- 3 reusable assets for briefs and runbooks.
- 4 reuse-ready snippet blocks.
- 3 glossary anchors for shared terms.
Filters & validators
Where this spec sits in the system
Tagged in 2 filters with 2 linked validators.
Glossary anchors
Link back to the definitions.
Jump to the glossary terms that frame this mechanism.
4 steps with checklist-ready owners, plus linked assets for handoffs.
0 of 4 steps complete
Assets
Assets this mechanism produces.
Copy these into design docs, runbooks, and briefs, with the mechanism permalink.
Chain halt receipt
One receipt per halt naming every hop stopped and the time it took.
Composed-window measurement
Measured upstream latency against the intervention window, per decision period.
Reuse-ready snippets
Copy policy, audit, and incident language.
Use these snippets in requirements, audits, and postmortems with the mechanism permalink.
Policy requirement
Policy requirement (MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention) - Any consequential decision produced by a chain of delegations records the chain on the head grant, each hop resolving to a full delegation. - The chain boundary carries one intervention specification, and exercising it halts every hop with a receipt covering the chain. - A chain whose composed latency leaves no measured human window does not run unattended. Reference: https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/chain-boundary-intervention
Product requirement
Product requirement (MEC-20) - The interface exposes the chain boundary as a single stop surface, with the hops it covers named on the receipt. - The composed window is displayed to the operator, not the per-hop clock each vendor promises.
Audit evidence checklist
Audit evidence checklist (MEC-20) [ ] Head grants enumerate their chains, and each hop resolves to a grant record. [ ] Halt receipts cover the chain, and a halt test shows downstream hops did not continue. [ ] Composed windows are measured from decision records, not from vendor estimates.
Postmortem trigger
Postmortem trigger (MEC-20) Trigger review when a chain decision could not be paused at the boundary, or when hops continued after the hop that was stopped.
Example usage
One stop for a three-vendor claims chain
One scenario with each part of the mechanism in place.
How it plays out
A payer's denial chain runs intake, scoring, and letter generation across three providers. The head grant lists all three hops; pausing the boundary stops all three, and the receipt names each. The composed window leaves the reviewer 90 seconds, so the chain runs confirm at the boundary rather than unattended.
Anti-patterns
Common failure cases and counterfactuals
Each case passes on paper and fails in operation. The counterfactual shows what would have worked.
Per-hop pause theater
Each hop exposes a stop control and each works, but downstream hops re-trigger the stopped one or continue on stale output, so the composed process never stops.
Counterfactual: One boundary intervention halts every hop, and the halt receipt covers the chain.
False-positive warning: A chain that re-converges after an interruption was never stopped.
Latency laundering
Each hop promises a sub-second review, so every hop's clock looks compliant and no one owes a human window.
Counterfactual: The composed window is measured from decision records, and a chain without one cannot run unattended.
False-positive warning: Parallel-sounding latency claims must be checked against whether the hops run in series.
Validator
Maintenance Simulator
A tabletop run through an outage, a maintenance window, or a handoff that scores coverage and lists each missing owner, halt lane, and template.
Validator
Burden Modeler
Scores task load, cognitive friction, and risk exposure across seven weighted drivers and ranks where relief would reduce burden most.
Copy citation (APA/BibTeX)
Cite this page Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS
APA
Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention. Ethotechnics Institute. https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/chain-boundary-intervention
MLA
Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention." Ethotechnics Institute, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/chain-boundary-intervention.
Chicago
Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention." Ethotechnics Institute. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/chain-boundary-intervention.
BibTeX
@misc{mechanism_chain-boundary-intervention,
title={MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention},
author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
year={2026},
howpublished={Ethotechnics Institute},
url={https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/chain-boundary-intervention},
version={v1.1.0}
}
RIS
TY - WEB TI - MEC-20 Chain-boundary intervention AU - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team PY - 2026 UR - https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/chain-boundary-intervention ER -