CHAIN is a maturity model for measuring reflectivity in Observable Reflective Architectures. Each link represents a dimension of that reflectivity: Causality, History, Agency, Intent, and Narrative. Together, they form the foundation for systems that can understand and explain their own behaviour.
ORA defines Observable Reflective Architecture. CHAIN measures its reflectivity through five dimensions: Causality, History, Agency, Intent, and Narrative.
All state must be causally derivable. Learn how to build systems where the current state of any resource can be traced back through a sequence of prior events.
All state transitions must be preserved. Learn how to build systems where every change is stored as an immutable fact that can be replayed, inspected, and verified.
All actions must be attributed to a verifiable actor. Learn how to build systems that track who or what made a decision, and under what authority.
Every action must be anchored to an explicit goal. Learn how to build systems that capture what was meant to happen, not just what did happen.
The system must reconstruct and communicate its story. Learn how to build systems that can explain what happened, why it happened, and who made it so.
Implementation patterns and code examples for each CHAIN maturity level. SQL schemas, Rust patterns, and practical guidance for building reflective systems.
