4. Domain index¶
Each row names an engineering domain, the rules found in it, and the references that support those rules. A rule can appear under several domains. "Supports" in the rule list means the domain confirms an existing rule but added nothing new.
Found is not the same as applicable. All universal rules apply to every domain in this index, the risk-scaled rules apply wherever the rigor matrix requires them, and the conditional rules apply wherever their condition is true. That holds even where the domain has no published practice yet (adoption gap).
130 domains in 20 branches (12 engineering branches, 8 management branches).
Civil¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Structural and building | P56 Independent checker | EPCLand: Checking of design |
| Geotechnical | P68 Observational method | ICE: The observational method |
| Coastal and hydraulic | P44 Margin | Wikipedia: Return period |
| Offshore and decommissioning | P24 Lifecycle and decommissioning; P10 Decision records | JPT: Engineering for decommissioning SPE: Design for decommissioning (basis of design) |
| Construction management | P67 Critical path; P65 Small verified steps | Wikipedia: Critical path method Quality Engineers Guide: Hold point and witness point |
| Transportation | P49 Induced demand; P39 Error-proofing | Wikipedia: Induced demand FHWA: Zero deaths and the Safe System approach |
| Environmental and water | P15 Precaution; P40 Defense in depth (supports) | Wikipedia: Precautionary principle Wikipedia: Multi-barrier approach |
| Railway operations | P71 Checklists | Wikipedia: Pointing and calling |
| Building services | P54 Verification and validation | Wikipedia: Building commissioning |
| Municipal and infrastructure asset management | P78 Asset inventory | Wikipedia: Asset management (incl. ISO 55000) |
| Geological | P68 Observational method (supports) | Wikipedia: Geological engineering |
Mechanical¶
Materials¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Fatigue and corrosion | P28 Accumulated degradation; P29 Compatibility | Wikipedia: Fatigue (material) Wermac: Corrosion allowance Wikipedia: Galvanic corrosion |
| Forensic engineering | P83 Preserve evidence | PHMSA: Metallurgical Laboratory Failure Examination Protocol Wikipedia: Forensic engineering |
| Welding | P61 Qualified procedure and person | Wikipedia: Welding Procedure Specification |
| Ceramics and brittle materials | P34 Weakest-link scaling | Wikipedia: Weibull modulus Wikipedia: Size effect on structural strength |
| Metallurgical | P14 Provenance | Wikipedia: Mill test report |
| Electronic materials | P28 Accumulated degradation (supports) | Wikipedia: Electromigration |
| Polymers | P28 Accumulated degradation (supports) | Wikipedia: Creep (deformation) |
| Nanotechnology | P15 Precaution (supports) | Wikipedia: Regulation of nanotechnology |
Electrical¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Electronics | P45 Redundancy (N-1); P44 Margin (supports) | USPTO: Materials-based failure analysis in electronic devices Wikipedia: Derating |
| Power grids | P45 Redundancy (N-1); P47 Graceful degradation | SINTEF: N-1 isn't always enough Wikipedia: Load shedding |
| Telecom and network | P32 End-to-end; P33 Strict interfaces | Wikipedia: End-to-end principle Wikipedia: Robustness principle (incl. RFC 9413 critique) |
| Computer engineering | P26 Design for testability; P50 Bottleneck first (supports) | Wikipedia: Design for testing Wikipedia: Amdahl's law |
| Broadcast | P70 Monitoring in operation | TV Technology: Confidence monitors |
| Microwave | P33 Strict interfaces (supports) | Wikipedia: Impedance matching |
| Optical (laser safety) | Master rule (supports) | Wikipedia: Laser safety |
Chemical¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical process safety | P64 Versioning and change review; P38 Hierarchy of controls | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (management of change) Wikipedia: Inherent safety |
| Oil and gas | P40 Defense in depth | JPT: Robust well barrier and well integrity management |
| Food safety | P72 Critical control points | FDA: HACCP Principles & Application Guidelines |
| Pharma and clinical trials | P11 Trustworthy evidence | FDA: Electronic Source Data guidance (ALCOA) |
| Textile | P58 Comparable measurement | ISO 139:2005 Textiles - standard atmospheres (sample) Chiuvention: Why fabric test results vary with weather |
| Electrochemical (batteries) | P41 Compartments (supports) | NASA: Can cell-to-cell thermal runaway propagation be prevented? |
| Molecular and biomolecular engineering | P31 Design by selection; P81 Plan-Do-Check-Act (supports) | Wikipedia: Directed evolution Molecular Devices: Design-build-test-learn cycle |
Nuclear¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclear | P24 Lifecycle and decommissioning; P37 Fail-safe; P42 Two-person rule | IAEA: Decommissioning by design PatSnap: Fail-safe design Wikipedia: Two-man rule |
Mining¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Mining | P72 Critical control points | Mining Weekly: ICMM critical control management guide |
Biomedical¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Medical devices and human factors | P25 Human factors; P59 Traceability | MD+DI: Human factors engineering egtechnology: Usability example Stell: Requirements traceability |
| Surgery | P71 Checklists | ScienceDaily: WHO surgical checklist study (2009) ICES: Ontario checklist study (2014) |
| Clinical engineering | P75 Actionable alerts | Wikipedia: Alarm fatigue |
| Bioinformatics | P13 Automated reproducible results | Sandve et al.: Ten Simple Rules for Reproducible Computational Research |
| Biomaterials | P29 Compatibility | Wikipedia: Biocompatibility |
| Biomechanics | P25 Human factors | Wikipedia: Anthropometry |
| Medical imaging (radiation protection) | Master rule (supports) | Wikipedia: ALARP / ALARA |
| Neural engineering | P72 Critical control points (supports) | Wikipedia: Shannon criteria |
Agricultural¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and biosystems | P27 Robustness (supports) | PMC: Engineering approach for sustainable biological systems |
Industrial¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | P4 Stop authority; P39 Error-proofing | Wikipedia: Andon (manufacturing) UserSolutions: Poka-yoke |
| Quality engineering | P81 Plan-Do-Check-Act; P27 Robustness | ISO Central: PDCA Penn State: Taguchi's Robust Design Method |
| Occupational and industrial safety | P38 Hierarchy of controls; P66 Isolation before work | CDC/NIOSH: Hierarchy of controls OSHA: Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) |
| Fire protection | P73 Response faster than harm | Fire Risk Assessment Network: ASET and RSET |
| Industrial engineering and operations research | P50 Bottleneck first; P44 Margin | Wikipedia: Theory of constraints Linda Green: Queueing theory and modeling |
| Supply chain engineering | P51 Shared demand signal | Wikipedia: Bullwhip effect Lee, Padmanabhan, Whang: Information Distortion in a Supply Chain (Management Science 1997) |
Computing¶
Cross-cutting¶
Management: Governance and assurance¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate governance | P6 Conflict-of-interest disclosure; P56 Independent checker (supports) | G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance 2023 ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations (catalogue page) |
| Internal audit and assurance | P40 Defense in depth; P56 Independent checker | IIA: The Three Lines Model (2020) |
| Statutory audit | P56 Independent checker | Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, Article 17 (text copy) |
| Internal control | P43 Segregation of duties; P42 Two-person rule | NIST CSRC Glossary: separation of duty (SP 800-192) |
| Compliance management | P60 Codes as minimum; P59 Traceability | ISO 37301:2021 Compliance management systems (catalogue page) |
| Whistleblowing and speak-up | P4 Stop authority | Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (EUR-Lex) |
| Anti-bribery | P6 Conflict-of-interest disclosure (supports) | ISO 37001 Anti-bribery management systems (catalogue page) |
Management: Strategy and decisions¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise risk management | Master rule; P16 Set-based design; P22 Failure and interaction analysis | COSO: ERM — Integrating with Strategy and Performance, Executive Summary (2017) ISO 31000:2018 Risk management (catalogue page) |
| Decision making | P18 Decision speed by reversibility | Amazon 2015 letter to shareholders (SEC filing) |
| Red teaming and challenge | P56 Independent checker; P46 Diversity | UK MoD: Red Teaming Handbook, 3rd ed. (2021) |
| Military command and control | P7 Commander's intent; P2 Work within competence | US Army ADP 6-0 Mission Command (2019) |
| Pre-mortem risk identification | P22 Failure and interaction analysis | Klein: Performing a Project Premortem (HBR 2007) |
Management: Portfolio, programme and project¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Project management | P67 Critical path; P65 Small verified steps; P75 Actionable alerts; P20 Stop criteria set in advance; Master rule (tailoring) | ISO 21502:2020 Guidance on project management (catalogue page) PMI: PMBOK Guide 8th edition Purple Griffon: PRINCE2 7th edition principles |
| Portfolio management | P20 Stop criteria set in advance (supports); P22 (portfolio view) | ISO 21504:2022 Guidance on portfolio management (catalogue page) |
| Forecasting of large projects | P12 Model validity | Flyvbjerg: From Nobel Prize to Project Management (2006) |
| Agile and Scrum | P66 Isolation before work; P81 Plan-Do-Check-Act; P23 Simplicity; P28 Accumulated degradation | Principles behind the Agile Manifesto The Scrum Guide (2020) |
| Software delivery management | P65 Small verified steps | DORA: Working in small batches |
| Software project staffing | P53 Late work and added people | The Jargon File: Brooks's Law |
Management: Product and innovation¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Experimentation | P31 Design by selection | Kohavi & Thomke: The Surprising Power of Online Experiments (HBR 2017) |
| Innovation management | P17 Technology maturity (supports) | ISO 56001:2024 Innovation management system (catalogue page) |
Management: Operations, quality and supply¶
Management: Risk, resilience and legal¶
Management: People and organization¶
Management: Finance¶
| Domain | Rules | References |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting and bookkeeping | P11 Trustworthy evidence | § 239 HGB (text copy, dejure.org) |
| Payments and treasury | P42 Two-person rule; P43 Segregation of duties | NIST CSRC Glossary: separation of duty |
| Budgeting | P49 Induced demand | Parkinson: Parkinson's Law (The Economist, 1955; text copy) |
Checked without a separate row¶
These domains produced no sourced rule. The last column shows which rules apply anyway by cross-reference, in addition to all universal rules. This column is the author's judgment, not a sourced finding.
| Domain | Reason | Applicable by cross-reference (besides all universal rules) |
|---|---|---|
| Regenerative medicine | searched; no source found for a distinct principle | P59 (regulated), P15 (irreversible harm), P17 (new technology), P61 (results that cannot be fully inspected) |
| Composite materials | the source for barely visible impact damage could not be fetched; not included | P61 (hidden damage that inspection cannot fully find) |
| Computational materials | the checked source has no statement on model validation; P12 covers model validity | P31 (weak models), P77 (data-driven models) |
| Material characterization | the checked source has no statement on calibration; P58 covers it | universal rules only; P58 is the central one |
| Sports engineering | no distinct principle found; equipment safety standards fit P60 | P60 (equipment standards exist) |
| Thermal engineering | the checked source states only that heat must be managed for reliability; covered by P44 (derating) and P28 | P48 (thermal control loops) |
| Surface engineering, industrial plant, power plant, project, information, facilities | not researched separately; they overlap covered domains (P28, P24, P45, P74, P67, P77) | plants: P45, P59, P48, P78; information: P33, P77; project: universal rules only |
| Applied engineering, electromechanics, mechatronics | umbrella terms that combine other branches | P33 (data interfaces), P48 (control loops) |
| Geomatics | only the units and reference-frame principle (P33) applies; no geomatics-specific source | P33 (data interfaces), P77 (data-driven results) |
| Explosives and military engineering | out of scope beyond organizational practice (P42 two-person rule) | not assessed (out of scope) |
| Sales and marketing management | not researched separately | P19 (sales quotas are gamed), P31 (experiments), P51 (share sell-through data) |
| Customer service management | not researched separately | P47 (triage under overload), P75 (escalation only on exception), P52 (queue length) |
| Facility management (ISO 41001), energy management (ISO 50001) | catalogue pages not checked | P78, P74, P3 |
| Treasury, tax, legal departments | covered by finance and compliance rows | P43, P42, P60, P59 |
| Public administration | covered by procurement, governance and records rows | P6, P11, P60, P59 |
| Non-profit management | no distinct principle found | universal rules and the rules from management sources only |
| Self-management and time management | out of scope (one person, see section 1) | P76 and P52 apply to one person as advice, not as organizational rules |