PAT-0320 - Convergence Failure
A structural condition where sequential or parallel states fail to resolve into an equivalent or coherent structure under shared authority and constraints.
Primary Lenses
- LEN-0170 - Convergence Lens
Compares parallel structural systems to determine whether they align under shared authority.
Secondary Lenses
- LEN-0290 - Variance / Entropy Lens
Measures structural variability across repeated or comparable evaluations and identifies divergence beyond expected bounds.
- LEN-0270 - Reconciliation Lens
Evaluates whether structural changes align with declared authority updates, version changes, or reconciliation rules.
Primary Issue Matches
- Agent Never Settles on Final Answer
The agent keeps revising, rechecking, planning, or branching instead of converging on a final answer or completed result.
- Merge Step Leaves Unresolved Differences
A merge, reconciliation, or consolidation step combines outputs or reviews but leaves important differences unresolved.
- Parallel Reviews Never Agree
Parallel AI, human, workflow, or tool reviews keep producing different results without resolving into a shared decision state.
Supporting Issue Matches
- Agent Keeps Expanding the Task
The agent repeatedly expands the task, plan, scope, or next-step list instead of completing the declared work.
- Human Review and Automation Disagree
A human review result and an automated AI or workflow result disagree without a declared rule for resolving the difference.
- Review Escalates Without Stop Condition
A review process keeps escalating, re-reviewing, or adding scrutiny without a declared condition for stopping.
- Review Queue Becomes Bottleneck
A review queue, approval path, or validation stage accumulates too much work and begins blocking the workflow.
- Routing Path Cycles Back to Start
A routing path sends the case back to the starting point or an earlier step without resolving the condition that caused the route.
- Same Workflow Check Happens Twice
The same review, validation, approval, routing, or safety check occurs more than once in the workflow without a clear reason.
- Task Progress Is Lost Midway
The AI loses track of completed work, prior decisions, current position, or remaining steps before the task is finished.
- Workflow Loops Through Review Without Resolution
A workflow repeatedly sends work through review, repair, or escalation without reaching an approved, rejected, or otherwise resolved state.
- Workflow Waits on Step That Waits Back
A workflow step waits for another step that also waits on the first step, creating a blocking loop.
Ontology Metadata
- Code
PAT-0320- Version
PAT-0320@0.1.0- Ontology release
- 0.1.0
- Updated
- 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
History
-
0.1.0 — 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z — Created
Promoted reviewed Pattern ontology entry: Convergence Failure.
Receipt impact: None