OBJECTIVE: Reconstruct the claimed basis of one fictional decision across a procedure change. Use invented rules and case references on paper or in an authorized test environment. Do not alter live records or substitute this exercise for professional advice about a real dispute.
1. Define Two Versions
Create version A and version B of a simple archive-access procedure. Give each a stable identifier. For B, assign separate approval, publication and effective-start dates. State that its ordinary scope covers requests begun on or after the start date.
Include a transition note that deliberately leaves one question unresolved: how to reconsider an older request that remains open. Label this omission as part of the exercise, not an actual service instruction.
2. Place Three Cases
Create a request begun before the transition, one begun after it and one whose start date is missing. Give each a decision date and a recorded rule reference. Include a case where the decision cites the current page but no version identifier.
Compare the references with the stated scope. Mark contradictions and missing information separately. A missing date is not permission to choose whichever version produces the preferred result.
3. Ask Two Questions
For each case, write what can be said about the original decision basis and what can be said about the current reconsideration route. Keep those answers distinct. If the transition note does not resolve the second question, name the responsible role and the clarification needed.
Ask another reader to locate the exact instruction you cited. A link that always opens the latest version fails this historical-reference test unless it also provides an unambiguous route to the earlier text.
4. Record the Limits
Produce a short timeline containing version, scope, relevant dates, decision reference and unresolved question. Do not silently rewrite the earlier reference. A correction should explain what changed and which dependent review needs attention.
Completion criterion: another reviewer can distinguish what was published, what was claimed to apply and what remains uncertain. The exercise does not determine whether a real rule was lawful or a real outcome justified.
Read Current Is Not Necessarily Applicable and the fictional Rule in Force for context.