Section 13 of 105
12. Normative and Informative Content
Stable section ID: S05-CON-014-SECTION-13 · 26 content blocks
System05 documents shall clearly distinguish normative content from informative content.
Normative content establishes requirements necessary for conformance. It may define:
- Mandatory actions.
- Prohibitions.
- Recommended practices.
- Permissions.
- Performance limits.
- Applicability conditions.
- Verification methods.
- Acceptance criteria.
- Required evidence.
- Authority and responsibility.
Informative content supports understanding but does not independently establish conformance obligations. It may include:
- Rationale.
- Explanatory notes.
- Examples.
- Diagrams.
- Commentary.
- Historical context.
- Implementation options.
- Educational material.
- Research observations.
- Nonbinding references.
Informative text shall not be used to hide a mandatory requirement. If an outcome is necessary for conformance, it shall appear in the normative Rule statement or another explicitly referenced normative provision.
An example shall not become mandatory merely because it appears within a Rule record. Conversely, labeling text as informative shall not excuse contradiction of an applicable normative requirement.
Machine-readable representations shall preserve the distinction between normative and informative fields.