Taxonomy

Problem Categories

PDE classifies every problem across 7 research dimensions. Categories are derived from real evidence fields — not invented labels. Browse by dimension to see which problems share a classification.

7 dimensions 16 active categories 2 classified problems

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Problem Type

4 values

What kind of blocking step the problem represents. Derived from blocking_step and context fields.

Cost Predictability 2 problems Pricing Friction 2 problems Workflow Reliability 1 problem Information Gap 2 problems

Actor / Role

4 values

Who experiences the problem. Normalized from the actor field.

Small Operator 1 problem Freelancer / Small Business 1 problem Developer 1 problem Engineering Team 1 problem

Industry / Domain

3 values

What domain the evidence explicitly names. Only assigned when context clearly supports it.

Automation Software 1 problem SaaS 2 problems AI Coding Tools 1 problem

Evidence Strength

1 value

Overall validation posture derived from the validation matrix. Uses PDE's own SUPPORTED/PARTIAL/UNKNOWN vocabulary.

Supported 2 problems

Commercial Proof Stage

1 value

Strongest commercial proof kind present in the filed evidence, per the frozen PDE ordering: PAYMENT > USAGE > SIGNUP > CLICK.

Payment Evidence 2 problems

Problem Status

1 value

Current research status of the problem, derived from the validation matrix overall posture.

Validated 2 problems

Cluster / Theme

2 values

The evidence-based cluster the problem belongs to, from the PDE cluster catalogue.

Metered Automation Cost Shock 1 problem AI Tool Billing Shock 1 problem

About PDE Taxonomy

All category assignments are derived metadata — deterministically computed from real evidence fields (blocking_step, actor, context, validation_matrix, commercial_proof, cluster catalogue). Every classification records its source field and derivation rule in pde-taxonomy.json. Unknown or unclassifiable dimensions are left empty rather than filled with guesses.

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