Reality Selection Module (RSM)
OOF™ Origin Open Foundation™
Independent Methodological Authority
Architecture Ecosystem: Structured Reality Standards™
Architecture Family: SIMULOS® — Simulation Governance Architecture
Parent Standard: Reality Representation Standard (RRS)
Operational Layer: Simulation Reality Representation Layer
Category: Governance & Enforcement
Subcategory: Simulation Governance
Type: Parent Standard Module
Governed Space: Reality Selection
Version: 1.0
Status: Canonical · Open Module
Effective Date: 16 August 2026
Compatibility: OOF® Methodology OS™ · GOA™ · ORA™ · VALIDOS® · INTEGROS® · ADIT® · AGA™ ·
AIG® · CLIA® · MGIA™ · ASGA™ · RIS™
AI-Readable: Yes
Authority: OOF®
Protection: MIP® — Methodological Intellectual Property
Canonical Language: English (UCL™)
Governed Space
Reality Selection
Canonical Definition
Reality Selection Module (RSM) defines the governance conditions under whichreal-world entities, properties, behaviors, relationships, processes, events,
environmental conditions, dependencies, constraints, disturbances, and other
materially relevant reality elements are identified, evaluated, selected,
excluded, prioritized, and documented for representation within a governed
simulation.
RSM establishes the first transformation boundary between the reality relevant
to a simulation inquiry and the subset of that reality that will actually
enter the simulation representation.
Operational Role
RSM serves as the first internal governance space of the RealityRepresentation Standard (RRS).
The preceding Simulation Purpose & Scope Standard (SPSS) establishes why the
simulation exists, what inquiry it must address, what remains outside its
scope, the applicable context, and the required depth and precision.
RSM asks the next question:
Which elements of reality are materially relevant to that inquiry and
therefore must be represented inside the simulation?
The governed progression is:
Simulation Purpose & Scope → Relevant Reality → Reality Element Identification
→ Materiality Assessment → Selection / Exclusion → Reality Selection Basis →
Reality Abstraction
RSM does not determine how selected reality will technically be modeled.
It establishes what reality must first be carried forward into representation
governance.
Module Function
RSM exists because no simulation represents all of reality.Every simulation performs selection, whether explicitly or implicitly.
Without governed selection, materially important elements may disappear before
model construction even begins.
This may create a simulation that is technically sophisticated but
structurally incapable of answering its intended question.
RSM prevents: arbitrary reality selection, convenience-driven omission,
selection based only on available data, selection based only on existing model
capabilities, hidden exclusion of difficult phenomena, omission of material
interactions, omission of relevant environmental conditions, omission of
failure states, selection driven by desired simulation outcomes, unexplained
reduction of real-world complexity, and later representation of an incomplete
simulated world as if it represented the relevant reality comprehensively.
Reality Selection Principle
SIMULOS® establishes:Reality should enter a simulation because it is material to the simulation
inquiry, not merely because it is easy to model.
Technical availability does not determine methodological relevance.
A phenomenon may be difficult to represent and still be essential to the
simulation.
Relevant Reality
Relevant Reality is the portion of reality that may materially affect thegoverned simulation inquiry.
It may include: physical objects, physical properties, system states, actors,
behaviors, environmental conditions, interactions, dependencies, constraints,
external influences, disturbances, failure mechanisms, temporal effects,
spatial effects, uncertainty sources, and operational conditions.
Relevant Reality is established relative to the defined Simulation Object,
Purpose, Scope, Applicability Context, and required Simulation Depth &
Precision.
Reality Element
A Reality Element is an identifiable aspect of Relevant Reality considered forrepresentation within the simulation.
A Reality Element may represent:
Entity
a physical, digital, biological, organizational, human, autonomous, or other
actor or object.
Property
a characteristic relevant to simulation behavior.
State
a condition in which an entity or environment may exist.
Behavior
an action, reaction, response, or behavioral pattern.
Process
a sequence or transformation occurring within reality.
Interaction
a relationship through which two or more elements influence one another.
Dependency
a condition under which one element depends upon another.
Constraint
a real-world limitation affecting possible behavior.
Event
an occurrence capable of changing the relevant system state.
Environment
external conditions affecting the Simulation Object.
Disturbance
an external or internal influence capable of materially changing outcomes.
Reality Element Identification
Reality selection begins by identifying candidate Reality Elements.Identification should not initially be constrained only by what the current
simulation platform can represent.
The correct sequence is:
What matters?
then:
How can it be represented?
not:
What can our simulator already represent?
then:
That must be what matters.
Reality Materiality
A Reality Element is material where its presence, absence, behavior,variation, interaction, or incorrect representation could materially affect:
simulation behavior, scenario progression, simulation outputs, interpretation,
decision relevance, safety implications, operational conclusions, or the
intended reliance on simulation results.
Materiality therefore connects reality selection directly to the purpose of
the simulation.
Materiality Assessment
Each candidate Reality Element should be assessed against questions such as:Could this element materially influence the Simulation Object?
Could its omission materially alter simulation behavior?
Could its variation materially change the result?
Could it interact with another selected element?
Could it become important under abnormal or failure conditions?
Could it affect the intended interpretation or use of simulation outputs?
Where the answer is materially yes, the element should not disappear from
representation without an explicit governed decision.
Materiality Is Context-Dependent
The same reality element may be:Material
for one simulation,
and:
Non-Material
for another.Wind may be immaterial to one indoor robotic simulation but essential to an
autonomous aerial system.
Human behavior may be irrelevant to a component stress simulation but critical
to an evacuation simulation.
RSM therefore does not establish universal lists of mandatory reality
elements.
It governs the method by which relevance is established.
Reality Selection Decision
A candidate Reality Element may receive a governed selection status such as:Selected
The element must proceed into representation governance.
Conditionally Selected
The element becomes required under defined scenarios, states, or conditions.Excluded — Non-Material
The element has been evaluated and determined not to materially affect thesimulation inquiry.
Excluded — Outside Scope
The element belongs outside the approved Simulation Scope.Representation Constraint Identified
The element is material but cannot currently be represented sufficiently.Selection Undetermined
Available knowledge is insufficient to determine whether the element ismaterial.
Selected Does Not Mean Fully Modeled
Selection establishes that an element matters.It does not yet determine: abstraction, fidelity, resolution, model
implementation, numerical technique, or technical representation.
Those questions belong to subsequent RRS governance and later SIMULOS® spaces.
Exclusion Governance
Exclusion is as important as inclusion.A simulation may legitimately exclude large portions of reality.
However, exclusion should remain bounded by the simulation inquiry.
A material element should not be excluded merely because: data are
unavailable, representation is expensive, computation is difficult, modeling
is inconvenient, the simulation platform lacks capability, the phenomenon
creates uncertainty, or its inclusion weakens the expected result.
Where such limitations exist, they should remain visible as representation
limitations rather than silently becoming non-reality.
Explicit Exclusion
An explicit exclusion should identify:what is excluded,
why it is excluded,
whether it is considered non-material or outside scope,
and:
whether the exclusion limits interpretation of simulation outputs.
Hidden Exclusion
A Hidden Exclusion occurs where a materially relevant Reality Element isabsent from the simulation representation without explicit assessment or
documentation.
Hidden exclusion is a significant simulation-governance problem because
downstream users may not know that the simulated environment lacks an
important part of the reality being examined.
Representation Constraint
A material Reality Element may be identified even when adequate representationis currently impossible.
RSM must preserve this distinction.
Therefore:
Cannot currently represent ≠ Not relevant
The resulting Representation Constraint should propagate into subsequentReality Representation governance.
Interactions and Dependencies
Reality selection should not consider elements only individually.Some elements become material because of their relationships.
A component may appear insignificant independently but become critical
through: dependency, feedback, coupling, cascading effects, shared resources,
synchronization, environmental interaction, or failure propagation.
RSM therefore governs both Reality Elements and material relationships between
Reality Elements.
Normal and Abnormal Reality
Reality selection should not automatically represent only normal operatingconditions.
Depending upon Simulation Purpose, Relevant Reality may include: nominal
operation, degraded operation, edge conditions, rare events, failure states,
environmental extremes, conflicting actors, unexpected interactions, and
recovery conditions.
Whether these must be selected depends upon the simulation inquiry.
Temporal Relevance
Some reality elements matter only over time.RSM should therefore consider: duration, sequence, timing, latency,
accumulation, degradation, adaptation, drift, and delayed consequences
where material to the simulation.
Spatial Relevance
Reality selection may also depend upon: location, distance, geometry,topology, proximity, physical boundaries, operational zones, or spatial
relationships.
RSM identifies whether these characteristics are materially relevant.
Their later resolution belongs to representation governance.
Human Reality
Where humans materially interact with the Simulation Object, RSM may identifyrelevant: human behavior, reaction, decision-making, variability, error,
communication, intervention, supervision, or coordination.
RSM does not govern human cognition itself.
Where cognitive governance is required, CLIA® may provide the complementary
architecture.
Autonomous-System Reality
For autonomous systems, relevant reality may include: other autonomous actors,permissions, constraints, human intervention, environmental uncertainty,
coordination, escalation conditions, failure states, communication loss, and
unexpected actor behavior.
The governance of autonomous operation itself remains within ASGA™.
RSM governs only whether these real-world characteristics must be represented
for the simulation inquiry.
Operational Reality Boundary
RSM does not establish authoritative Operational Reality.ORA™ governs Operational Reality.
RSM consumes the relevant reality basis and determines which elements must
enter simulation representation.
The distinction is:
ORA™ → What is the operational reality?
RSM → Which parts of that reality are material to this simulation?
Validation Boundary
RSM does not validate the simulation.VALIDOS® governs validation.
RSM creates a governed Reality Selection Basis that may later become part of
the evidence examined during validation.
Integrity Boundary
RSM does not establish general integrity governance.INTEGROS® governs integrity.
RSM governs whether reality selection is explicit, bounded, traceable, and
methodologically connected to the Simulation Purpose & Scope.
Reality Selection Completeness
Reality Selection Completeness asks whether the material categories of realityrelevant to the simulation inquiry have been sufficiently considered.
Completeness does not mean representing everything.
It means:
no known materially relevant reality category has been omitted without
governed treatment.
Selection Uncertainty
Sometimes it is unclear whether a Reality Element is material.This uncertainty should remain visible.
Possible treatment may include: conditional selection, sensitivity analysis,
scenario inclusion, additional investigation, conservative inclusion, or
explicit unresolved status.
Uncertainty should not automatically become exclusion.
Selection Priority
Where representation resources are limited, selected Reality Elements mayrequire prioritization.
Priority may reflect: materiality, consequence, sensitivity, uncertainty,
dependency, failure significance, or relevance to the Simulation Purpose.
Prioritization does not remove the requirement to disclose material elements
that cannot be represented sufficiently.
Reality Selection Traceability
Every material selection decision should remain traceable to the simulationinquiry.
A useful chain is:
Simulation Purpose → Simulation Scope → Relevant Reality → Reality Element →
Materiality Assessment → Selection Decision → Representation Requirement
This allows downstream users to understand why a particular part of reality
exists inside the simulation.
Reality Selection Change
Reality selection may need reassessment where: Simulation Purpose changes,Simulation Scope changes, the Simulation Object changes, operational reality
changes, new dependencies are discovered, new failure modes emerge, new
evidence becomes available, or simulation outputs reveal previously
unrecognized sensitivity.
Selection Change Propagation
A material change in Reality Selection may affect downstream:Abstraction → Fidelity → Resolution → Assumptions → Model & Environment →
Inputs → Scenarios → Execution → Outputs → Reality Correlation
SIMULOS® therefore treats Reality Selection as an upstream governance
dependency.
Reality Selection Basis
The principal governed output of RSM is the Reality Selection Basis.It should establish: relevant reality context, candidate Reality Elements,
materiality decisions, selected elements, conditional selections, excluded
elements, exclusion rationale, unresolved selections, representation
constraints, material interactions, material dependencies, and traceability to
Simulation Purpose & Scope.
Minimum Implementation Framework
1. Establish Relevant Reality ContextUse the governed Simulation Object, Purpose, Scope, Applicability Context, and
Depth & Precision requirements as the selection basis. 2. Identify Candidate
Reality Elements
Identify potentially relevant: entities, properties, states, behaviors,
processes, events, environments, interactions, dependencies, constraints, and
disturbances.
3. Assess Materiality
Determine whether each candidate element could materially influence the
simulation inquiry or interpretation. 4. Determine Selection Status
Classify each material candidate as: selected, conditionally selected,
excluded with justification, representation-constrained, or undetermined.
5. Assess Relationships
Identify material interactions and dependencies between selected elements. 6.
Assess Selection Completeness
Determine whether material categories of reality have been sufficiently
considered. 7. Record Limitations and Uncertainty
Preserve unresolved materiality, unavailable knowledge, and representation
constraints. 8. Establish Reality Selection Basis
Create the governed basis from which Reality Abstraction may proceed. 9.
Preserve Traceability
Maintain:
Purpose → Scope → Reality → Materiality → Selection → Representation
Requirement 10. Reassess After Material Change
Reopen Reality Selection when upstream simulation conditions or relevant
reality materially change.
Governance Outputs
RSM may produce: Relevant Reality Context, Reality Element Register, RealityElement Classification, Reality Materiality Assessment, Reality Selection
Decision, Selected Reality Element Set, Conditional Reality Selection Record,
Reality Exclusion Record, Reality Exclusion Rationale, Representation
Constraint Record, Reality Interaction Map, Reality Dependency Map, Reality
Selection Uncertainty Record, Reality Selection Priority Record, Reality
Selection Completeness Assessment, Reality Selection Change Record, Reality
Selection Traceability Map, and Reality Selection Basis.
Use Case 1 — Autonomous Vehicle Simulation
An organization simulates an autonomous vehicle before deployment.RSM prevents the simulated world from being defined merely by what the
existing simulator already contains.
The organization evaluates whether the simulation must represent: other
vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, road geometry, weather, visibility, road
degradation, emergency vehicles, unusual human behavior, sensor obstruction,
communication failures, and infrastructure conditions.
A phenomenon that is materially relevant but difficult to simulate remains
visible as a Representation Constraint rather than silently disappearing from
the simulation. Use Case 2 — Spacecraft Landing Simulation
A spacecraft landing simulation requires selection of reality elements capable
of materially influencing landing performance.
These may include: gravity, terrain, atmospheric conditions where applicable,
vehicle dynamics, propulsion behavior, navigation uncertainty, sensor
performance, communication delay, component failure, surface interaction, and
environmental disturbances.
RSM establishes which of these must proceed into representation governance and
which may legitimately remain outside the simulation inquiry.
The module does not determine the mathematical model used to represent them.
Architectural Position
Reality Selection is the first internal governance space of the RealityRepresentation Standard (RRS).
The complete RRS progression is:
Reality Selection → Reality Abstraction → Representation Fidelity →
Representation Resolution → Representation Limitation
RSM establishes:
What parts of reality matter?
The next module, RAM — Reality Abstraction Module, establishes:
At what level of abstraction should those selected parts of reality be
represented?
This separation is fundamental.
Selection determines what enters the simulated world.
Abstraction determines how much of its real-world complexity must remain once
it enters.
Foundational Principle
A simulation cannot legitimately represent a reality element that was neverrecognized as relevant, and difficulty of representation does not make
material reality irrelevant.