First Edition · July 2026 · Doctex Research Division
Every document analysed by the DSM engine is assigned to a structural class. Classification is deterministic — identical input produces identical class assignment. The classification system identifies five structural classes based on measurable properties: document segmentation, coherence gradient, and section-level terminal shift volatility.
All terminology used in this system is defined in the Structural Lexicon. The boundary between public classification logic and confidential implementation is defined in the Methodology.
Classification Decision Tree
DOCUMENT ANALYSED
│
├─ Single section? (Monolithic check)
│ ├─ YES ──► Structural density assessment
│ │ ├─ Low density ──► Class IV-a (Trivial Monolith)
│ │ └─ High density ──► Class IV-b (Dense Monolith)
│ │
│ └─ NO (multi-section)
│ ├─ Coherence gradient declining?
│ │ ├─ YES ──► Class III (Declining)
│ │ │ └─ Destabilizing close or unresolved terminal propagation?
│ │ │ ├─ YES ──► Class III+V
│ │ │ └─ NO ──► Class III
│ │ └─ NO (stable or positive coherence)
│ │ ├─ High section-level terminal shift volatility?
│ │ │ ├─ YES ──► Class II (Volatile)
│ │ │ │ └─ Destabilizing close or unresolved terminal propagation?
│ │ │ │ ├─ YES ──► Class II+V
│ │ │ │ └─ NO ──► Class II
│ │ │ └─ NO (low shift volatility, stable coherence)
│ │ │ └─► Class I (Resolved)
│ │ │ └─ Destabilizing close or unresolved terminal propagation?
│ │ │ ├─ YES ──► Class I+V
│ │ │ └─ NO ──► Class I
Class I Resolved
Structural Profile
The document exhibits stable structural coherence across its full span. The coherence gradient is flat or positive. Section-level terminal shift volatility is low. The document reaches its final section without structural disruption. Terminal propagation converges cleanly.
Typical Documents
Well-structured government reports, procedural documents, expository texts with clear organisational logic, audit reports with consistent structural register.
With +V Overlay
Class I+V (Resolved-Unresolved): The document body is structurally coherent, but the concluding section introduces destabilizing or unresolved propagation. The document reads as resolved until its final structural move, which disrupts the resolution. Common in legal instruments with a late reservation clause, diplomatic statements with a closing caveat, or contracts with a severability provision that structurally undermines earlier resolved propagation.
Class II Volatile
Structural Profile
The document exhibits high section-level terminal shift volatility. Terminal state assignments change significantly from section to section. The structural register is inconsistent — the document shifts between different structural signatures repeatedly. Coherence gradient may be flat or erratic.
Typical Documents
Legislative instruments with heterogeneous internal sections, multi-author reports where structural approach varies by section, documents that alternate between expository and argumentative structural modes, judicial decisions with dissenting opinions structurally embedded.
With +V Overlay
Class II+V (Volatile-Unresolved): High terminal shift volatility combined with a destabilizing or unresolved final section. The document is structurally inconsistent throughout and fails to resolve at the end. The +V overlay indicates the volatility is not merely a feature of structural diversity but includes an unresolved terminal propagation.
Class III Declining
Structural Profile
The document exhibits a declining coherence gradient — structural cohesion weakens as the document progresses. The document begins with stronger structural coherence and ends with weaker structural coherence. This is not necessarily a fault: many documents intentionally destabilize toward a conclusion that raises questions rather than resolving them.
Typical Documents
Consultative reports that identify problems without proposing solutions, discussion papers that map complexity without resolution, strategic reviews that conclude with open questions.
With +V Overlay
Class III+V (Declining-Unresolved): Declining coherence gradient with a destabilizing or unresolved terminal propagation in the final section. The document not only loses structural coherence across its span but also ends in a state of unresolved structural tension.
Class IV Monolith
Structural Profile
The document triggers Single-Section Collapse (Structure 6). It is either too short to segment at the engine's fixed measurement resolution, or it exhibits structural uniformity so extreme that section boundaries cannot be detected. Subclass IV-a (Trivial Monolith) has low structural density. Subclass IV-b (Dense Monolith) has high structural density despite being a single section.
Typical Documents
Single-paragraph letters, short affidavits, brief ministerial statements, executive summaries treated as standalone documents. Longer documents that exhibit extreme structural uniformity may also trigger Class IV classification.
+V Overlay
The +V overlay does not apply to Class IV. A single-section document cannot exhibit destabilizing close or unresolved terminal propagation in the multi-section sense. If the single section carries an unresolved terminal state, it is reported as the section's terminal state assignment — not as a +V overlay.
Class V (Overlay)
Structural Profile
Class V is not a standalone class. It is an overlay applied to Class I, II, or III when the document's final section carries a destabilizing terminal state or when terminal propagation remains unresolved at the document's conclusion. The +V designation signals that the document ends in structural tension regardless of the body's classification.
Significance
The +V overlay is the most actionable structural signal in the classification system. A Class I+V document is structurally resolved throughout but ends in tension — the tension is concentrated in the conclusion. A Class III+V document is structurally declining throughout and ends in tension — the entire architecture contributes to the unresolved close. The overlay provides commissioning parties with a direct signal: the document's structural ending warrants attention.
Note: Classification is deterministic — identical input produces identical class assignment. Class assignment is based on measurable structural properties and does not constitute a quality judgment. All classes describe structural behaviour, not correctness, persuasiveness, or compliance.