Enforcement patterns for validation gates depend on the criticality of the constraint being checked.
Hard Block
- Definition: Rejects output immediately and halts or forces a retry.
- Use Case: Non-negotiable constraints (financial limits, permission boundaries, safety-critical actions).
Soft Warning
- Definition: Flags and logs the output but permits execution to continue.
- Use Case: Advisory constraints where human judgment adds value or where the violation is not critical enough to halt the pipeline.