A Pattern Language for Knowledge Engineering with Large Language Models

Deferred Commitment

States an explicit decision early, then defers final commitment until it is evaluated and confirmed or revised.

Problem

Analysis often stays hedged and non-committal, making it unclear what decision is being made or revised.

Solution

Force an initial explicit decision, then evaluate and confirm or revise before final commitment. Separating decision from evaluation creates an auditable, revision-aware decision trail.