Claimed vs. Proven Readiness
Reporting chains are optimistic by construction: each level summarises, smooths and hopes. The distance between what is claimed and what can be proven is where launch failures live.
Why claims drift from reality
Rarely through bad faith. Completion is reported when the contract is signed — not when the equipment runs. Training is reported when the course ended — not when competence was demonstrated. Funding is reported when the budget was requested — not when it was approved. Each claim is locally reasonable; the aggregate is a fiction.
A readiness system therefore never scores claims. It scores verified minimum conditions, and it tracks evidence status separately from readiness status so the gap between the two stays visible.
Making the gap measurable
In IORS every criterion carries both a readiness status and an evidence status. A criterion can be plausibly 'conditional' with evidence still 'requested' — that combination is honest and visible. What cannot happen is a Verified score without reviewed evidence.