Coherence Question
The unit of flow between the sensing and coherence layers. When an observation’s scope exceeds the resolution available where it was produced, it carries its scope upward as a coherence question. A tier of the coherence layer names the question and routes it back down into the sensing layer, where the normal machinery resolves it. Coherence questions are the one permitted channel of upward and downward flow between the two layers; keeping this channel clean is what preserves velocity. (Strategy as Infrastructure, Chs 10, 15)
Why it matters
Coherence questions are the most distinctive architectural claim in the two-layer model. They prevent the coherence layer from becoming a decision bottleneck (which recreates the annual-planning-trap problem) while still giving observations a structured escalation path when they exceed local scope. The discipline of routing everything through coherence questions — rather than ad-hoc escalation — is what makes it possible to be both fast and coherent at the same time.
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