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Methodology

Purpose of This Document

This document defines the methodological approach used to build and maintain the Robotaxi Reference Framework.

Its purpose is to:

  • ensure analytical rigor
  • make assumptions explicit
  • enable auditability
  • prevent interpretative drift over time

The methodology is descriptive and analytical, not prescriptive or advisory.

Analytical Approach

The framework follows a system-oriented, evidence-based methodology.

Key characteristics:

  • system-level analysis over component-level detail
  • structure before interpretation
  • boundaries before conclusions
  • evidence before synthesis

No conclusions are drawn without explicit linkage to documented sources.

Evidence Hierarchy

All analysis is grounded in a strict evidence hierarchy:

Tier 1 — Normative Sources

  • international standards (ISO, IEC, ETSI, SAE)
  • binding regulations and legal instruments
  • official regulatory frameworks

These sources define hard constraints.

Tier 2 — Institutional Practice

  • published guidance by regulatory authorities
  • documented approval, reporting and oversight practices
  • official compliance frameworks

These sources define operational interpretation.

Tier 3 — Empirical Practice (Non-Normative)

  • publicly disclosed operational data
  • safety case publications
  • transparency reports of active operators

These sources provide illustrative evidence only and do not override Tier 1 or Tier 2 constraints.

Source Validation

Each source must meet all of the following criteria:

  • official publisher or issuing authority
  • publicly accessible
  • versioned or datable
  • stable and citable
  • directly relevant to robotaxi systems

All accepted sources are listed exhaustively in SOURCES.md.

Sources outside this list are treated as non-authoritative for this release.

Analytical Dimensions

Content is structured consistently across the following dimensions:

  1. System Definition
    What the system is — and is not.

  2. Technical Constraints
    Safety, cybersecurity, software lifecycle and interfaces.

  3. Regulatory Structure
    Legal obligations, approval models and audit requirements.

  4. Operational Reality
    Deployment, scaling and long-term operation.

  5. Economic Structure
    Cost persistence, capital requirements and sustainability.

  6. Societal Context
    Trust, accountability and institutional legitimacy.

Each dimension is treated as interdependent, not as an isolated layer.

Vendor Neutrality

The framework is strictly vendor-neutral.

Commercial entities may be referenced only when:

  • unavoidable for empirical illustration
  • publicly documented
  • clearly labeled as non-exclusive examples

No vendor is:

  • endorsed
  • ranked
  • promoted
  • treated as representative of the market

Handling of Uncertainty

Uncertainty is treated as a structural property, not as a gap to be filled with speculation.

Where evidence is incomplete:

  • uncertainty is stated explicitly
  • boundaries are defined
  • no extrapolation is performed

Future developments are not assumed, forecasted or implied.

Update and Change Discipline

This framework follows a frozen-release model.

  • Content reflects the state of evidence at the release date.
  • Changes are not incorporated continuously.
  • Updates occur only via explicit new releases.

Any future update must:

  • declare its release ID
  • document changes explicitly
  • preserve backward traceability

Auditability

The methodology is designed to support auditability.

An audit must be able to:

  • trace every analytical claim to a source tier
  • identify assumptions clearly
  • verify consistency across documents and pages

The baseline for audits is defined in SCOPE.md.

Relationship to the Website

This methodology applies equally to:

  • the GitHub repository
  • the Robotaxi.de website
  • all derived reference materials

No divergence between repo and website methodology is permitted.

Freeze Status

  • Release ID: 1.0.0
  • Freeze Date: 2026-02-03
  • Status: Frozen

This methodology is binding for the corresponding frozen website release.