# Core principles Summarizes design principles that shape behavior and tradeoffs. ### Edge-First Execution Inspection decisions are executed at the edge, close to the physical process being observed. This minimizes latency and ensures production continuity regardless of external connectivity. ### Cloud-Optional Architecture Cloud services enhance analytics, visibility, and coordination, but are not required for real-time inspection execution. Loss of cloud connectivity does not halt inspections. ### Evidence-Driven Decisions All inspection outcomes are traceable to structured evidence artifacts generated at inspection time. ### Operational Safety Under constrained conditions, the system prioritizes safe, continuous operation over data completeness or analytical richness. ### Next steps * [System overview](/doc/intelfactor-ai/architecture-and-data/system-overview.md) * [Reliability & degradation](/doc/intelfactor-ai/operations-and-security/reliability-and-degradation.md) * [Safety rails](/doc/intelfactor-ai/product-concepts/safety-rails.md) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://intelfactor.gitbook.io/doc/intelfactor-ai/product-concepts/core-principles.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.