obligation-matrix

When to use

• Many regimes, shared obligations. Three or more regulations or jurisdictions compared across the same set of duties. The grid lets the reader scan a row to know a regime and a column to know an obligation.
• State markers, not values. Cells are state markers — the universal six ([x] [-] [!] [?] [ ] [/]), one meaning each in every layout. For textual cell values use table.
• The key's words are a DEFAULT, not a fixed vocabulary. 'Applies' and 'Exempt' suit a compliance matrix; a licensing or diligence grid wants other words. Write a label set above the grid — [{[x], In force}, {[/], Not subject}] — and those markers are renamed; the ones you do not name keep theirs. The defaults are declared in this manifest's labelSet, which is also what lint:deck checks your keys against.
• Risk axis with heat. The heat variant flips the palette so applies ([x]) reads as alarm. Exempt ([/]) and undetermined ([ ]) cells stay neutral and are NOT recolored — they don't turn 'relief' green. Use when the matrix is read for exposure, not for coverage.

When not to use

• Two regimes only. Past one row vs another the grid loses its purpose. Use compare-prose or table for two-regime comparisons.
• Mixed cell content. Don't mix state markers with prose values in the same matrix — the cell width has to grow to fit prose and the marker grid collapses. Pick one cell type.
• Restating the key in prose. The grid now draws its own key — one named marker per state the cells actually carry — so a trailing sentence repeating 'filled = applies, half = partial' costs a line and can go stale against the markers on the slide. Rename the words with a label set instead; keep the paragraph for what the key cannot say.

Common mistakes

• Keying a label set on the marker's NAME rather than the marker. [{applies, In force}] binds to nothing and the row is dropped. A key is the marker exactly as a cell spells it — [x], [-], [!], [?], [ ], [/] — brackets included. The brackets are load-bearing: a bare space key collapses to empty under the parser's whitespace tidy and would take the [ ] row with it.
• Explicitly left-aligning table columns (:---) instead of leaving alignment unspecified or writing :---:. The matrix unconditionally centers every cell, so a plain column with no alignment markers still centers state-marker glyphs fine. Only an EXPLICIT :--- left-align syntax breaks it — that emits an inline left-align style, which (being inline) overrides the component's own centering rule regardless of specificity.

Authoring

<!-- _class: obligation-matrix -->

## Headline framing what the matrix compares.

| Regulation | Obligation A | Obligation B | Obligation C |
| ---------- | :----------: | :----------: | :----------: |
| Regime 1   | [x]          | [x]          | [-]          |
| Regime 2   | [x]          | [-]          | [x]          |
| Regime 3   | [x]          | [/]          | [x]          |

Slots

Anatomy

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  header                                 │
│  Regulation × duty heading.             │
│                                         │
│  ┌───────────┬───────────┬───────────┐  │
│  │           │ Duty A    │ Duty B    │  │
│  ├───────────┼───────────┼───────────┤  │
│  │ Reg 1     │ ✓         │ ✕         │  │
│  │ Reg 2     │ ✓         │ ✓         │  │
│  │ Reg 3     │ ⚠         │ ✓         │  │
│  └───────────┴───────────┴───────────┘  │
│  footer                           1/19  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Variant decision rule

• default (no modifier) — Neutral, data-first cell chrome with no additional emphasis — reference tone.
• heat — The matrix should read as exposure — applies ([x]) reads as alarm — not just coverage for reference. Exempt ([/]) and undetermined ([ ]) cells stay neutral; heat does NOT re-color them; they keep their default neutral ring rather than turning 'relief' green.
• asymmetric — The regimes genuinely differ in kind and each deserves body-level breathing room as its own card rather than a strict grid cell.
• pills — The state should read as a word — a status label — rather than an iconographic mark. This requires authoring literal text (inline code or bold) per cell instead of the state-marker grammar — pills' word-styling only targets literal text, so a table still written with bracket markers keeps its icon-only marks (no word appears), though the cell padding and row-zebra shift anyway since pills restyles every cell regardless of content.
• lanes — Each regime should read as its own horizontal band, emphasizing that it's a distinct regime rather than a rank in a list.

Variants

<!-- _class: obligation-matrix heat -->

## heat shades the cells by burden.

| Regulation | Notice | Consent | Retention | Breach | DSAR  |
| ---------- | :----: | :-----: | :-------: | :----: | :---: |
| GDPR       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| CCPA/CPRA  | [x]    | [-]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| LGPD       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| PIPEDA     | [x]    | [x]     | [-]       | [x]    | [-]   |
| HIPAA      | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [-]   |
| GLBA       | [x]    | [-]     | [-]       | [x]    | [/]   |

Heat marks burden, not relief — exempt cells stay neutral.

<!-- _class: obligation-matrix asymmetric -->

## asymmetric admits the regimes differ in kind.

| Regulation | Notice | Consent | Retention | Breach | DSAR  |
| ---------- | :----: | :-----: | :-------: | :----: | :---: |
| GDPR       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| CCPA/CPRA  | [x]    | [-]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| LGPD       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |

Each row promotes to a card with body-level breathing room.

<!-- _class: obligation-matrix pills -->

## pills spell each cell as a status word.

| Regulation | Notice | Consent | Retention | Breach | DSAR  |
| ---------- | :----: | :-----: | :-------: | :----: | :---: |
| GDPR       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| CCPA/CPRA  | [x]    | [-]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| LGPD       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| PIPEDA     | [x]    | [x]     | [-]       | [x]    | [-]   |
| HIPAA      | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [-]   |
| GLBA       | [x]    | [-]     | [-]       | [x]    | [/]   |

Same data, neutral chrome — the state pills carry the meaning without the heat-map alarm.

<!-- _class: obligation-matrix lanes -->

## lanes walks one regime per band.

| Regulation | Notice | Consent | Retention | Breach | DSAR  |
| ---------- | :----: | :-----: | :-------: | :----: | :---: |
| GDPR       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| CCPA/CPRA  | [x]    | [-]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| LGPD       | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [x]   |
| PIPEDA     | [x]    | [x]     | [-]       | [x]    | [-]   |
| HIPAA      | [x]    | [x]     | [x]       | [x]    | [-]   |
| GLBA       | [x]    | [-]     | [-]       | [x]    | [/]   |

Each lane stripe signals that the row is its own regime, not a rank.

Guides

• The six answerswhat each state marker means
• Marks in layoutsthis layout’s words for each mark, and renaming them with a label set

Related

• tablecells are textual values, not state markers
• verdict-gridoptions scored against criteria with a per-card layout instead of a table
• matrix-2x2two axes, four cells, qualitative placement
• checklistone set of obligations against one regime, not many
• matrix-gridthe grid marks one position on two ordered axes, not a pass/partial/exempt status per cell