Decision record

Prism

The complete account of a decision, from its inputs to its named author, retained for as long as the decision can be questioned.

What is a decision record?

A decision record is the complete account of one decision. It holds the inputs the decision rested on alongside the standard applied to them, and it names the person answerable for the result. The record is retained for as long as the decision remains open to question, which is usually longer than the system that produced it.

Why a decision record is written for a stranger

Nobody consults a decision record while the decision is fresh. It is read long after the cycle has closed by someone with no involvement in it, commonly a regulator with no access to the reasoning that was obvious at the time. That reader cannot ask a clarifying question, so anything implicit in the record is simply absent. Writing for that reader, rather than for a colleague, is the whole discipline.

  • The record is read by someone who cannot ask a follow up question.
  • Anything held in a reviewer's head is gone by the time it is needed.
  • A record tied to a system version outlives that system and must stand alone.
  • Naming an accountable person converts a process output into a decision.

How a decision record works

  • Each input is captured at the version that was actually read.
  • The rubric version and threshold in force are stamped onto the record.
  • Every dimension score is stored with the passage of evidence supporting it.
  • Reviewer identity and timestamp are recorded against each change, including any override.
  • The outcome communicated to the applicant is stored with the record.
  • The whole record is made immutable and retained for the full appeal period.

How a decision record is evaluated

A decision record is assessed on whether a stranger can reconstruct the decision from it. Test the following on closed decisions:

  • proportion of records from which the outcome can be fully reconstructed
  • availability of each input at the version originally read
  • completeness of evidence links per dimension
  • presence of a named accountable approver on every record
  • retention period against the longest applicable appeal window

Limitations, risks and common failure modes

  • Records point at documents that have since been edited in place.
  • Overrides are stored as a replacement score with no reason attached.
  • Export formats lose the evidence links when the record leaves the system.
  • Retention is set at the platform default rather than by legal requirement.

Related terms

AI audit trailThe complete record of what a system did, on what evidence, and who authorised it, retained for the period the decision can be questioned.Execution ledgerThe record of every execution, with its outcome and the person who authorised it.DefensibilityWhether a decision can be explained and substantiated when it is challenged, which is the only standard that matters at the point of appeal.Reasoning traceThe recorded path from evidence to score, which is what makes a decision reviewable afterwards.Append-only logA record that can be added to and never amended, which is what makes a history worth presenting.Audit of a decisionReconstructing how a particular outcome was reached, long after the people involved have moved on.

All 315 terms