Purpose, Scope and Method
This site provides a structured reference description of decision provenance as a distinct conceptual construct.
It is intended to stabilise terminology, clarify boundaries and reduce confusion between evidentiary preservation and retrospective explanation.
Purpose
The primary purpose of this site is definitional clarity.
In regulatory, organisational and AI-assisted contexts, the language used to describe decision evidence is often inconsistent. Terms such as audit trail, decision narrative, reconstruction and explanation are frequently used interchangeably, despite referring to materially different concepts.
By defining decision provenance as the preserved record of decision context, judgement and outcome at the time a decision is made, this site seeks to establish a stable reference point.
Scope
This reference description applies to consequential decisions in:
- organisational governance
- regulated sectors
- legal and adjudicative settings
- AI-assisted or automated systems
It addresses evidentiary preservation of decision context, not process optimisation or performance assessment.
It does not define regulatory requirements, prescribe implementation architectures or constitute legal advice.
Method
The material on this site uses a clarificatory method.
It identifies commonly conflated concepts and distinguishes decision provenance from reconstruction and narrative explanation.
Rather than arguing for a policy position, it defines conceptual boundaries and explains their implications.
See Decision Reconstruction and Retrospective Explanation and Why Decision Reconstruction Fails.
Intended Use
This reference description may be cited in academic, regulatory, governance or implementation discussions where conceptual clarity is required.
It is not an operational standard, certification framework or compliance scheme.
Versioning and Stability
This reference description is versioned to support stable citation.
Version 1.0 establishes the baseline conceptual definition. Future versions may refine language or expand explanatory material without altering core scope unless explicitly stated.