Decision Object — Operational test: Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect decision object.
Operational test "Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect decision object." for Decision Object in the Decision states & edges glossary category.
Operational test
Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect decision object.
Use this test to validate operational readiness.
Pair this test with the minimum evidence criteria to capture both qualitative and quantitative signals.
- Evidence artifact: Artifact documenting how Decision Object is expected, enforced, or governed.
- Behavior signal: Observed behavior showing Decision Object in practice during real use or drills.
- Metric signal: Metric tracked to monitor Decision Object performance over time.
Normative definition. A Decision Object is a versioned, inspectable record that encodes the rules, inputs, thresholds, and authority governing an operational decision. Decision objects are first-class governance artifacts, not just logic. They must specify ownership, appealability, reversibility, and temporal obligations. Decisions that affect access, status, or rights must be backed by an active decision object. Minimal JSON schema (governance-grade). { "decision_object_id": "DO-ACCESS-0041", "decision_name": "Eligibility Determination", "status": "active", "owner_role": "Risk Operations", "authority": { "issuing_body": "Eligibility Committee", "delegation_basis": "Policy §4.2" }, "inputs": [ {"name": "income_verified", "type": "boolean"}, {"name": "employment_duration_months", "type": "integer"} ], "decision_logic": { "model_type": "ruleset", "description": "Income verification + minimum employment duration" }, "outputs": [ {"value": "approved"}, {"value": "denied"}, {"value": "pending_review"} ], "reversibility": { "allowed": true, "mechanism": "human_override", "reversal_sla_id": "RSLA-002" }, "contestability": { "appealable": true, "appeal_channel": "formal_request", "binding_clock_id": "BC-010" }, "audit": { "last_updated": "2026-01-10", "version": "1.3.0", "change_log_ref": "CH-884" } } Ethotechnics move. This reframes “the system decided” into “this object did.” Once the object exists, accountability stops being philosophical.
J. Decision states & edges. Where and how decisions flip from reversible to permanent.
Ethotechnics uses Decision Object to extend the j. decision states & edges vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.