Understand governance outcome records¶
Governance outcome records preserve a reported result, the work it concerns, its governing authority, who recorded it and the supporting references. They help an organization explain reviews, decisions, approvals, compliance actions, escalations and risk-prevention work consistently.
The service supports recording six outcome types. These records are distinct from approval-body configuration, request execution and document signing. A connected screen journey for these recording actions has not yet been verified.
What each record means¶
| Record | Intended business meaning | What needs separate evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Review | A review's result and supporting reference | What was actually examined and whether the underlying work changed |
| Decision | A recorded determination associated with the work | The decision process, required votes and resulting execution |
| Approval | A recorded approval outcome | Quorum, approval-process completion and any document signature |
| Compliance action | A reported action and its result | Whether the remediation was performed and effective |
| Escalation | A reported escalation outcome | Whether the responsible people were notified and the underlying issue was resolved |
| Risk prevention | A claimed avoided-risk result with impact and demonstration references | The demonstrated effect and an actual independent review of the evidence |
These are separate record types, not six compulsory steps in one workflow. A review need not already exist before this recording service accepts a decision, and recording an approval does not automatically advance a request, close a case or sign a document. Check the source work's own result.
For example, a committee may record that a supplier review was completed and reference its assessment. The record can support later explanation of the work. It does not, on its own, confirm that a purchase request was approved, a contract was signed or a supplier was paid.
Establish the right work and authority¶
Each governance work record belongs to a workspace and a stable reference to the work. It retains the approval-body authority used when it was first opened. Later outcomes for that same work must match that authority; changing the body's reference can therefore require support to reconcile the existing association.
Recording through the ordinary service requires governance management permission, an active body in the current workspace and an actor whose body membership is effective at the supplied completion time. A general job title, membership in another body or receipt of shared work is insufficient.
The outcome-recording path checks membership. It does not itself count votes or require the actor's voting or signing flag for each of the six actions. Do not interpret a saved approval record as proof that all rules of the organization's approval process were applied. The owning process and its evidence must establish that.
Prepare a clear record¶
The supplied information includes the authority, result, supporting proof reference and assignment, start and completion times. An optional due time, quality or impact assessment, demonstration reference and linked communication can add context.
Use a stable work reference, an accurate result and evidence that an authorized reviewer can actually retrieve. Record the real chronology: assignment comes before or at start, and start before or at completion. Times must be supplied consistently in UTC by the connected application. The recording path's date checks do not independently prove when the work happened.
A proof reference is a reference supplied with the record. Saving it does not establish that the referenced material exists, was opened, is authentic or is accessible to every reader. The same applies to a linked message or meeting. Keep sensitive evidence within the approved source and verify access separately.
Understand actor and verifier attribution¶
The ordinary recording path derives the actor from the authenticated account. It records that actor as the participant: Reviewer for a review, Approver for an approval, and Owner for the other outcome types. That is not a full meeting attendance list or committee voting record.
Risk-prevention outcomes and outcomes linked to communication require a different verifier identity. The recording service derives that identity from the body's authority at the completion time. It uses the chairperson when different from the actor; if the actor is the chairperson, it selects another effective member, preferring a signer. If no chairperson exists, this process does not simply fall back to any available member.
A derived verifier identity is not evidence that the person reviewed or confirmed the proof. The recording service does not collect a separate confirmation from that person. When independent verification matters, confirm the real review and retain its evidence through the owning business process. Do not describe the record as independently verified solely because it contains another person's name.
Risk-prevention records also require an impact assessment and a demonstration reference. These requirements improve the structure of the claim; they do not calculate the avoided loss or validate the claimed effect. Managers should assess the evidence before relying on it in business reporting.
Corrections preserve a sequence¶
A correction identifies the original outcome and its latest revision, states the correction kind and gives a reason. The service adds a new revision to that outcome's sequence while retaining the earlier record. It does not silently rewrite the original.
Corrections must refer to the same outcome type within the same governance work. A review correction cannot substitute for an approval correction. If another correction has already become the latest revision, reconcile that sequence before submitting another change. A new work reference or a second independent record is not equivalent to correcting the original.
A retraction can record withdrawal of an earlier claim. Retaining that revision and publishing it do not themselves undo the underlying business action. Verify the owning request, case, project, record or document process separately.
Recover without creating a conflicting record¶
| Situation | Recommended response |
|---|---|
| Authority is missing or inactive | Verify the correct workspace and approval body before recording |
| The actor is not assigned | Check membership at the stated completion time and use the owning access process |
| Independent verifier cannot be selected | Check chairperson and effective membership; confirm who actually reviewed the evidence |
| Dates or proof details are rejected | Correct the actual chronology or missing references rather than changing facts to bypass validation |
| Correction is stale or not found | Locate the original outcome type and latest revision through authorized support |
| Save fails or its response is lost | Reconcile the original attempt before repeating it; preserve its original operation reference and intended content |
| A record is saved but the work remains open | Check the source work and any delayed reporting separately; the record does not execute that work |
The current recording service returns a success/failure result rather than a complete outcome receipt and browsing journey. If your connected application cannot confirm a result, give support the work reference, outcome type, body, approximate time and last confirmed result. Avoid replacing an uncertain attempt with a different work reference, new correction or fresh submission merely to obtain a success message.
Use the reporting and recovery guide to distinguish a saved outcome from evidence received by a report. Use governance records together with the source work, evidence and activity history. Their strongest use is to make responsibility and reported outcomes easier to examine; they should not be treated as automatic certification of the reported business result.