An AI governance decision log in practice

An AI governance framework example is most useful when it shows a decision that somebody can inspect. A decision log should connect the intended use, evidence considered, unresolved risk and authority to proceed. It also needs to show which changes would reopen that decision.

Consider a fictional US customer-support team testing an assistant that suggests answers from approved public product information. The assistant cannot send replies. A trained employee reviews each suggestion before communicating with a customer. This example is an original teaching scenario, not a tested deployment or client result.

Log a decision about a specific use rather than approving AI in general. Keep evidence references and unresolved conditions together. Review expansion separately and maintain authority to pause the use.

NIST describes its AI Risk Management Framework as voluntary. AI RMF 1.0 includes governance responsibilities, monitoring and risk responses, alongside its MAP, MEASURE and MANAGE functions. Its GOVERN subcategories address defined roles, planned review and leadership responsibility. 1

NIST's current framework page says AI RMF 1.0 is being revised. This example uses the published 1.0 framework as a reference; it does not represent a final replacement framework. A voluntary framework does not determine every applicable US legal, contractual or sector obligation. 2

For the fictional pilot, the proposed output is a draft answer about standard product features. The approved information set contains current public documentation. Customer records, credentials and confidential material are outside the pilot boundary.

The decision record identifies the configured service, responsible business owner and review route. It also states prohibited actions and the manual route available when the assistant fails. Our related guide explains meaningful human checks in AI assisted workflows.

The team prepares test cases covering ordinary questions, missing information and conflicting source versions. It asks competent reviewers to inspect answers against the source documents and record material errors. Those are proposed activities. This example supplies no invented success rate, reliability score or measured saving.

The log distinguishes a vendor statement from evidence observed by the team. For each test record, it references the relevant source version, output and reviewer finding. Sensitive material should remain in an appropriately protected evidence system rather than being copied into a widely shared approval log.

A small pilot can expose problems without establishing reliability for every question or audience. The approver should see that limitation and the work still required.

The table is a proposed record structure. Its entries are assumptions for the teaching example, and the decision remains pending. An organisation using it must substitute verified facts and its own authority arrangements.

An eventual approval should explain the accepted scope and conditions. It should not become a claim that the assistant is suitable for every customer interaction. If the approver cannot accept the remaining uncertainty, record the hold and evidence needed.

For the fictional public-information assistant, suppose the product team has supplied a demonstration but no completed exception tests or reviewer-capacity evidence. A useful record does not fill those gaps with assumed passes.

The decision separates permission to prepare an evaluation from permission to rely on customer-facing output. It does not infer either permission from a supplier's product claim. In a real log, replace role descriptions with the actual authorised owners and attach evidence references that exist.

A later request to remove the employee check is a new decision because it changes who acts on the answer. The original hold should remain in history with the subsequent decision and its basis. This is original record-design guidance: it demonstrates how to preserve uncertainty and accountability, without claiming that NIST mandates this form or that a pilot has passed.

Suppose the team later wants the assistant to send replies or use customer account information. Either proposal changes the original boundary. The owner should assess the new permissions, information route and consequences before relying on the earlier decision.

NIST AI RMF 1.0 describes documenting risk responses and residual risks. The decision log proposed here is one practical way to preserve an organisation's reasoning and follow-up; it is not a prescribed NIST form. 1

No. It connects one decision to responsibilities and evidence. Training, monitoring, information controls and other governance work still need their own arrangements.

A completed template shows what was recorded. Applicable requirements and the effectiveness of controls need separate assessment.

Use the organisation's actual delegated authority. A job title alone does not demonstrate permission to accept the exposure.

AI assisted research and drafting. Sources checked 7 October 2026. Obtain competent review before consequential use.

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