Implementation Kit
AI Decision Log Template and Audit Readiness Checklist
Everything to reconstruct a single AI decision about a single person months later. A decision-log schema by decision type, a versioning and change policy, a retention schedule tied to the underlying legal regime, and an audit-readiness checklist.
Who this is for: The owner of a system that makes or informs decisions about individuals, and the auditor who has to trace one.
1. AI decision log schema
SpreadsheetThe fields logged at the decision level, not the system level. Adjust the type-specific rows to your use cases.
Template
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| decision_id | Yes | Unique, referenced in the outcome record |
| timestamp | Yes | With timezone |
| subject_ref | Yes | Pseudonymous ID linking to the individual |
| system_id and model_version | Yes | Exact version that produced the output |
| inputs | Yes | The feature values or prompt actually used, or a hash plus a retrievable copy |
| output | Yes | Score, class, or text |
| confidence / score | Yes | Where the model produces one |
| explanation artifacts | If available | Top features, rationale string |
| human_reviewer | If applicable | Identity of the person who reviewed |
| human_decision | If applicable | Accept, override, or modify, plus reason |
| final_outcome | Yes | The decision communicated to the subject |
Worked example
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| decision_id | dec-2026-0091823 |
| timestamp | 2026-09-02T10:14:07+01:00 |
| subject_ref | appl-7f3c9 |
| system_id / version | resume-screener / 2.4.0 |
| inputs | structured feature vector v2.4 (stored); raw CV hash sha256:9c1f... |
| output | score 2 of 5 |
| confidence | 0.71 |
| explanation | top features: years_experience (low), skill_match (medium) |
| human_reviewer | recruiter u-4471 |
| human_decision | override to "advance"; reason: portfolio not captured by the model |
| final_outcome | advanced to phone screen |
Acceptance criteria
- ✓Logging is at the decision level: one record per decision, not per batch or per day.
- ✓The exact model version is captured on every record.
- ✓Inputs are recoverable, either stored directly or via a hash (a unique fingerprint of the input) plus a retained copy.
- ✓Where a human reviews, their identity, decision, and reason are logged.
2. Model versioning and change policy
DocumentSo a logged model_version always resolves to a known model. Short; defer detail to the model registry kit.
Template
One page.
- Every change to the model itself (weights), its instructions (prompt), its run-time settings, or the documents it looks things up in creates a new version with a changelog.
- The version string in the decision log matches a version record in the registry.
- Version records are retained at least as long as the decisions made under them.
- A changelog entry states what changed, why, the evaluation delta, and who approved it.
Worked example
Version log excerpt, resume-screener:
- 2.3.1 (2026-06-10): capped tenure weight after v2.3 bias finding. Approver: R. Nkemelu.
- 2.4.0 (2026-08-30): base model VendorLM-3 to VendorLM-4. Adverse-impact ratio 0.85 to 0.88. Approver: R. Nkemelu. Decisions logged with model_version 2.3.1 remain resolvable to this entry for the full retention period.
Acceptance criteria
- ✓Every model_version value that appears in the decision log resolves to a retained version record.
- ✓Version records outlive the decisions made under them.
3. Retention schedule by decision type
SpreadsheetDecision records inherit the retention rule of the underlying decision, not a generic log policy.
Template
| Decision type | Governing regime | Minimum retention | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment (hiring, promotion) | <local employment law> | <e.g. 1-4 years> | Longer if a claim is filed |
| Credit / lending | <e.g. FCRA, ECOA> | <e.g. 25 months> | From date of adverse action |
| Insurance underwriting / pricing | <state insurance law> | <e.g. 3-6 years> | |
| Benefits / eligibility | <program rules> | <e.g. 3-6 years> | |
| Content moderation affecting an account | <platform / DSA> | <e.g. 6-12 months> | |
| General automated decision under GDPR Art. 22 | GDPR | For the period needed to demonstrate compliance | Plus right-to-explanation support |
Worked example
| Decision type | Regime | Minimum retention | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiring (screening score + outcome) | EU member-state employment law + GDPR | 2 years from decision | Extend to end of any litigation |
| Refund / goodwill (support copilot) | Consumer + internal audit | 3 years | Matches finance record retention |
| Retention configured per decision_type at write time; archival job moves records to cold storage at 1 year, deletes at the limit. |
Acceptance criteria
- ✓Each decision type maps to the specific legal regime that sets its retention, not a blanket period.
- ✓Retention is enforced by an archival and deletion job, not left manual.
- ✓A litigation hold process can suspend deletion for named records.
4. Audit readiness checklist
SpreadsheetRun per system to confirm a single decision can actually be reconstructed.
Template
| Check | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Pick a random past decision; retrieve its full log record | Y / N | |
| Resolve its model_version to a version record and changelog | Y / N | |
| Recover the exact inputs used | Y / N | |
| Produce the explanation artifacts for that decision | Y / N | |
| Show the human review step and its reason, if applicable | Y / N | |
| Confirm the record is within its retention period and will be kept | Y / N | |
| Time taken to do all of the above | target: under 1 hour |
Worked example
| Check | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Retrieve full log record | Y | dec-2026-0091823 pulled in 3 min |
| Resolve model_version | Y | 2.4.0 to registry entry + changelog |
| Recover exact inputs | Y | feature vector stored; raw CV via hash lookup |
| Produce explanation | Y | top-features list on the record |
| Show human review | Y | recruiter override with reason |
| Within retention | Y | 2 yr, archived at 1 yr |
| Time taken | 22 min | under the 1-hour target |
Acceptance criteria
- ✓The reconstruction test has been run on a real past decision, not a fresh one.
- ✓Every step succeeds within the time target, or the gap has an owner and a fix date.
Governance controls this kit produces evidence for
Completing the artifacts above gives you a head start on the evidence requirements for these controls.
The decision-log schema is the decision-logging standard, applied per decision.
Schema plus retention schedule plus the readiness test are the high-risk audit trail.
The retention schedule is the log retention policy, tied to each decision's legal regime.
The versioning policy keeps every logged model_version resolvable to a retained record.
The explanation-artifact fields provide per-decision explainability evidence.
This kit backs one playbook. Read the full guidance for the reasoning behind each artifact.