Model

What this term settles

A model represents, it does not become the entity. The phrase under conditions of interest is the important limit: a model is valid for those conditions, and a change in conditions can invalidate it without any change to the model itself. That is why models drift out of date in ways that are invisible in the tool.

What to do in your practice

Record for each model the entity it represents, the conditions it assumes and the purpose it serves. Add a review trigger for changes to those conditions. Treat a model outside its conditions as a hypothesis, not as evidence. Add the model conditions to the decision record, not only to the model register. A decision that depends on a model is only as good as the conditions the model assumed, and the decision record is where a later reader will test it.

Who it binds

The role that owns the practice area the term governs. A definition binds nobody on its own; it binds the reader who adopts the term in a method, a description or a contract.

Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for

Common gaps this page catches

What to prepare before publication

Add a conditions line to the model register. Pick the model most used in decisions and test whether its conditions still hold. Record the result.