Foundational distinction
VES distinguishes between explaining a decision and proving it. The evidentiary substrate determines what can be proven — the defensibility layer determines whether that proof survives scrutiny.
VES Terminology
Core Concepts
VES v1.1 defines a structured language for how consequential decisions become evidentially real and defensible under scrutiny.
Defined terms
01
Evidentiary Substrate
What actually existed at the moment a decision crossed the execution boundary. This forms the foundation upon which all defensibility depends.
02
Decision State
The complete set of inputs, authority, system outputs, and contextual signals present at the moment a consequential judgement was exercised.
03
Execution Boundary
The point at which a recommendation, analysis, or model output becomes a committed organisational act, instruction, or outcome.
04
Point-in-Time Evidence
Evidence captured at or immediately adjacent to the execution boundary, prior to hindsight, reinterpretation, or reconstruction.
05
Evidence Pack
A structured representation of the decision-state, assembled in a form that preserves integrity and enables later verification.
06
Defensibility Layer
Determines whether the evidentiary substrate can withstand scrutiny. Governs how evidence survives challenge, interpretation, and dispute.
07
Structural Defensibility
The degree to which a decision can be supported by complete, coherent, and verifiable evidence of what existed at the moment it was made.
08
Reconstruction Gap
The difference between what actually existed at decision-time and what can later be reconstructed from logs, documents, and system traces.
09
Scrutiny Boundary
The point at which a decision becomes subject to external challenge, including audit, regulatory review, dispute, or litigation.
10
Independent Verifiability
The ability for a third party to confirm that an evidence record existed at a specific time and has not been materially altered.