DACS Accountability Gate Template Example
Filled-in example: Active Customer Count
v0.2
Current Document Available Here:
https://dacs.datavaultalliance.com/documents/accountability-gate-template-example
Scenario
A weekly executive dashboard reports Active Customer Count. Sales, Finance, and Operations use slightly different definitions. The team wants one small Gate that determines whether the metric is ready for internal executive dashboard use.
Use this template to build one lightweight DACS Gate for one narrow decision path. Complete it manually first. Automate only after the pattern is stable.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Decision path or metric | Weekly Executive Dashboard: Active Customer Count |
| Business decision supported | Internal executive review of customer growth, retention exposure, and operating priorities. |
| Stated decision scope | North America subscription-customer Active Customer Count for weekly internal executive dashboard use. |
| Grain | One customer account as of the reporting week end. |
| In-scope use | Internal weekly trend discussion and operating review. |
| Out-of-scope use | External reporting, compensation decisions, regulatory reporting, or customer commitments. |
| Business owner | VP Customer Operations. |
| Technical owner | Analytics engineering lead for executive dashboard. |
| Governance or stewardship authority | Customer data steward and finance analytics steward. |
| Material concepts | Customer Account; Active Status; Subscription Contract; Reporting Week; Exclusion Rule. |
| Stable identifier / identity rule | CRM Master Account ID. Duplicate accounts use approved master-account resolution rule. |
| Material relationship paths | CRM Account to Billing Customer; Customer Account to Subscription Contract; Subscription Contract to Active Status; Reporting Week to period boundary. |
| AI/context involvement | None for first pass. AI Context Contract controls not applied. |
| Gate question | Can Active Customer Count be used in the weekly executive dashboard for the stated internal-use scope? |
Evidence, readiness, and next action
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Required evidence | Scope record; definition owner approval; identity rule; source references; active-status code list; exclusion rules; relationship/path note; Gate readiness log. |
| Applicable control results (Pass / Fail / Not Applicable) | Pass: declared scope, CRM Master Account identity rule, approved source mapping, and the relationship paths used for the approved subset. Fail: Pending Reactivation and Manual Hold lack approved business meaning and inclusion/exclusion treatment. Not Applicable: AI Context Contract controls for this first pass. |
| Gate readiness state (Proceed / Caution / Stop / Quarantined) | Caution. Constrained internal trend use is allowed under the recorded exclusions, remediation owner, and review condition. |
| DACS conformance status | Not established for the full stated scope while applicable Fail results remain. Caution does not convert those Fail results into Pass. |
| Items classified as Quarantined | Status codes Pending Reactivation and Manual Hold until business meaning and inclusion/exclusion treatment are approved. |
| Caution / Stop conditions | Caution applies because two status codes remain Quarantined under an explicit constrained-use decision. Stop would apply if the CRM Master Account identity rule or active-status source mapping were missing or invalid for the stated scope. |
| Constraints or exceptions | Do not use for external reporting, compensation decisions, regulatory filings, or customer-facing commitments. |
| Remediation owner | Customer data steward to resolve two status codes with Customer Operations and Finance. |
| Review condition / date | Review after status-code decision or before next monthly executive operating review. |
| Conformance Record / evidence packet location | Executive dashboard evidence folder: Active Customer Count / First Look / Week 1. The Conformance Record is retained with the Gate evidence and control results. |
| Recommended next decision | Continue constrained internal trend discussion under Caution; resolve the Quarantined status codes, retest the failed controls, and reassess the Gate before expanding use. |