Turn decision accountability into a documented control process.
The DACS Accountability Gate Template provides a practical worksheet for defining one decision path, identifying the evidence and authority supporting it, and recording whether that evidence is ready for use.
Start with one narrowly scoped decision. Establish accountability before introducing automation.
About this template
The DACS Accountability Gate Template is a reusable worksheet for applying the DACS approach to a specific business decision or metric.
It provides a structured way to document the decision being supported, its intended scope, responsible owners, material concepts, required evidence, and applicable controls.
What this template helps establish
- Decision scope: What decision is being supported, and where evidence use is permitted or excluded.
- Accountability: Who owns the business decision, technical implementation, and governance or stewardship authority.
- Evidence requirements: Which identifiers, relationships, concepts, and supporting evidence are material to the decision.
- Control outcomes: Whether applicable controls are assessed as Pass, Fail, or Not Applicable.
- Gate readiness: Whether evidence use may Proceed, proceed under Caution, Stop, or remain Quarantined.
- Next actions: Required remediation, constraints, review conditions, and the location of the supporting Conformance Record.
How to use it
Begin with one narrowly defined decision path. Complete the worksheet manually before considering automation.
Record individual control results separately from the overall Gate readiness state. A Caution state does not convert a failed control into a Pass or establish full DACS conformance.
Intended outcome
A documented, reviewable starting point for determining whether evidence is sufficiently controlled for a specified decision—and identifying what must happen next when it is not.
What changed in this release
* 2026-09-21 Initial Release