11. Recommended Practices (Informative)

This section is informative. These practices do not determine conformance unless referenced by a mandatory control.

• Start narrow. Begin with one decision scope, one decision path, one bounded Gate evaluation, and one evidence package. Begin the First Look with the Day One exercise. Continue one day at a time only when the evidence justifies the next day, for no more than five business days. A first evaluation does not require a full enterprise program, platform migration, or complete adoption of companion specifications.
• Record the disposition of material in-scope evidence. Use the applicable Gate to establish Proceed, Caution, Stop, or Quarantined for the stated use. Do not assign a readiness state independently of its evidence and authority.
• Do not automate ambiguity. Manual evidence records may be used during early adoption when they contain the required structured fields and support the same Pass/Fail and reconstruction tests as automated records.
• Separate discovery from stated use. Use Quarantined to preserve discoveries without converting them into evidence ready for stated use.
• Measure recurring failure patterns. Track repeated Stop, Caution, and Quarantined outcomes to improve taxonomy, ontology, identity rules, source quality, and Gate design.
• Keep external frameworks informative. External standards, frameworks, and tools may supply evidence, but they do not automatically satisfy DACS controls unless the required DACS evidence exists.