# Context, authority and evidence templates

Version 0.1 · CC BY-NC 4.0 — attribute to Hanif Karimi, contextualagentic.com

Three one-page templates. Fill them in before the agent is given authority, not afterwards
when someone is asking. Each is deliberately short: a template nobody completes is worth
less than a rough one everybody does.

> Drafted for the companion material of *The Contextual Agentic Enterprise*. These are
> working documents, not a control framework, and they map to no certification scheme.

---

## 1. Context specification

*What the agent is allowed to know, where that comes from, and how you know it is true.*

| | |
|---|---|
| **Agent** | |
| **Task** | |
| **Principal it acts for** | |

**Sources.** For each: what it is, who owns it, how fresh it is guaranteed to be, and what
happens when it is stale.

| Source | Owner | Freshness guarantee | Behaviour when stale |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |

**Entitlement filtering.** How context is narrowed to what the principal could see
themselves:

**Content treated as data, not instructions.** The test that proves it, and where it runs:

**Recorded with each decision.** Which source identifiers appear in the evidence record:

**What this agent must never see.** Be specific; "sensitive data" is not an answer:

---

## 2. Authority grant

*What the agent may do, on whose authority, and how to take it away.*

| | |
|---|---|
| **Principal** | |
| **Granted by** (a person, named) | |
| **Granted on / expires** | |
| **Review due** | |

**Scopes.** The actions granted. Anything not listed is refused.

| Scope | Resources | Limit | Irreversible? | Compensating action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |

**Autonomous limit.** Above this the agent may prepare but not act:

**Escalates to.** A named role, and what happens if they do not answer (the answer is:
it stays held):

**Enforced by.** The component that decides — which must not be the model:

**Second boundary.** The independent mechanism that also stops it:

**Revocation.** The exact procedure, and the date it was last rehearsed:

---

## 3. Evidence specification

*What gets recorded, where it goes, and what argument it is meant to support.*

**The question this evidence answers.** Write the question a reviewer will actually ask:

**Recorded at each decision:**

- [ ] The action proposed, and by which principal
- [ ] Each control evaluated, and its outcome — including the ones that passed
- [ ] The grant relied on
- [ ] The context sources used
- [ ] The policy-set version, so the decision can be re-evaluated
- [ ] The outcome, including refusals and holds
- [ ] Who approved, when, and what they were shown

**Written on refusal paths?** If no, stop and fix that first:

**Storage.** Where, with what retention, and why that retention:

**Tamper evidence.** Retention lock, append-only, or a hash chain — and the verification
that has actually been run:

**Replay.** Can a past decision be re-evaluated from the record and produce the same
outcome? What was replayed, and when:

**Who reads this.** If the answer is nobody, the record is a cost with no benefit:

---

## Purpose and professional-use notice

This book, course and related articles are designed to help readers understand, discuss and apply practical approaches to real enterprise challenges involving artificial intelligence, architecture, governance, security, data and operating models.

The material is educational. It is intended to support informed thinking, better questions, stronger design decisions and meaningful professional work. It is not a ready-made solution for every organisation or situation.

Adapt what you learn to your own context. Before applying any idea, framework, pattern, checklist or technical approach, consider your organisation's objectives, people, systems, data, risk appetite, contractual commitments, laws, regulatory obligations and governance requirements. Obtain the appropriate internal approvals and independent professional advice where needed.

The material does not constitute legal, financial, investment, tax, regulatory, privacy, cyber-security, safety, employment, procurement, audit, medical or other professional advice. It should not be relied on as a substitute for advice tailored to your particular circumstances.

The views, frameworks and examples are the author's independent professional perspectives. They do not represent the views, policies, strategies, recommendations or endorsement of any employer, client, partner, vendor, regulator or other organisation.

Application requires organisation-specific architecture, security, privacy, legal, regulatory, operational, safety, accessibility, commercial and governance review, together with appropriate approvals. Full disclaimer: https://contextualagenticenterprise.com/disclaimer/