A decision record is a structured account of the evidence behind a choice. In cyber security and AI workflows, it can capture what information a system used, which policy or objective guided it, who authorized the action, and what happened as a result. Unlike a basic event log, which may show that an action occurred, a decision record is meant to help explain why it was taken.
Decision records support audits, incident investigations, and reviews of whether an automated system stayed within its authority. They are most useful when they preserve time-specific context, such as data and policy versions, while protecting sensitive contents with access controls and retention limits. Integrity safeguards can help make later changes detectable. In real attacks or operational failures, investigators can use these records to trace an agent’s inputs and actions; incomplete or fragmented records may leave only a timeline, not a defensible explanation.