document
Let an agent handle documents as records with authors, versions, authority and retention, keeping the content, the file and the record apart.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle documents as records with authors, versions, authority and retention, keeping the content, the file and the record apart.
A recorded piece of information treated as a unit, kept because it is evidence of something: an agreement, a decision, an identity or an event.
What it is for: Fixing information so it can be relied on later by someone who was not there.
It can be read it; copy, send and file it; sign and certify it, which changes its standing rather than its content; version it, which creates a new document rather than changing one; destroy it, which is regulated more often than people expect; forge it, which is why authenticity is a first-class question.
Distinguishing features
Kept as evidence, which separates a document from a message that happens to be written down
The content, the carrier and the record are three things: the same content in two files is one document in two copies
Its authority comes from who issued it and how, not from what it says
A version is a new document, not an edit
What it looks like
Whatever its carrier is: pages, a file, a screen. The document is not the carrier, which is exactly what makes appearance an unreliable guide to what it is.
Physical character
extent: 1-1000 pages
retention period: 1-100 years - set by the rule that governs the record type, not by the document
file size: 0.01-100 MB - for digital documents
How it is recognised
Signatures, seals and letterheads are what people read as authenticity, and all three are the easiest parts to fake
Version and date markings, which are what actually decide which document is in force
For a file, the metadata and any cryptographic signature identify it; the rendering does not
Related models
is a kind of - inherits retention, authenticity and disposal questions
is carried by - one carrier among several, and the carrier has its own lifetime
is confused with - a file is a carrier; a document can span several
regulated by - decides how long it must be kept and when it must go
may prove - the reason it exists is usually to be evidence of something else
In practice
Families and kinds
by function: contract, certificate, identity, record of decision, report, correspondence
by standing: draft, issued, executed, superseded, void
by carrier: paper, digital, both
by control: public, internal, confidential, restricted
Identifiers
document reference issuer-specific identifies it within the issuing system
hash sha256:... identifies exact content, which is what a signature actually covers
DOI or URN scheme-specific for published and archived documents
Standards and regulation
Records management standards such as ISO 15489, which define what a record must preserve
Electronic signature regulation, which decides when a digital signature has legal effect
Retention schedules under sector law, which set minimum and maximum keeping periods
Data protection rules, which limit what may be kept and for how long
Failure modes and hazards
Version confusion, where a superseded document is acted on
Loss of authenticity, where a copy cannot be shown to match what was issued
Format obsolescence, where the file survives and nothing can read it
Over-retention, which is a breach in its own right where personal data is involved
Forgery and tampering, which the whole apparatus of signatures and seals exists to resist
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.document-possession
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Identity and version Which document this is and which version is in force.
Acting on a superseded document is the commonest and most expensive document failure, and it is entirely preventable by modelling version properly.
Document identity
What names this document and what it covers.
Reference and scope
The reference, the issuer, and what the document is about.
- What reference identifies this document, issued by whom? definition
- What exactly does it cover, and what is outside it? boundary
Version and status
Draft, issued, executed, superseded.
Version and current standing
Which version is in force and what replaced what.
- Which version is this, and which version is currently in force? definition
- What must an agent do when it cannot establish that this is current? action
Authority and authenticity Why it can be relied on.
A document standing comes from its issuance and its integrity, and both have to be checkable independently of the text.
Issuance and authority
Who issued it and under what power.
Issuer and mandate
The authority behind it and the limits of that authority.
- Who issued this document, and under what authority? provenance
- What does that authority not extend to? boundary
Integrity and signature
Whether it is what was issued.
Integrity evidence
Signatures, seals, hashes and what each proves.
- What evidence shows this document is unchanged since issue? provenance
- Which acts may an agent take on it without that evidence, and which not? action
Content and obligation What it says and what follows from it.
A document is usually kept because it creates or evidences an obligation, and that obligation is what an agent must act on.
Content and structure
Clauses, fields, and what carries meaning.
Structure of the content
How the document is organised and what is addressable.
- How is this document structured, and which parts carry obligations? definition
- Which parts are boilerplate and which are specific to this instance? boundary
Effect and obligations
Who is bound, to what, and until when.
Obligations created
What follows from the document for whom.
- What obligations does this document create, on whom, and until when? action
- What evidence would show an obligation has been discharged? provenance
Handling, access and retention Who may see it and how long it is kept.
Retention and access are governed by rules external to the document, and breaching either is a separate offence from anything the document says.
Access and confidentiality
Who may read it and under what control.
Access control
Classification and who is entitled.
- Who may access this document, under what classification? definition
- What must an agent refuse to disclose, and to whom? action
Retention and disposal
How long, then what.
Retention rule and disposal
The keeping period, its source, and the disposal method.
- How long must this document be kept, under which rule? provenance
- How must it be destroyed, and what record of destruction is required? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should the document, its versions and its copies be one model with levels or three linked models?
- How should authority be represented when it comes from the issuer rather than from anything in the text?
- What is the minimum evidence for authenticity that an agent should demand before relying on a document?