AI Governance Engineer
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Explanation record

By Updated

The evidence artefact for one explained decision: model version, explanation method and version, baseline, reason codes, counterfactual, template, audience and delivery, written at decision time so the explanation can be reproduced when a person invokes a right to explanation 1.

Developed in
ch. 16, Explanation artefacts as evidence records
ch. 05, Pattern: Explanation Artefact
Chapters
ch. 05, Patterns · ch. 16, Fairness & XAI
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

4 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Explanation record: mentions per chapter13 mentions of the term across 4 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter05 Patterns: 1 mention05 Patterns108 Regulatory Map: 2 mentions08 Regulatory Map216 Fairness & XAI: 9 mentions16 Fairness & XAI918 EU AI Act: 1 mention18 EU AI Act1No mentions in the other 19 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Explanation record: mentions per chapter13 mentions of the term across 4 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter000102030405 Patterns: 1 mention105060708 Regulatory Map: 2 mentions20810111213141516 Fairness & XAI: 9 mentions9161718 EU AI Act: 1 mention1181920212223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Explanation record per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now0No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack0No
05 Patterns1Yes
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model0No
08 Regulatory Map2No
10 Reading List0No
11 AI Defined0No
12 Governance Program0No
13 Risk Management0No
14 Development0No
15 Deployment0No
16 Fairness & XAI9Yes
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act1No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law0No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards0No
23 AI Agents0No

Patterns that use this term

One pattern page uses the term.

Explanation record: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedColour: stack layer of the pattern04 Runtime ControlsExplanation recordRelated terms (2)Reason code · RelatedReason codeRight to explanation (AI Act Art. 86) · RelatedRight to explanationPatterns using it (1)Explanation Artefact, 3 mentions · Uses the termExplanation Artefact
Explanation record: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedColour: stack layer of the pattern04 Runtime ControlsRelated terms (2)Reason code · RelatedReason codeRight to explanation (AI Act Art. 86) · RelatedRight to explanationPatterns using it (1)Explanation Artefact, 3 mentions · Uses the termExplanation ArtefactExplanationrecord
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Explanation record
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsReason codeRelated
Related termsRight to explanation (AI Act Art. 86)Related
Patterns using itExplanation Artefact, 3 mentionsUses the term
  • Reason code

    A stable, human-readable statement of a principal factor behind an adverse decision, mapped from the factors the model actually scored and versioned with the…

  • Right to explanation (AI Act Art. 86)

    The right of a person affected by a deployer's decision based on an Annex III high-risk system's output, with legal or similarly significant adverse effects…

Sources

  1. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI, in force 27 Jul 2026; definitions in Art. 3, incl. 3(1), 3(3) to 3(14), 3(14b), 3(20), 3(22), 3(23), 3(29) to 3(32), 3(49), 3(55) to 3(57), 3(60), 3(61), 3(63), 3(68); Arts. 4, 5, 6 (incl. 6(3) third subparagraph, profiling), 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22 to 27 (incl. 26(11)), 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 53 (incl. 53(1)(c)), 55, 57, 60, 72, 73, 86; Annexes I, III, IV). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2026-07-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Explanation record. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/explanation-record. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026explanationrecord,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Explanation record}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/explanation-record}
}