DR-301f · Module 3

Provenance Transparency

3 min read

Provenance transparency means every finding in your intelligence output carries a visible trail back to its source, including the source's credibility score, known biases, and the analytical steps between the raw data and your conclusion. The consumer can trace any finding from the brief back through the analysis to the original source and evaluate the chain of reasoning at every step. This is not optional documentation — it is the mechanism that makes intelligence trustworthy.

Do This

  • Cite the source for every factual claim — not in a bibliography, inline with the finding
  • Include credibility scores alongside citations so the consumer can gauge trust per finding
  • Document the analytical steps between raw data and conclusion — the inference chain must be visible
  • Note where you applied bias adjustments and what the unadjusted values were

Avoid This

  • Present findings without attribution — the consumer cannot evaluate what they cannot trace
  • Bury source citations in an appendix nobody reads — citations belong next to the claims
  • Present conclusions without showing the reasoning chain — invisible inference is unverifiable inference
  • Hide bias adjustments — the consumer deserves to know when you have adjusted a finding and why