LR-301b · Module 3

Scoring Model Versioning

3 min read

The risk scoring model will evolve — new dimensions, adjusted weights, recalibrated scales. Each change produces a new version of the model, and each version may score the same provision differently. Versioning ensures that you can trace any historical score to the model version that produced it. When a stakeholder asks why this provision scored 3.8 six months ago and 4.2 now, the answer is the version delta — not a shrug.

Do This

  • Version the scoring model explicitly — v1.0, v1.1, v2.0 — with a changelog documenting every change
  • Record the model version alongside every score — the score is meaningful only in the context of the model that produced it
  • Backtest model changes against historical contracts — does the new version produce scores consistent with the outcomes you observed?

Avoid This

  • Change the model without documenting the change — undocumented changes make historical scores uninterpretable
  • Apply new model versions retroactively to existing scores — historical scores reflect the model at the time of scoring
  • Skip backtesting — a model change that produces counterintuitive scores for well-understood provisions is a calibration error, not an improvement