Observability and evidence

Understand how AletheIA projects source-backed records into read-only visibility while preserving unavailable and uncertain states.

Observability in AletheIA makes evidence easier to inspect. It does not create evidence, make decisions, score people, or control execution.

Read-only projection Provenance required Unavailable is valid

Definition

An observation is a compact, source-backed summary of a tool, runtime, validation, document, or skill result. An observability surface projects those records for human review.

The original record stays authoritative. A projection may normalize and display it, but cannot silently fill in missing values or replace the decision that the source record supports.

Why it matters

Without provenance, a polished dashboard can make uncertain work look certain. AletheIA keeps the relationship explicit:

Source record or raw evidence
  → compact observation with source references
    → read-only projection for review
      → human decision or governed next step

This makes it possible to see what happened without treating visual state, inferred metrics, or a generated summary as a new authority.

How it works

Start with a source

A Work Slice, validation output, audit record, decision, handoff, or governed document provides the original evidence.

Create a compact observation when useful

Preserve the outcome, decision-relevant facts, source references, lossiness, recovery pointer when needed, and any explicit uncertainty.

Project it read-only

Resource Observatory or Work Observatory views may render records, alerts, traces, and metadata for review. They do not mutate a Work Slice or pass a gate.

Keep unavailable and conflicting states honest

Use unavailable, unknown, none, or inconclusive when those are the real states. Do not estimate a replacement value merely to complete a card or chart.

Return to the authoritative source

A reviewer follows source references to verify the evidence and make the next governed decision.

Practical example

A documentation build produces a warning but no reliable cost export.

Surface	What may be shown	What must not be claimed
Observation	Build outcome, warning summary, source artifact, affected files	That the warning is harmless without review
Resource signal	`cost: unavailable` with provenance	An estimated token or cost saving
Mission Control card	Pending review and source reference	That the Work Slice is closed because a card looks complete
Human review	Whether the warning matters to the release	Automatic approval or enforcement

Current delivered scope

Visual Operations Layer

Defines read-only projection principles, source references, privacy boundaries, and clear non-goals.

Observation Governance Contract

Defines compact observation shape, recovery requirements, provenance, and progressive visibility.

Mission Control Cockpit

Describes human-facing views that make a governed Work Slice legible without replacing the source record.

Work Observatory evidence

Shows how usage evidence is captured without asserting comparative performance or autonomous interpretation.

It also does not treat five heterogeneous records as a stable comparison group. Comparative work remains evidence-gated until reviewed records share one stable group and the relevant backlog gate is explicitly opened.