REVIEWED / JULY 22, 2026
Own the decision
Place the human checkpoint before money, people, access, or publication
Keep review where an output could affect a customer, employee, payment, account, promise, or public claim.
What this guide should leave behind
A named reviewer checks facts, authority, tone, policy, and downstream effects before the output is used.
Work the boundary in this order
- 01
Mark every step that sends, publishes, pays, changes access, records a decision, or affects a person.
- 02
Put an explicit hold immediately before the first consequential action.
- 03
Give the reviewer the original source, draft, checklist, and authority to reject or rewrite.
- 04
Record who approved the result when the business process already requires evidence.
Foundations worth seeing
- The reviewer is named by role.
- The source is visible beside the draft.
- Approval is active, not assumed.
- Automation cannot skip the hold.