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Inspection Intelligence

"If the decision cannot be defended,
the outcome does not matter."

DDR produces the authorization record investigators require.

Definition

DDR is the process that makes a regulatory decision defensible under inspection.

Why it exists

Work is performed
Results are documented
Decision authorization is not recorded

No record = no defensibility.

Investigators do not validate work.
They validate the decision that authorized it.

DDR enforces four elements

No abstraction. Every element is deterministic.

01
Decision ownership
Named individual accountable at the moment of authorization
02
Evidence review
Exact data reviewed before the decision was made
03
Standard applied
Regulatory expectation used to justify the decision
04
Justification recorded
Documented rationale that survives investigator scrutiny

Input → Output

Stage
Description
Scenario
Decision context — e.g., batch release, CAPA closure, change control
Evidence
Supporting data reviewed at the moment of decision
Decision Evaluation
Evidence evaluated, ownership assigned, justification recorded
Output
Authorization Record — inspection-ready artifact

The Authorization Record

This is what is handed to an investigator.

Documented decision
Evidence reviewed at time of decision
Explicit standard applied
Named accountable owner

DDR turns a decision that happened into a decision that can be defended.

Without a Decision Defense Record

Decision exists as judgment
Evidence is reconstructed after the fact
Ownership is unclear
Justification is inferred

This is indistinguishable from an undocumented decision during inspection.

How it fits the system

Case Files
Expose the gap
DDR
Resolve the decision
Authorization Record
Prove it under inspection

Aligned to FDA, EU Annex 11, and GAMP 5 expectations for decision documentation.

See How a CAPA Closure Gets Defended

See the Case File → Evaluate Your Last Decision