CHK.4:4.2 - Obtain and express the answer

Perform or obtain the check actually needed. Use a direct observation, executable comparison or competent judgement according to the question. Where the mode is read-do, carry out the prompted work and then establish the result; where it is do-confirm, check the selected conditions of work already performed.

If conditions change during use, reconsider what can usefully be checked now while sustaining essential work. A limited time window may call for a competent choice of the most consequential feasible contributions, help from another participant or a pause. Keep omitted or interrupted checks distinguishable from positive answers and communicate their consequences for continued reliance. Completing the visible list is not sufficient reason to sacrifice the result it was meant to support.

Express what the grounds support. A supported negative answer is No. Unknown means the available grounds do not settle the question. Not checked describes the absence of a check for this occasion, not the subject’s condition. If a competent earlier result settles it, record the answer as reused rather than pretending it was newly observed. Give a reason for not applicable that concerns scope.

Keep the answer associated with the subject, criterion and grounds needed by its recipient. A tool failure can be evidence about the checking attempt while leaving the subject question unresolved. Another agent’s agreement may contribute judgement; it does not supply an unperformed observation.

When the grounds are in a document or model, examine the relevant content using an appropriate way of interpreting it. A polished report can omit the decision being asked about; unfinished meeting notes can already identify that decision and its grounds. The document’s existence, formatting or completion does not settle the condition of what it describes. Obtain enough detail for the recipient’s actual reliance, and retain a usable route to it when the answer will be reused.