OPS.15:4.4 - Present the account for its actual readers

Lead with the claim supported for the decision, then show the observations and qualifications needed to assess it. Retain the source and time basis in the existing account at the detail the use requires. Distinguish observed state, an interpretation, a forecast and the decision made from them.

Several views can be useful. A coordinator needs current readiness and service risk; a finance practitioner needs accepted service, payable amounts and receipts; a release practitioner needs evidence applicable to a particular configuration. Keep the correspondence between their subjects explicit where the decision crosses views.

A shared table is appropriate when it preserves these meanings. Separate views are appropriate when they answer different questions. The account’s form follows its use; an attractive common display cannot make unlike quantities interchangeable.