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Layer 3 — The protocol
Deterministic. Contextual. Explainable.
Signals about a proposed action are evaluated against the policy in force at that instant, producing a verdict on which execution is gated. The same signals against the same policy always produce the same verdict.
Four stages left to right. Input signals — user or agent identity, context and data, tools and resources, spend and budget, policies, history and reputation, and environment — enter the Decionis Protocol. Inside, the protocol normalizes context and intent, evaluates policies and rules, runs a deterministic risk and policy engine, and explains the reason and evidence. It emits a verdict: ALLOW (authorized), ESCALATE (needs approval or more info), or BLOCK (high risk or out of policy). The verdict drives an enforcement action: allow, block, require approval, or throttle and limit. Every decision is recorded for audit, learning, and continuous improvement.
The four stages
Everything the protocol does inside a single call, in order.
Stage 1
Signals
The proposed action plus the evidence around it — actor, amount, counterparty, cost basis, inventory, prior decisions — normalized into one contract regardless of which surface it arrived from.
Stage 2
Policy
The rules in force at that instant, resolved from the policy graph and pinned by version, bundle hash and effective window so the decision is reproducible later.
Stage 3
Verdict
A deterministic ALLOW, ESCALATE or BLOCK — the same signals against the same policy always produce the same verdict.
Stage 4
Action
Execution proceeds, halts, or waits on an approver, and the signed Decision Dossier is written to the ledger either way.
Three verdicts, four actions
The verdict is the judgement. The action is what the surface does about it — which is why one verdict can drive different enforcement on a checkout, an ERP posting, or an agent's tool call.
ALLOW
Authorized
The action is within policy on the evidence presented. It executes, and the dossier records the authority it executed under.
ESCALATE
Needs approval or more info
The action needs authority the requester does not hold, or evidence the request did not carry. It waits, routed to whoever can supply it.
BLOCK
High risk or out of policy
The action breaches policy or crosses a risk threshold. It does not execute, and the dossier records which rule stopped it and on what evidence.
Enforcement actions
- Allow
- Block
- Require Approval
- Throttle / Limit
The decision lifecycle
The protocol is what happens inside one call. The lifecycle is what happens around it — including the signed record that outlives it and feeds the next decision.
Five stages in a closed loop around the Decionis Protocol. One: Detect, an actor wants to act. Two: Evaluate, apply policies, context and rules. Three: Decide, returning allow, escalate, or block. Four: Execute, carry out the authorized action. Five: Record, log, audit, learn and improve — which feeds back into detection. Every step is observable, explainable, and auditable.
- 1
Detect
A high-stakes action is proposed on some surface.
- 2
Evaluate
Signals are gathered and checked against the policy in force.
- 3
Decide
A deterministic verdict is issued — allow, escalate, or block.
- 4
Execute
The action proceeds, waits for authority, or is stopped.
- 5
Record
A signed Decision Dossier preserves what was decided and why.
Want to see it refuse something? Try to break it in the Sandbox — no account required.