AGDA™ assesses Intervention Readiness.
Intervene's proprietary assessment of whether an organisation can detect the need to intervene, escalate appropriately, decide with authority and intervene effectively in a consequential AI-enabled system before the opportunity to do so is lost.
An assessment, not a governance framework.
Audit tells you whether a control existed. Model risk tells you whether a model behaves. Governance reviews tell you whether responsibilities have been assigned. None of those, by itself, tells you whether humans can still intervene inside the time available.
That is Intervention Readiness: the ability to detect, escalate, decide and intervene before harm becomes irreversible.
One system, a defined pathway and a specified scenario.
We agree the system boundary, the consequential decision or action, the circumstances requiring intervention and the available time. The conclusion applies to those assessed conditions. It does not extend automatically to every pathway, future event or system in the organisation.
A finding about one pathway is not an assessment of the entire organisation or of every use of the system. Connected systems are scoped separately.
Evidence and accountable judgement.
AGDA™ examines relevant records, interviews and walkthroughs across Detect, Escalate, Decide and Intervene. It distinguishes documented arrangements from exercised capability. A policy fallback is not a measurement, and a walkthrough or a record of a previous drill is not a live operational test.
The engine applies repeatable rules to recorded inputs under fixed assessment versions. The assessment also requires judgement about evidence, scope and interpretation. Intervene owns that judgement and the conclusion. Issuance requires approval separate from the assessor's own judgement. A signed engine record is not by itself an issued assessment.
One question. Three verdict states.
A full AGDA™ Assessment examines the intervention chain, Detect to Escalate to Decide to Intervene, against the available time and returns one of three states. The Intervention Readiness Review does not produce a verdict.
- 01 Before impact Intervention completes in time. The window stays open.
- 02 At risk Completes within a margin ordinary pressure can erode.
- 03 After impact Intervention lands too late. The window has closed.
What a full AGDA™ Assessment delivers.
The engagement scope lists the outputs. The standard package comprises:
- The defined scope: system, pathway, scenario, boundaries, dates and material assumptions.
- An evidence register with provenance and material gaps.
- SEDI findings and an analysis of the intervention chain.
- An Intervention Readiness verdict, its confidence basis and material limitations.
- An executive interpretation, priority findings and practical remediation priorities.
Signed SEDI result records are not a standard deliverable. They may be supplied only under an approved output-access arrangement, where the engagement terms provide for them and the delivery configuration supports them.
The assessment is not regulatory certification, a model-validation exercise or a guarantee of safety. AGDA™ is not validated against real-world outcomes. Repeatable computation and signature verification are established technical properties with different purposes from empirical validation.
See a constructed sample verdictWhat AGDA™ is not.
Not a maturity model
No five-point scale that always lands at three. A full AGDA™ Assessment answers one question: can the chain complete in time for this system, pathway and scenario.
Not a controls checklist
Existence of a control is not evidence it works under pressure. AGDA™ distinguishes documented arrangements from exercised capability. A policy fallback is not a measurement.
Not a negotiated result
The engine applies repeatable rules to recorded inputs under fixed versions. Defining the scenario, grading evidence and interpreting the result are Intervene's judgement. Facts can be corrected and evidence can change the conclusion; the conclusion is not negotiated.
Frequently asked questions.
- What does AGDA™ assess?
- AGDA™ assesses Intervention Readiness: whether an organisation can detect the need to intervene, escalate appropriately, decide with authority and intervene effectively in a consequential AI-enabled system before the opportunity to do so is lost.
- Is AGDA™ an AI governance framework?
- No. AGDA™ is not an AI governance framework. It assesses whether governance can actually intervene when required.
- Is the Intervention Readiness Review a full AGDA™ Assessment?
- No. The Review is a standalone executive review of one system: the intervention question, the preliminary chain, the evidence you hold and the gaps, and a scoped recommendation. It supports prioritisation and budget decisions on its own. It does not include the AGDA™ verdict, the SEDI findings or signed SEDI result records.
- Do we need a Review first?
- No. If the system, intervention question and assessment scope are sufficiently clear, and relevant evidence access is available, we can discuss a full AGDA™ Assessment directly. The Review is a separate preliminary engagement for organisations that need to establish those foundations.
- Can a client challenge the conclusion?
- Yes. A client can correct facts, challenge interpretation and provide additional evidence. Intervene evaluates those submissions and retains responsibility for the final judgement. The judgement itself is not negotiated.
- Does verification prove readiness?
- No. For signed SEDI result records, verification checks the signature and the integrity of the records covered by the attestation. It does not prove the truth of the underlying evidence, validate the methodology or guarantee future intervention.
- Does AGDA™ monitor a live system?
- No. AGDA™ is a scoped assessment of one named system, pathway and scenario. Ongoing monitoring, software integration and remediation implementation are outside the standard engagement.
- How is AGDA™ related to Intervention Readiness?
- Intervention Readiness is the category. AGDA™ is Intervene Limited's proprietary assessment of it.
From assessment to engagement.
Two starting points: an Intervention Readiness Review, or a full AGDA™ Assessment. Before that, inspect the sample verdict and how verification works.