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Knowledge source register

Decide which documents may support an answer and who maintains them. This register prevents a knowledge base from becoming an opaque copy of business folders.

By Stolen OrbitRevision

When to use it and what to produce

Before building an assistant over internal knowledge and while maintaining procedures, catalogues or technical documentation.

An approved source catalogue with authoritative versions, permitted audiences, update cycles and retrieval tests.

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1. Establish the authoritative source

A collection of documents does not resolve contradictions or ownership by itself. For each subject, record which source takes precedence and who can approve its use.

See a worked example

Illustrative example: the approved returns procedure takes precedence over an old sales presentation. Its owner excludes the presentation as a source for that subject.

Link the original document and a stable reference; distinguish approved source, draft and copy.

Identify who validates the content and which products, processes or departments it applies to.

Record effective date, replacements and rules for documents that contradict one another.

2. Control access and ingestion

Retrieval must respect the audience’s access boundaries. Consider indexed copies, attachments and transfers between systems, not only the original file.

See a worked example

Illustrative example: an updated procedure is ingested with its new version, and the earlier version leaves the active index. A test question checks that it is no longer cited.

Define permitted roles, excluded information and how retrieval enforces those restrictions.

Record format, transformations, exclusions and checks for tables, images or attachments that are not read.

Specify update event or frequency, owner and how removal of obsolete copies is verified.

3. Test retrieval

Choose questions answered by the sources and questions they cannot answer. Check that both the citation and its content actually support the proposed response.

See a worked example

Illustrative example: the procedure covers ordinary returns but not international exceptions. The assistant should state the limit and refer to an owner instead of extending the rule.

Write common questions, alternative wording and out-of-scope requests to test after updates.

Identify supporting passages and cases requiring clarification or acknowledgement that information is absent.

Record missed sources, incorrect citations, frequent unanswered questions and the owner of each correction.

Pitfalls to avoid

  • Indexing every folder without ownership and access boundaries.
  • Updating originals while obsolete copies remain searchable.
  • Treating the presence of a citation as proof that it supports the answer.

Take the next step together.

Use this document to start a discussion about scope, evaluation and project ownership.

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