Pre-execution control

Authorization, human review, and fail-closed

An authorization is specific to an action and context; human review must also have criteria and a traceable outcome.

Objectives

Prerequisites

Concepts

Authorization
An explicit decision that permits a given action within a defined scope, duration, and context.
Human review
A decision point with documented information, accountability, and outcome; it is not a magic formula.
Fail-closed
When there is failure, ambiguity, or missing critical data, no new permission is granted.
Separation and revocation
Request, approval, execution, and review are separate responsibilities when necessary; an authorization must be revocable or stoppable within its scope.

Visual guide

Deciding without expanding

Synthetic example

The policy requires human review, but no reviewer is available. The system refuses to continue.

An unavailable review is not an authorization.

This lesson describes minimum conditions for traceable authorization and escalation.

What this lesson does not demonstrate

It confirms neither the quality of an actual review, enforcement, nor the impossibility of bypass.

Check question

Grant a temporary permission without criteria.

Deny or escalate without executing while the condition is missing.

Reuse an old authorization for a new context.

Choose an answer to read its feedback.

Local checklist

Draft a fictional authorization that does not overreach.

This exercise grants no real authorization.

Sources and limitations