Foundations


Found a way to apply or adapt these foundations in your work? We want to know.

Concepts and frameworks for robust, people-centric transparency in documentation.

Foundations explore fundamental challenges and insights from our research on transparency artifacts. Each foundation unpacks one aspect of creating data cards – complete with key takeaways, actions for your team, and worksheets.

Typology of Stakeholders

Explore our typology of stakeholders, their tasks, and the decisions they make.

Module
Ask
Theme
Stakeholder-focused

Agent Information Journeys

Capture the unique information needs of different audiences of your Data Card or documentation as information journeys.

Module
Ask
Theme
Stakeholder-focused

Optics

Learn about different granularities of framing questions. Balance focal lengths for a clear picture of your dataset.

Module
Ask
Theme
Stakeholder-focused

OFTEn

A novel knowledge acquisition framework to systematically ask transparency-focused questions about datasets.

Module
Inspect
Theme
Dataset-focused

Dimensions

Five signals from Data Cards that help readers arrive at informed conclusions about your dataset.

Module
Inspect
Theme
Dataset-focused

Plan the Work

Create a plan and distribute the answering of questions in your Data Card.

Module
Answer
Theme
Prepare for transparency

Define Key Takeaways

Decide what readers should walk away with from your Data Card.

Module
Answer
Theme
Prepare for transparency

Aim for Just Enough

Optimize for focused, concise information in your Data Card.

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Answer
Theme
Reader-centric summaries

Avoid Vague or Non-answers

Write content that matches reader expectations and answers questions.

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Answer
Theme
Reader-centric summaries

Visualizations Tell Stories

Differentiate between visualizations to explore the data and to communicate insights.

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Answer
Theme
Reader-centric summaries

Include Reader-Centric Use Cases

Help readers establish their use cases of your dataset.

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Answer
Theme
Usability and utility

Thoughtfully Analyze Your Dataset

Approaches to analyses that can help readers better intuit how to use your dataset

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Answer
Theme
Usability and utility

Address "Fairness"

Walk readers through the definitions of fairness in the context of your dataset.

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Answer
Theme
Usability and utility

Incorporating New Knowledge

Capture a variety of new information about a dataset in its Data Card.

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Answer
Theme
Maintenance and scale

Versioning & Changes

Systematically capture changes to the dataset throughout the dataset lifecycle.

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Answer
Theme
Maintenance and scale

Telemetry at Scale

Systematically track the usage and adoption of your Data Card efforts across our organization.

Module
Audit
Theme
Data card-focused

Determine Relevance

Determine which questions are relevant and when.

Module
Answer
Theme
Prepare for transparency

Evaluate with Readers

Select from evaluation methods and gain insight into how your Data Card is performing with readers.

Module
Audit
Theme
Stakeholder-focused