Separate observations from hypotheses in AI reports

A report becomes easier to trust when readers can tell what was observed and what is proposed as an explanation. Keep the evidence trail visible for both.

Compare the practical differences

Decision	Observation	Hypothesis
Best fit	A statement supported by supplied evidence	A possible explanation or prediction
Useful property	Can be checked against a source location	Useful for planning the next investigation
What to check	Limited by the source’s coverage and quality	Needs additional evidence before being treated as fact

A concrete choice

An export shows fewer orders this week; a campaign change might explain it. Record the count as observed and the cause as a hypothesis to test.

Verify the choice

Review causal language and require a source for every factual claim.

Write the reason for your choice into the task brief or setup notes. Then run a small representative task and compare the actual result with the requirement that drove the decision. Keep any unmet requirement visible rather than declaring the whole workflow ready from a single successful step.

Continue with the setup

The related desktop guide explains the relevant controls and limits. Use the current application state when applying this comparison; the presence of an option in a document does not mean every dependency on your computer is ready.