Terminology Governance

This page defines canonical terminology for RiskOS™ platform concepts. Use these terms consistently across conceptual documentation, tutorials, API references, and operational guides.

Core platform terms

Preferred term Avoid Why
Evaluation transaction, request, submission, event "Evaluation" is the canonical RiskOS™ runtime entity. "Transaction" implies financial scope. "Request" conflates the API call with the processing.
Decision result, outcome, response, verdict "Decision" is the specific field in the API response. "Result" is ambiguous (could mean the full response).
Workflow flow, pipeline, process, logic "Workflow" is the RiskOS™ entity name. "Flow" is too generic and conflicts with Hosted Flow.
Enrichment product, module, service, data source "Enrichment" is the canonical term in the workflow context. "Product" is acceptable as a synonym in marketing contexts only.
Signal variable, field, data point, metric "Signal" specifically means enrichment-returned or computed data used in decisioning. "Variable" implies mutability.
Attribute input, parameter, field "Attribute" specifically means an input data point from the evaluation request. "Field" is acceptable in API reference contexts.
Reason code reason, code, explanation Always use the full compound "reason code."
Tag label, marker, flag "Tag" is the RiskOS™ entity name. "Flag" implies boolean-only.
Derived value computed field, calculated value, output "Derived value" distinguishes workflow-computed data from enrichment signals.
Case ticket, record, item "Case" is the RiskOS™ entity in Case Management.
Hosted Flow hosted experience, Socure UX, flow "Hosted Flow" or "Socure Hosted UX" are the canonical names. Never shorten to "flow" alone.
Step node, block, component, action "Step" is the RiskOS™ term for workflow building blocks.

Status and lifecycle terms

Preferred term Avoid Context
Status state (when referring to case lifecycle) Use "status" for case lifecycle: Open, On Hold, Closed. "In Review", "Escalated", etc. are sub-statuses.
State status (when referring to evaluation runtime) Use "state" for evaluation runtime: evaluation_in_progress, evaluation_paused, evaluation_completed
Lifecycle flow, progression Use "lifecycle" for the full sequence of state/status transitions
Paused waiting, on hold (for evaluations) Use "paused" for evaluation runtime. "On Hold" is a case status. Don't confuse with evaluation paused state.

Decision value formatting

Always format decision values as uppercase code when referring to the API field value:

Correct Avoid
ACCEPT Accept, accepted, Accepted
REJECT Reject, rejected, Rejected
REVIEW Review, review (when referring to the decision value)

RESUBMIT and CANCEL are Decision Rules step-level configuration values, not standard API decision values. Format them as code when referring to the step configuration.

In prose describing the concept (not the API value), use sentence case: "The reviewer accepted the case."

Workflow delivery terms

Preferred term Definition Avoid
Custom workflow A workflow built and managed by the customer in the Workflow Editor Standard workflow, manual workflow, API workflow
Hosted Flow A preconfigured workflow with a Socure-managed UI Hosted workflow, managed workflow, Socure flow
Workflow Editor The visual workflow builder in the RiskOS™ Dashboard Workflow Builder, Workflow Canvas, workflow designer

Enrichment and data terms

Preferred term Avoid When to use
Enrichment step enrichment node, enrichment call Referring to the workflow step type
Data service data source, API, provider Referring to the external service an enrichment calls
Enrichment response enrichment result, enrichment output Referring to the data returned by an enrichment
data_enrichments enrichments array, enrichment data Referring to the specific API response field (always use backticks)

Integration terms

Preferred term Avoid When to use
Evaluation API RiskOS™ API, evaluation endpoint Referring to POST /api/evaluation
Sandbox test environment, staging, dev Referring to the non-production RiskOS™ environment
Production live environment, prod Referring to the production RiskOS™ environment
Webhook callback, notification, event push Referring to RiskOS™ HTTPS POST notifications
SDK key API key (when referring to client-side credentials) The client-side credential for mobile/web SDKs
API key secret key, auth key, bearer token The server-side credential for API authentication

Usage in different content types

Content type Terminology register Example
Conceptual Formal — use full canonical terms, define on first use "An evaluation is a single execution of a workflow."
Tutorial Practical — use canonical terms without re-defining "Send a POST request to trigger an evaluation."
Reference Precise — use exact API field names in backticks "The decision field contains ACCEPT, REJECT, or REVIEW."
Operational Direct — use canonical terms, no definitions needed "Check the evaluation status in the webhook payload."

Related concepts

Updated 16 days ago