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§ I · Domain SPC · Control 1 of 9
Control
SPC-01
Edition
v.1.3
Status
Public review

SPC · Agent Specification & Pre-Deployment Assurance

SPC-01Written specification

A documented behavior specification exists prior to development, defining intended use cases, in-scope and out-of-scope inputs, authorized tools, data scope, and conditions under which the agent must refuse or escalate.

The specification captures the agent's intended behavior in language a non-engineer can read and a tester can verify. It includes positive behavior (what the agent should do), negative behavior (what it should never do), escalation behavior (when and to whom it should hand off), and the conditions under which the specification itself should be revisited.

Table SPC-01.1 · Maturity criteria · v.1.3

L1 to L5 · the lowest level in scope caps the agent
L1Ad hoc

Controls exist informally; documentation is incomplete; no consistent review.

L2Documented

Controls are written down; ownership is assigned; review cadence is defined.

L3Operated

Controls are followed in practice; evidence is collected; deviations are tracked.

Specification exists for every production agent, is version-controlled, is current within an explicit time window, and is referenced by the operating runbook.

L4Measured

Control effectiveness is measured against documented thresholds; trends are reported.

L5Continuously Improved

Controls evolve based on incident learning; maturity gains are evidenced over time.

The v1.3 edition publishes a control-specific criterion at L3 (Operated). The other levels apply the general ladder to this control; see the maturity ladder.

Evidence an assessor asks for

  1. E.1

    Specification exists for every production agent, is version-controlled, is current within an explicit time window, and is referenced by the operating runbook.

Table SPC-01.2 · Framework mappings

5 of 7 frameworks carry a control-level reference
NIST AI RMFMAP 3.1, MAP 3.2NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0
ISO/IEC 42001A.6.2.2, A.6.2.3ISO/IEC 42001:2023 · Artificial intelligence management system
OWASP LLM Top 10·OWASP Top 10 for Large Language Model Applications
SOC 2 (TSC)CC5.1, CC8.1AICPA Trust Services Criteria for SOC 2 Type II
EU AI ActArt. 9(1), Annex IV(2)EU AI Act · Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
MITRE ATLAS·MITRE ATLAS · Adversarial Threat Landscape for AI Systems
SingaporeMAIGF Testing & Assurance, AI Verify ReproducibilitySingapore Model AI Governance Framework / AI Verify / PDPA

Mappings are directional: meeting this control evidences but does not by itself satisfy the external requirement. A middle dot means no control-level reference is published at this edition; see the crosswalk.

Related controls and terms

Cite this control

Human Intelligence. HI-AAF v1.3, SPC-01 Written specification. Public review edition, July 2026. https://humanintel.net/standard/spc/spc-01

Edition v.1.3 · July 2026 · Public review · Markdown · PDF

https://humanintel.net/standard/spc/spc-01

Notice

HI-AAF v1.3 is an independent framework published by Human Intelligence. It is not affiliated with NIST, ISO, AICPA, or any government or accreditation body. The framework is offered openly for review during the current draft cycle.