AIGO — Retirement Schema Documentation
1. Document Purpose
This document describes the machine-readable AIGO Retirement Schema. The schema provides the structured representation of the controlled retirement of AI systems and associated governed components under the AIGO AI Governance Operating Framework. It is intended to support:- retirement identification;
- retirement triggers;
- retirement rationale;
- retirement scope;
- stakeholder impact;
- replacement and transition;
- business continuity;
- retirement risk assessment;
- residual risk;
- risk acceptance;
- control disposition;
- monitoring closure;
- incident review;
- assurance;
- data disposition;
- model disposition;
- technical shutdown;
- access removal;
- integration closure;
- supplier closure;
- security closure;
- privacy closure;
- regulatory requirements;
- documentation updates;
- change management;
- retirement approval;
- readiness assessment;
- execution planning;
- execution;
- verification;
- post-retirement risk review;
- post-retirement monitoring;
- post-retirement incident handling;
- lessons learned;
- continual improvement;
- final retirement confirmation;
- evidence;
- traceability; and
- formal closure.
2. Schema Information
3. Scope
The Retirement Schema applies to the formal retirement of:- AI systems;
- model versions;
- AI-enabled applications;
- AI services;
- supporting data pipelines;
- infrastructure;
- integrations;
- supplier services;
- governance records associated with a system; and
- other components that must be withdrawn as part of AI system retirement.
- the system is no longer required;
- a replacement system is available;
- the system is obsolete;
- risk is unacceptable;
- performance is unacceptable;
- a strategic decision has been made;
- a regulatory requirement applies;
- security or privacy concerns exist;
- a serious incident occurred;
- technology reached end of life;
- a supplier relationship ends; or
- another approved retirement trigger occurs.
4. Object Model
The primary object represented by this schema is:- the AI System record;
- the Risk record;
- the Control record;
- the Monitoring record;
- the Incident record;
- the Change record;
- the Assurance record;
- the Approval record;
- the Improvement record; and
- Evidence records.
5. Core Identity
A Retirement record should contain stable identity information. Key fields include:id;objectType;objectVersion;schemaVersion;aiSystemId;- retirement trigger;
- retirement rationale;
- retirement owner; and
- retirement status.
6. AI System Relationship
The retirement record should identify the AI system being retired. Example:- system identity;
- ownership;
- classification;
- lifecycle status;
- business context;
- system history; and
- related governance records.
7. Retirement Trigger
The trigger identifies why retirement is being initiated. The schema supports triggers including:8. Retirement Rationale
The retirement rationale should explain why the system should no longer remain operational. The rationale may include:- business justification;
- risk justification;
- technical justification;
- governance justification;
- regulatory justification;
- security justification;
- privacy justification; and
- strategic justification.
9. Retirement Owner
The retirement owner is accountable for coordinating the retirement lifecycle. Responsibilities may include:- defining scope;
- coordinating assessments;
- obtaining approvals;
- planning transition;
- coordinating technical shutdown;
- managing dependencies;
- ensuring data disposition;
- ensuring access removal;
- coordinating verification;
- preserving evidence;
- confirming final status; and
- closing the retirement record.
10. Retirement Scope
The scope should identify precisely what will be retired. It may include:- model;
- model version;
- application;
- API;
- data pipeline;
- infrastructure;
- monitoring;
- controls;
- documentation;
- integrations;
- supplier services;
- contracts; and
- governance records.
11. Retirement Complexity
Retirement complexity may be classified according to the organizational methodology. Typical levels include:- system dependencies;
- affected users;
- business criticality;
- data volume;
- regulatory requirements;
- supplier dependencies;
- technical complexity;
- transition requirements; and
- residual risk.
12. Retirement Impact
Impact assessment should consider the consequences of retiring the system. Potential impact areas include:- business operations;
- affected persons;
- customers;
- employees;
- stakeholders;
- service availability;
- data;
- security;
- privacy;
- suppliers;
- legal requirements;
- regulatory obligations;
- replacement systems; and
- business continuity.
13. Stakeholder Impact
The retirement record may identify affected stakeholders. Stakeholders may include:- users;
- customers;
- employees;
- applicants;
- suppliers;
- partners;
- affected persons;
- regulators; and
- other parties.
- expected retirement impact;
- engagement requirements;
- communication;
- responsible owner; and
- status.
14. Affected Persons
Where retirement affects individuals or groups, the record should consider:- service impact;
- access;
- decision processes;
- data;
- rights;
- continuity;
- communications; and
- remediation.
15. Communications
Retirement may require communication to:- users;
- customers;
- employees;
- suppliers;
- business partners;
- regulators;
- affected persons;
- governance bodies; and
- other stakeholders.
- recipient;
- purpose;
- planned date;
- actual date;
- owner;
- status; and
- evidence.
16. Replacement and Transition
Where a replacement exists, the retirement record should identify:- replacement AI system;
- replacement status;
- transition strategy;
- parallel operation;
- transition duration;
- transition risks; and
- transition owner.
17. Business Continuity
The retirement record should determine whether continuity arrangements are required. Continuity may rely on:- replacement system;
- manual fallback;
- alternate service;
- retained functionality;
- temporary process; or
- other approved arrangements.
18. Retirement Risk Assessment
Retirement may create risks distinct from normal operation. Potential retirement risks include:- service disruption;
- incomplete shutdown;
- residual access;
- data-loss;
- unintended data retention;
- security exposure;
- privacy exposure;
- orphaned dependencies;
- supplier disputes;
- incomplete monitoring closure;
- regulatory non-compliance;
- replacement failure;
- business continuity failure; and
- residual risk after retirement.
19. Retirement Risk Levels
The risk assessment should use the organization’s approved risk methodology. Risk may be evaluated using:- likelihood;
- impact;
- risk level;
- treatment;
- owner;
- status; and
- evidence.
RiskLevel definition should be used where applicable.
20. Residual Risk
Residual risk should be evaluated after retirement controls and treatments are implemented. Residual risk may remain because:- data is retained;
- dependencies remain;
- historical obligations continue;
- monitoring continues temporarily;
- legal requirements persist;
- supplier arrangements remain; or
- another related risk remains active.
21. Risk Acceptance
Where residual retirement risk requires formal acceptance, the record should reference the applicable risk acceptance. The acceptance should identify:- risk;
- authority;
- status;
- effective date;
- expiry;
- conditions; and
- rationale.
22. Control Disposition
Retirement may affect controls. Controls may be:- retired;
- transferred;
- retained;
- modified;
- replaced; or
- otherwise reconfigured.
23. Monitoring Closure
Monitoring associated with the retired system should be reviewed. Actions may include:- stopping monitoring;
- transferring monitoring;
- retaining historical monitoring;
- establishing post-retirement monitoring; or
- modifying monitoring.
24. Incident Review
Open incidents should be reviewed before retirement. The organization should determine whether:- incidents must be closed;
- investigations must continue;
- evidence must be preserved;
- post-retirement incident handling is required;
- regulatory requirements remain; or
- incidents affect retirement readiness.
25. Assurance Review
Depending on risk and significance, retirement may require assurance. Assurance may evaluate:- retirement readiness;
- data disposition;
- technical shutdown;
- access removal;
- risk closure;
- monitoring closure;
- control disposition;
- regulatory compliance;
- evidence; and
- final retirement verification.
26. Data Disposition
Data associated with the AI system should be classified and handled appropriately. Possible actions include:- categories of data;
- retention requirement;
- retention period;
- destination;
- deletion or destruction method;
- verification method;
- owner; and
- evidence.
27. Model Disposition
Model artifacts may be:- retained;
- archived;
- transferred;
- deleted;
- destroyed; or
- otherwise disposed of.
- legal obligations;
- intellectual property;
- reproducibility;
- assurance;
- incident investigation;
- regulatory requirements;
- security; and
- historical traceability.
28. Technical Disposition
Technical components should be systematically addressed. These may include:- applications;
- infrastructure;
- APIs;
- databases;
- pipelines;
- configuration;
- containers;
- storage;
- secrets;
- certificates;
- monitoring;
- integrations; and
- dependencies.
29. Access Removal
Access should be reviewed and removed where no longer necessary. Access types may include:- user access;
- service accounts;
- API keys;
- privileged accounts;
- machine identities;
- certificates;
- credentials;
- supplier access; and
- other technical access.
30. Integration Closure
Integrations should be reviewed for:- APIs;
- data feeds;
- system-to-system connections;
- event streams;
- scheduled jobs;
- authentication;
- downstream dependencies; and
- upstream dependencies.
- removed;
- transferred;
- replaced;
- retained; or
- otherwise dispositioned.
31. Supplier Closure
Third-party relationships may need to be terminated or transitioned. Supplier closure may include:- service termination;
- contract closure;
- data return;
- data deletion;
- credential removal;
- access termination;
- final invoice;
- evidence retention;
- notification; and
- contractual obligations.
32. Security Closure
Security review should determine whether retirement leaves:- exposed services;
- credentials;
- unprotected storage;
- residual access;
- unused interfaces;
- vulnerable components;
- logging gaps; or
- other security exposure.
33. Privacy Closure
Privacy closure should address:- data disposition;
- retention;
- deletion;
- access;
- transfers;
- affected-person requirements;
- privacy notifications; and
- remaining privacy obligations.
34. Regulatory Requirements
Retirement may have legal or regulatory obligations. These may concern:- record retention;
- notification;
- data handling;
- customer communication;
- regulatory reporting;
- system documentation;
- audit records;
- contractual obligations; or
- other continuing obligations.
35. Documentation Updates
Retirement should update controlled records such as:- AI inventory;
- AI System profile;
- classification;
- risk register;
- control register;
- monitoring;
- governance records;
- supplier records;
- documentation;
- technical records; and
- reporting.
36. Change Management
Retirement is normally a material lifecycle change. The Retirement record should reference the applicable Change record where change-management requirements apply. The Change record remains authoritative for formal change governance. Retirement activities should align with approved change scope.37. Retirement Approval
Formal approval may be required before retirement. The approval should consider:- retirement trigger;
- scope;
- risk assessment;
- replacement readiness;
- continuity;
- data disposition;
- access removal;
- monitoring closure;
- incident status;
- security;
- privacy;
- supplier arrangements;
- regulatory requirements; and
- evidence.
38. Retirement Readiness
Before execution, readiness should be evaluated. Readiness may cover:- approval;
- risk assessment;
- incident review;
- replacement readiness;
- continuity;
- data disposition;
- access removal;
- monitoring closure;
- technical shutdown;
- supplier closure;
- security;
- privacy; and
- evidence retention.
39. Execution Plan
The retirement execution plan should define:- activities;
- sequence;
- owners;
- dependencies;
- planned dates;
- evidence requirements; and
- status.
- accidental service disruption;
- orphaned integrations;
- incomplete access removal;
- data loss;
- evidence loss; or
- premature shutdown.
40. Retirement Execution
Execution should record:- activities completed;
- issues;
- deviations;
- execution status;
- responsible parties;
- completion date; and
- evidence.
41. Execution Deviations
A deviation occurs when retirement execution differs materially from the approved plan. The record should identify:- deviation;
- impact;
- owner;
- approval requirement;
- approval reference; and
- evidence.
42. Retirement Verification
Verification confirms that retirement was actually achieved. Verification may include tests for:- system availability;
- API availability;
- access;
- credentials;
- scheduled jobs;
- data processing;
- integrations;
- monitoring;
- dependencies;
- infrastructure;
- supplier access;
- control status; and
- inventory status.
- objective;
- scope;
- tests;
- results;
- conclusion;
- verifier; and
- evidence.
43. Verification Outcomes
Typical outcomes include:44. Final Retirement Confirmation
The record should establish the final state of the AI system. Confirmation may include:- system retired;
- retirement date;
- scope confirmed;
- system no longer approved for operational use;
- inventory updated;
- governance records updated; and
- confirmation authority.
45. Post-Retirement Risk Review
Retirement may create continuing risks. A post-retirement risk review should consider:- residual risk;
- outstanding risks;
- transferred risks;
- retained data;
- remaining dependencies;
- historical obligations;
- supplier obligations; and
- other continuing exposure.
46. Post-Retirement Monitoring
Some systems or components may require monitoring after retirement. Reasons may include:- retained interfaces;
- retained data;
- regulatory obligations;
- residual security exposure;
- transition period;
- replacement instability; or
- residual risk.
- whether required;
- scope;
- duration;
- owner;
- exit criteria; and
- status.
47. Post-Retirement Incident Handling
The organization should define how incidents discovered after retirement are handled. Potential post-retirement incidents include:- unauthorized system operation;
- residual access;
- data exposure;
- retained vulnerabilities;
- incorrect inventory state;
- supplier failures; or
- unintended downstream impact.
48. Lessons Learned
Retirement should generate lessons where appropriate. Lessons may concern:- planning;
- dependencies;
- data;
- security;
- privacy;
- supplier management;
- change management;
- continuity;
- governance;
- evidence; or
- technical architecture.
49. Continual Improvement
Retirement experiences may identify governance improvements. Examples include:- better inventory;
- better dependency mapping;
- improved retirement checklists;
- improved evidence requirements;
- stronger supplier termination controls;
- improved data disposition;
- stronger access-removal controls; or
- improved readiness criteria.
50. Evidence
Retirement evidence may include:- retirement approval;
- readiness assessment;
- risk assessment;
- change records;
- technical shutdown records;
- access-removal evidence;
- data deletion or archive evidence;
- supplier closure;
- monitoring closure;
- security review;
- privacy review;
- verification tests;
- final confirmation; and
- inventory updates.
51. Evidence Completeness
The retirement record should indicate whether required evidence is:- complete;
- substantially complete;
- partially complete; or
- incomplete.
52. Traceability
Retirement should preserve traceability to the AI system’s historical governance. A recommended traceability chain is:53. Retirement Closure
The retirement record should be formally closed after:- execution;
- verification;
- final confirmation;
- evidence retention;
- residual-risk review;
- required post-retirement monitoring arrangements;
- documentation updates; and
- other closure criteria.
54. Retirement Reopening
A retirement record may need to be reopened when:- the system remains operational;
- residual access is discovered;
- data disposition was incomplete;
- retirement verification failed;
- a dependency remains active;
- regulatory obligations were missed; or
- another material retirement deficiency is discovered.
55. Retirement Reporting
Retirement records may support governance reporting. Useful metrics include:
Metrics should have controlled definitions and reporting periods.
56. Retirement Validation Requirements
A valid Retirement record should satisfy:Structural Validation
The JSON document must validate against:13-AIGO-Retirement-Schema-v0.1.json
AI System Validation
The affected AI System should be identifiable.Trigger Validation
The retirement trigger should be defined.Scope Validation
Retirement scope should be explicit.Risk Validation
Retirement risks should be assessed where required.Readiness Validation
Required readiness conditions should be satisfied.Approval Validation
Required approval should be obtained before execution.Data Validation
Data disposition requirements should be addressed.Access Validation
Relevant access should be removed or transferred.Monitoring Validation
Monitoring closure or post-retirement monitoring should be addressed.Supplier Validation
Supplier dependencies should be closed, transferred, or otherwise dispositioned.Security Validation
Security closure should be established where applicable.Privacy Validation
Privacy closure should be established where applicable.Execution Validation
Retirement execution should match approved scope.Verification Validation
Retirement should be independently verified where required.Evidence Validation
Material retirement actions should have appropriate evidence.Closure Validation
Final closure should satisfy applicable criteria.Traceability Validation
Historical relationships to governance records should remain intact.57. Schema Limitations
JSON Schema cannot independently determine:- whether retirement is actually appropriate;
- whether replacement readiness is sufficient;
- whether continuity plans work;
- whether all dependencies were discovered;
- whether data was fully disposed of;
- whether access was completely removed;
- whether residual risk is acceptable;
- whether technical shutdown was complete;
- whether regulatory obligations were satisfied; or
- whether final verification is reliable.
58. Relationship to Templates
The Retirement Schema corresponds primarily to:guidance/03-templates/15-AIGO-AI-Retirement-Template-v0.1.md
It also interacts with:
- AI system registration;
- AI system profile;
- classification;
- risk assessment;
- control assessment;
- approval;
- monitoring;
- incident;
- change management;
- assurance;
- evidence;
- management review; and
- improvement templates.
59. Relationship to Procedures
The schema should be used with:guidance/02-procedures/12-AIGO-AI-Retirement-Procedure-v0.1.md
and, where applicable:
- AI governance;
- AI system registration;
- classification;
- risk assessment;
- control assessment;
- approval;
- monitoring;
- incident management;
- change management;
- assurance;
- risk acceptance; and
- continuous improvement procedures.
60. Framework Traceability
61. Retirement Traceability Model
The recommended traceability model is:62. Example Record
A conceptual Retirement record may look like:63. Schema Registry Relationship
This schema is registered in:schemas/00-AIGO-Schema-Registry-v0.1.json
The registry should maintain:
- schema identifier;
- object type;
- version;
- controlled path;
- status;
- dependencies;
- referenced schemas;
- owner;
- documentation path; and
- traceability metadata.
64. Change and Version Management
Changes to the Retirement Schema should be managed through AIGO change management. Potential impacts should be assessed against:- retirement procedures;
- retirement templates;
- AI system inventory;
- risk management;
- control management;
- monitoring;
- incident management;
- change management;
- assurance;
- evidence;
- supplier governance;
- privacy;
- security;
- regulatory obligations; and
- validation tooling.
65. Future Extensions
Future versions may support:- automated retirement workflows;
- dependency graph validation;
- automated access-discovery;
- infrastructure discovery;
- data-lineage validation;
- automated evidence collection;
- retirement readiness scoring;
- post-retirement monitoring automation;
- supplier termination workflows;
- machine-readable regulatory retention rules; and
- automated retirement conformance testing.
66. Document Control
67. Document Status
Document: AIGO — Retirement Schema Documentation Version: 0.1 Status: Draft Working Name: AIGO Full Name: AI Governance Operating Framework Document Identifier:AIGO-SCHEMA-DOC-013
Document Type: Schema Documentation
This document provides the human-readable interpretation, governance context, validation expectations, and traceability guidance for the AIGO Retirement Schema.
End of Document