Coverage Is Not Readiness

Four questions, not one score

These measures describe different properties. Collapsing them into a single progress percentage creates false certainty. One hundred per cent coverage can coexist with weak supplier declarations, unstable sensitivity results, unresolved assumptions or material approval conditions.

Complete evidence is not necessarily sufficient evidence.

Why the distinction matters

A governance board must be able to see whether a gap is about absence, quality, decision logic or authority. Each problem requires a different response: gather missing evidence, improve confidence, revise the recommendation, impose conditions or escalate the decision.

A useful assurance pattern

• Show coverage as a completeness measure.
• Keep confidence attached to specific evidence and KPI qualifications.
• Express readiness as a governance state such as Draft, Review, Conditional or Ready.
• Record approval independently, with the accountable decision owner and conditions.

This is why SDAF avoids a global confidence average and treats conditional readiness as a legitimate outcome rather than a failure.