Use the ORVIA method to test a position and track what happens next.
Download free PDF guide ↓Anyone preparing a proportionate decision or reviewing an unresolved issue.
State the review question, scope and immediate concerns. Bring the relevant records and accounts together.
Identify what is known, reported, inferred or missing. Do not delay an appropriate urgent human response while completing a review.
Check chronology, context, sources and versions. Look for contradictions and duplicated accounts.
Ask what else could explain the same facts and what evidence would challenge your current view.
Check each important assertion against an identifiable source. Record what the check established and its limits.
Use an independent source where available. If something cannot be verified, mark it unresolved.
Separate observations from interpretations and recommendations. Explain uncertainty and the alternatives considered.
Consider who is affected, what authority is needed and what professional input is required.
Give each agreed action an owner, deadline and evidence of completion. Record the authorised decision-maker.
Agree a recheck date. Ask whether the action was implemented, worked as intended and held over time.
The review question and boundaries are agreed.
Assertions link to sources and checks.
Competing explanations have been considered.
Uncertainty is visible in the conclusion.
The decision-maker and their authority are clear.
Actions have owners, dates and completion evidence.
Effectiveness and a later recheck are planned.
Independent review adds external challenge, source checks and a scoped written output. The extent of verification is agreed before work begins.
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