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How we decide puts the rule and your organization's practice beside twelve decisions on a case — what it shows, where it appears, and how to hide it.

Last updated: November 10, 2026 by Steve

How We Decide

Beside twelve decisions you make on a case — extending a deadline, applying an exemption, a fee, a breach notice and the others in the table below — AccessPoint shows How we decide (the graduation-cap icon). It is a short panel that puts the rule and your organization's practice next to the control you are using.

The panel starts closed and opens only when you select it. It never opens by itself, never covers the screen, and loads nothing until you open it.

What the Panel Shows

  • The rule — what your configuration and jurisdiction packs say about the decision in front of you, for example the description of the extension reason or exemption you chose, followed by Legal reference: …. Where a jurisdiction pack has a plain-language note for that option, the note takes the place of the description and the legal reference stays. Where the rule depends on a choice you have not made yet, the panel says Make a choice above to see the rule for it. Make the choice and the panel follows it.
  • Our practice — your organization's own notes for this decision and this kind of case: who to consult, what your office checks, a link to your policy. Your organization writes them as coach notes. A note that is not yet written in your language is shown in the language it has, with Not yet written in your language.
  • Learn more — the modules that teach this decision, when a note links to them and you can open them. Select one to open it in the module player. It shows how long the module takes and, once you have done it, You've done this lesson. Learn more appears in your real work only, not in Lab mode.
  • Ask AccessPoint about this — with AI Assist on, opens Ask AccessPoint on the case with the question How does this guidance apply to this case? Change it or write your own; nothing is sent until you send it. See Ask AccessPoint with the Guidance below.
  • Help — opens this page.
  • Hide coaching here — hides How we decide at this decision, for you alone. See Hiding It and Bringing It Back.

If there is nothing to show yet, the panel says There is no guidance for this decision yet.

Jurisdiction pack content, including the rules and plain-language notes shown here, is a starting point built from public information about the legislation, not legal advice. Your legal counsel validates and adjusts it.

Where It Appears

Decision Where How we decide appears What the rule follows
Scope and clarification A request's Details tab, below Description & Scope The request type and its legal authority
Extending the deadline The Add extension panel The extension reason you chose
Applying an exemption The selected mark's exemption in the redaction side panel (if you may change it), and the floating exemption picker The exemption you chose
Fees The fee estimate, under the fee schedule The fee schedule that governs the request
Consultation and third-party notice The new consultation form, under its type The consultation type you chose
The response and its outcome The Close request dialog, under Outcome The request's legal authority, and the outcome you chose
Screening The assessment screener, above the questions The assessment type
Rating risk An assessment's Risks tab, under the risk heat map The assessment type's risk levels
The validation decision The Record decision dialog, under the outcome The assessment type's validation steps
Breach notification Each open notification of an incident you can act on The notification's type
The complaint finding Where you record an allegation's finding, under Finding The finding you chose
Signing off a letter Each letter waiting for your sign-off Your organization's practice only (there is no catalogue rule)

In the floating exemption picker the panel is compact: it scrolls, and it offers neither Ask AccessPoint nor Help.

Ask AccessPoint with the Guidance

Ask AccessPoint about this needs AI Assist. Every answer in the conversation it opens draws on this decision's guidance as well as on the case: AccessPoint gives the assistant the same rule, legal reference, jurisdiction pack note and Our practice notes the panel shows you, in your language. The panel says Answers here also use your organization's guidance for this decision under its notice.

The assistant treats that guidance as your organization's guidance, not as the law:

  • it cites only the legal references it is given;
  • it says so when the guidance does not cover your question;
  • like Ask AccessPoint everywhere, it makes no decision for you.

It sees only the case data you can see, works in Lab mode as Ask AccessPoint does, and counts toward your organization's AI budget like any other question.

In Lab Mode

The panel shows in Lab mode too. The rule comes from the training copy's configuration, and your organization's coach notes show there as they do in your real work. Learn more is the one part that does not appear in Lab mode.

Hiding It and Bringing It Back

Hide coaching here hides How we decide at this decision for you alone, wherever that decision appears. The line that replaces it tells you how to bring it back:

  1. Open the Training hub from the toolbar.
  2. Select My training.
  3. Select Show Get started tips again. This also brings back the Get started tips you turned off.

My learning also has Show the coaching I hid again. Hiding works even when guided help is switched off for your organization.

Switching It Off for Everyone

An administrator can switch How we decide off for the whole organization under Settings → Training → AccessPoint Learning → Show How we decide at decision points (on by default), saved with the panel's Save. When it is off, the panel is not shown anywhere, in your real work or in Lab mode. Your coach notes are kept for when it is switched back on. See Settings → Training.

Editions

How we decide and coach notes are part of the core product in both AccessPoint for Microsoft 365 and Hosted AccessPoint. They do not need the AccessPoint Learning module or add-on. Ask AccessPoint about this needs AI Assist, and the modules under Learn more open only for people who can take them.

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