# 3.6 matrix, ISO 42102

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  3.6 Defined term

  

# matrix

  A two-dimensional picture that sets the methods of AI systems against their capabilities. It is the shape of the description, not a score and not a maturity model.

  
- defined term

- ISO/IEC DIS 42102

- Last updated: 2026-10-22

  
    

## What this settles

The definition fixes the geometry: methods on one axis, capabilities on the other. That geometry is what allows a reader to find a fact in a known place instead of reading a narrative.

    

## Who it binds

No one. It is a definition. It becomes operative when an organisation adopts the matrix as a template.

    

## What to do in your practice

Keep one template with fixed axes and a version. Adding a third dimension quietly turns the matrix into a different artefact and breaks comparability across systems and over time.

    

## Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for

      Three artefacts that make this unit checkableThe matrix template with the axes labelled and a version number.Fixes the geometry.
Two filled matrices at the same version.Proves comparability.
A change note if an axis or descriptor was added.Shows the artefact is controlled.

    Ask your teamIs everyone using the same matrix version, or has a third dimension crept in?

    

## Common gaps this page catches

- Each team uses its own grid, so the descriptions cannot be compared.

- A score is added to the matrix and read as a maturity level.

- The template changes without a version, so older matrices cannot be interpreted.

    

## What to prepare before publication

Version the template and freeze the axes for a review cycle. Publish the version alongside any matrix that leaves the team.

    

## How to test it here

Take one live system rather than a template, find the field or sentence where matrix is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date. A glossary entry on its own is an intention; a dated record beside a live artefact is evidence.

    

## What this page does not claim

The page does not reproduce the draft, does not know the descriptor wording that the public preview withholds, and does not certify the system or the organisation. It states the unit at the claim level "defined term" and stops where the public record stops.

    

## Common questions

    What does matrix mean in ISO/IEC DIS 42102?
A two-dimensional picture that sets the methods of AI systems against their capabilities. It is the shape of the description, not a score and not a maturity model.
What evidence should we keep for 3.6?
The matrix template with the axes labelled and a version number. Two filled matrices at the same version.
Is matrix a requirement?
No. The draft is a descriptive framework. It sets no management system requirement and no conformity test. It becomes binding only when a contract, a regulator or a management system adopts it.

    

## Related units

    
- 3 Terms and definitions

- 7.3 Characterization framework of AI system methods and capabilities

- 4.4 Understanding AI methods and AI system capabilities

  

  
    
      

## Source and claim

      ISO/IEC DIS 42102, Clause 3.6, matrix

      Open the ISO public entry

      https://www.iso.org/standard/86898.html

      Retrieved 22 October 2026.

      The definition is in the public preview, in clause 3.

    

    
      

## The record

      Stage 40.60, Close of voting, recorded 8 September 2026.

      Planning date 16 September 2027, an estimate. See the basis.

      The draft record · How it is built

    

    
      

## Check your own system

      Build the method and capability matrix from ten answers and see which cells still need evidence.

      Run the free check

    

  

Nothing here is guessed while you wait. Every line is written from the public ISO record and the public preview, and points to the exact clause it came from. How the record is built.

Last updated: 2026-10-22 · Markdown version · Check your system

Source: https://iso-42102-revision-checker.theartofservice.com/glossary/matrix/