Documents and templates

What kind of templates are provided by ​ValidMind?

​ValidMind provides the following default template types:¹

¹ Manage document templates

• Development (documentation)
• Validation (validation reports)
• Monitoring (ongoing monitoring reports)

You can also create custom document types and associated templates to suit your organization’s unique needs.²

² Manage document types

Can templates be customized for our use cases?

Yes, the ValidMind Platform³ allows you to configure versioned templates based on document requirements for each record (such as a model) or lifecycle use case.

³ Accessing ​ValidMind

• ​ValidMind’s templates are fully customizable,⁴ and are complemented by the ability to manage validation guidelines.
• You can swap between different versions of templates or apply another version of the current template.⁵
• Template outlines can be modified right in the ValidMind Platform. We also offer an advanced raw YAML editor, enabling you to make detailed changes.

⁴ Customize document templates

⁵ Manage document templates

⁶ Manage permissions

By default, the Customer Admin role⁶ has sufficient permissions to manage document templates, and you must be a Developer or Validator to be able to swap document templates.

Is content from existing documents or templates reusable?

Yes, you can reuse content from existing documents or templates:

• Build a library of reusable text blocks to insert into your documents, including content from existing documents.⁷
• Duplicate document templates to create new templates with the same content, then edit those duplicates to fit your needs.⁸

⁷ Manage text block library

⁸ Manage document templates

Can documents be created right in the ValidMind Platform?

Yes, you can work with documentation, validation reports, ongoing monitoring reports, or any other document type directly in the ValidMind Platform, without having to first generate anything using the ValidMind Library.⁹

⁹ ValidMind Library

1. Add and edit text on any document within the platform using our content editing toolbar.¹⁰
2. Using the library, execute test suites and generate the corresponding supporting results. These results can then be added to your documents within the platform.¹¹

¹⁰ Work with content blocks

¹¹ Work with test results

Can I run tests and log documentation without a record?

Yes! If you do not have a record (such as a model) ready, or your record can’t be loaded directly, or you only have access to predictions, you can still run tests and log documentation using the ValidMind Library as long as you’re able to load the predictions.

• Use assign_predictions()¹² to load predictions from a separate file or a dataset with predictions.
• Call init_model()¹³ to create a model object, but instead of a trained instance, pass an input_id and model metadata. ModelMetadata()¹⁴ will use the provided metadata instead of trying to calculate it from the model’s library.

¹² assign_predictions()

¹³ init_model()

¹⁴ ModelMetadata()

For example:

  external_model = vm.init_model(
      input_id="spark_ml_model",
      metadata={...}
  )

NoneIf neither a trained instance nor metadata is provided, init_model() will return an error.

• However, tests that need a trained model will not work with “empty” models.
• Despite the naming convention, model objects can be any type of record you want to test, document, validate, or monitor with ​ValidMind.

Can we attach files to records, artifacts, or documents?

Yes, attachment type inventory fields are available for custom use.¹⁵ Once created, attachment type fields allow you to upload supporting files to your record (model).

¹⁵ Manage inventory fields

• Out-of-the-box functionality is included for attaching files to artifacts.
• You can also attach images to document content blocks and comments.

By default, the Customer Admin role has sufficient permissions to manage inventory fields.

Do you support including images in documents?

Yes, as long as you can produce the image with Python or open the image from a file, you can include it in your documents with ​ValidMind:¹⁶

¹⁶ Implement custom tests

• If you want to log an image as a test result, you can do so by passing the path to the image as a parameter to the custom test and then opening the file in the test function.
• If you are using a plotting library that isn’t directly supported by ​ValidMind, you can still return the image directly as a bytes-like object.

How are updates to test results on documents managed?

1. ​ValidMind allows developers to re-run documentation functions with the ValidMind Library¹⁷ to capture changes in the record (such as a model), such as changes in the number of features or hyperparameters.
2. After a developer has made a change in their development environment, such as to a Jupyter Notebook,¹⁸ they can execute the relevant ​ValidMind documentation function to update the corresponding documentation section.
3. ​ValidMind will then automatically recreate the relevant figures and tables and update them in the online documentation.¹⁹

¹⁷ ValidMind Library

¹⁸ Code samples

¹⁹ Work with test results

Can we leverage content from historical or external documents?

Yes, ​ValidMind allows you to leverage content from historical or external documents:

• Convert a Portable Document Format .pdf file (PDF) into an editable document in the ValidMind Platform, allowing you to seamlessly work with existing PDFs as you would with any other template-based document, such as adding content blocks and attaching test results.²⁰
• You can also choose to upload the PDF as a static document, which is stored as a static file. You can view it within the platform but you cannot modify its structure or contents.

²⁰ Manage documents

How does ​ValidMind help me create compliant documentation?

Use the ValidMind Document Checker to analyze your completed documents by comparing them against regulatory standards.²¹

²¹ Check documents for compliance

The ValidMind Document Checker is a compliance tool that reviews documents against a selected regulatory standard. Use the Document Checker to identify gaps, generate actionable recommendations, and focus your efforts on areas that require attention. The Document Checker uses a structured checklist to:

• Assess whether required information or evidence is clearly documented or attached.
• Identify missing or weak areas in the document.
• Offer guidance on how to improve clarity, completeness, and compliance.
• Ensure consistency with regulatory expectations for risk and governance.

What export options are available in ​ValidMind?

• Inventory records can be exported as comma-delimited tables (.csv)²²
• Documents can be exported as Word (.docx) or Portable Document Format (.pdf) files²³
• Artifacts can be exported as comma-delimited tables (.csv)²⁴
• Analytics can be exported as comma-delimited tables (.csv)²⁵

²² Export inventory

²³ Export documents

²⁴ Export artifacts

²⁵ Export analytics

²⁶ Configure data exports

​ValidMind also allows you to export analytics datasets on a schedule to cloud storage, such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure Blob Storage.²⁶

Learn more