Glossary
Key terms used throughout Balcony, with precise definitions consistent across Nexus and Mechanic.
Terms are listed alphabetically. Where a term has a specific technical meaning in Balcony that differs from its common use, the Balcony-specific definition takes precedence.
Artefact A regulatory framework, standard, or governance document that has been loaded into Nexus. Each artefact is structured as a navigable tree mirroring the source document. Examples: EU AI Act, ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF, a client contract.
Board An interactive canvas in Nexus that holds one or more artefacts. The working surface where crosswalk analysis is done. Boards support multiple views: Explore, Crosswalk, Controls, and Flow.
Chain A connected sequence of mechanisms where one mechanism's output becomes another's input. Chains make governance dependencies explicit and reveal where a weak mechanism affects downstream processes.
Control A specific, actionable governance requirement at the leaf level of the unified control framework. Controls are organised within topics and domains. Every external regulatory obligation maps to a control; every mechanism is linked to one or more controls.
Control set A curated subset of the unified control framework, scoped to a particular regulatory programme or use case. A board can be filtered to show only controls within a given set.
Coverage state The operational status of a control: whether it has no mechanism behind it (Gap), a mechanism that has been linked but not fully assessed (Covered), or a mechanism that has been assessed as operational (Implemented).
Crosswalk The complete mapping of external regulatory obligations to the unified control framework. The crosswalk is the primary artefact produced by work in Nexus. It reveals convergence, divergence, and gaps across multiple regulatory sources.
Domain One of twelve top-level governance categories in the unified control framework. Each domain covers a distinct territory: Governance & Leadership (GL), Risk Management (RM), Data & Learning (DL), Safety (SA), Security (SE), Human Oversight (HO), Privacy (PR), Operational Management (OM), Incident Management (IM), Supply Chain (SC), Reporting & Obligations (RO), Audit & Assurance (AA).
Expectation node A specific clause, article, or requirement within an artefact — the unit of mapping in the crosswalk. Expectation nodes carry a type (Obligation, Requirement, Practice, Commitment, Informative) that reflects their compliance weight.
Gap A coverage state indicating that a control has expectations mapped to it in Nexus but no mechanism linked to it in Mechanic. The regulatory obligation is documented; operational governance behind it does not yet exist.
Implemented A coverage state indicating that a control has a linked mechanism whose components have been assessed as present and adequate. Governance has moved from documented intent to confirmed operational reality.
IO library The shared workspace library of inputs and outputs used across mechanisms. An item in the IO library can be used as an input for multiple mechanisms and as an output for others — this is how connections in chains are established.
Mapping A link between an expectation node and a control. Mappings are the building blocks of the crosswalk. Each mapping moves through a lifecycle: Draft → Reviewing → Live → Deprecated.
Mechanism The operational process behind a governance control. Where a control describes what governance territory must be covered, a mechanism is how it is actually covered. Assessed across multiple components: Inputs, Outputs, Objective, Scope, Tooling, Metrics, and Ownership.
Mechanic The mechanism tool in Balcony. Handles the right half of the analytical chain: Control → Mechanism. Where controls are assessed for operational governance maturity and mechanisms are designed and tracked.
Nexus The crosswalk tool in Balcony. Handles the left half of the analytical chain: Artefact → Expectation → Control. Where regulatory obligations are loaded, mapped, and analysed.
Topic A numbered grouping of related controls within a domain. For example, DL-1 (Data Governance) is a topic within the DL (Data & Learning) domain. Topics provide intermediate navigation between domain-level and control-level.
Workspace The shared environment in which all governance work lives. Artefacts, boards, mechanisms, chains, and dashboards are all scoped to a workspace. Team members collaborate within a workspace and can belong to multiple workspaces.