Method Cards for Prescriptive Machine-Learning Transparency

Specialized documentation techniques have been developed to communicate key facts about machine-learning (ML) systems and the datasets and models they rely on. Techniques such as Datasheets, AI FactSheets, and Model Cards have taken a mainly descriptive approach, providing various details about the system components. While the above information is essential for product developers and external experts to assess whether the ML system meets their requirements, other stakeholders might find it less actionable. In particular, ML engineers need guidance on how to mitigate potential shortcomings in order to fix bugs or improve the system’s performance. We propose a documentation artifact that aims to provide such guidance in a prescriptive way. Our proposal, called Method Cards, aims to increase the transparency and reproducibility of ML systems by allowing stakeholders to reproduce the models, understand the rationale behind their designs, and introduce adaptations in an informed way. We showcase our proposal with an example in small object detection, and demonstrate how Method Cards can communicate key considerations that help increase the transparency and reproducibility of the detection model. We further highlight avenues for improving the user experience of ML engineers based on Method Cards. CCS CONCEPTS •Software and its engineering $\rightarrow$ Documentation; •Computing methodologies $\rightarrow$ Machine learning.