Juletip #5 Model Cards in SAS Viya Model Manager

[V_Tyna]

Did you know that you can create Model Cards directly in SAS Viya Model Manager?
This is a simple but incredibly useful way to document models — for developers, data scientists, operations teams, and governance alike.

🎁 What is a Model Card?

A Model Card is a structured documentation template that follows a model throughout its entire lifecycle.
Think of it as the model’s “nutrition label” — a standardized and easy-to-read format where you can describe:
✔️ Purpose and intended use
✔️ Metadata (dataset, version, training date, developer)
✔️ Assumptions
✔️ Limitations
✔️ Evaluation metrics
✔️ Fairness and bias assessments
✔️ Overall results and risk considerations

A Model Card makes it easier to share knowledge, increase transparency, and ensure responsible model usage — especially important in public sector work, regulated industries, or cross-team projects.

🎄 Why are Model Cards useful?

They help you:
🔎 Understand the model quickly, without digging through code or long documents
🤝 Communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders
🛡️ Support compliance (AI Act, internal governance, audits)
🔄 Track the model over time — versioning, drift, retraining, validations
⚖️ Monitor fairness across demographic groups (fully integrated!)

Viya can also auto-generate parts of the Model Card using existing model metadata.

🎄 Want to learn more?

Here are two excellent and practical guides from SAS Communities:
⭐ Monitoring Model Fairness in SAS Model Manager
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Monitoring-Model-Fairness-in-SAS-Model-Manage...

⭐ Creating a Model Nutrition Label: Model Cards for SAS Studio Models
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Creating-a-Model-Nutrition-Label-Model-Cards-... 
⭐ Creating a Model Nutrition Label (Model Cards) for SAS Model Manager
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Creating-a-Model-Nutrition-Label-Model-Cards-...
⭐ Creating a Model Nutrition Label: Model Cards for Python Models
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Creating-a-Model-Nutrition-Label-Model-Cards-...

All of these resources include concrete examples, screenshots, and step-by-step instructions.