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info-tech-canon/SCOPE.md

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SCOPE

Current Repository Scope

This repository currently contains the seed structure for InfoTechCanon: an evolving, markdown-first canon for building interoperable, adaptable, and extensible information-processing systems.

At this stage, the repository is not yet a fully validated standards system. It is a seed corpus of kernel documents, domain models, specialized standards, and integration guidance that together define the first-generation InfoTechCanon kernel.


Current Purpose

The repository currently serves to:

  • collect the first generation of InfoTechCanon standards and models,
  • define the semantic boundaries between domains,
  • preserve orthogonality between concepts,
  • provide seed structures for mappings, profiles, patterns, assimilation, validation, and agent use,
  • support future machine-readable extraction,
  • and act as the first major use case for markdown-based infospaces and related tooling.

Current Kernel

The current kernel consists of:

kernel/
  InfoTechCanonCore.md
  InfoTechCanonKernelMap.md

InfoTechCanonCore

Defines shared canon mechanisms:

  • canon artifacts,
  • concepts,
  • concept ownership,
  • relationships,
  • mappings,
  • assimilation,
  • profiles,
  • patterns,
  • validation rules,
  • conformance levels,
  • versioning,
  • provenance,
  • agent briefs,
  • and Canon Interface Cards.

InfoTechCanonKernelMap

Shows how the first-generation standards and models fit together, including the position of CARING as a specialized access-governance standard.


Current Models

The repository currently includes seed models for:

models/
  information-space/
  landscape/
  organization/
  governance/
  task/
  access-control/
  security/
  data/
  devsecops/
  network/
  observability/

These models define broad domain structures.

Model Current Responsibility
Information Space Markdown-first knowledge packaging, retrieval, links, chunks, indexes, agent briefs
Landscape IT landscapes, services, systems, runtime resources, infrastructure context
Organization Actors, roles, teams, membership, responsibility, authority, accountability
Governance Policies, rules, decisions, controls, risk, evidence, exceptions, assurance
Task Work items, options, tasks, actions, blockers, dependencies, commitment, outcomes
Access Control Subjects, principals, permissions, grants, authorization decisions, enforcement
Security Threats, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, findings, exposure, attack paths, incidents
Data Datasets, schemas, data products, classification, lineage, quality, contracts
DevSecOps Source-to-artifact-to-release-to-deployment delivery flow and evidence
Network Addressing, topology, routing, policy, reachability, exposure, network state
Observability Telemetry, logs, metrics, traces, alerts, SLOs, health, operational evidence

Current Specialized Standards

The repository currently includes specialized standards for:

standards/
  tagging/
  caring/
Standard Current Responsibility
Tagging Tag identity, schemes, namespaces, assignments, mappings, validation
CARING Orthogonal access-governance analysis using canonical roles, planes, exposure modes, derived and induced capabilities

Current Structural Assumptions

The current repository structure assumes the distinction:

Kernel
  Defines how the canon works.

Models
  Define broad domain structures.

Standards
  Define cross-cutting conventions, mechanisms, or named analytical/design frameworks.

Profiles
  Constrain models and standards for concrete implementation contexts.

Patterns
  Describe recurring practical solutions.

Mappings
  Relate InfoTechCanon concepts to external bodies of knowledge.

Assimilation
  Analyzes external knowledge bodies and turns them into mappings, gaps, conflicts, and proposed changes.

Views
  Provide generated or curated navigation over canon artifacts.

Agent
  Provides compact, retrieval-optimized guidance for AI agents and tools.

Current Non-Goals

The current repository does not yet provide:

  • a complete ontology,
  • complete YAML/JSON schemas for all artifact types,
  • automated validation tooling,
  • fully extracted concept pages,
  • finalized mappings to external standards,
  • complete application profiles,
  • complete agent retrieval indexes,
  • mature conformance tests,
  • or a stable release of the InfoTechCanon.

The current scope is seed-level structure and consolidation.


Current Known Duplication

The current seed standards still repeat some generic sections that should eventually be centralized in InfoTechCanonCore, including:

  • mapping model,
  • assimilation model,
  • profile format,
  • conformance levels,
  • validation rule format,
  • repository placement,
  • agent brief requirements,
  • Canon Interface Card usage,
  • lifecycle statuses.

This duplication is accepted for the seed phase but should be reduced during refactoring.


Current Refactoring Priorities

Near-term work should focus on:

  1. moving repeated generic mechanisms into Core,
  2. creating machine-readable schemas,
  3. extracting concept pages from seed standards,
  4. creating global indexes,
  5. creating agent briefs,
  6. creating first application profiles,
  7. creating formal assimilation workspaces,
  8. running CARING as the first full benchmark assimilation,
  9. validating concept ownership across the kernel,
  10. and creating Canon Interface Cards for initial tools and repositories.

First Validation Targets

The first validation targets should be:

1. Concept ownership table
2. Cross-standard import matrix
3. Kernel dependency graph
4. CARING access descriptor schema
5. Mapping schema
6. Profile schema
7. Agent brief schema
8. Repository layout validation
9. Internal link validation
10. Duplicate concept detection

Current Maturity

The repository is currently at:

Maturity: Seed Kernel
Status: Pre-release consolidation
Primary use: Human/agent reference and refactoring foundation

The next maturity target is:

Maturity: Kernel RC1
Condition:
  Core mechanisms centralized,
  standards indexed,
  concept ownership explicit,
  first profiles and mappings created,
  CARING assimilation completed,
  and basic validation scripts available.