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ADR-0016: Data Retention, Disposal & Privacy (FADP / GDPR)
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Evaluate LQMS
Evaluate LQMS
LQMS Known Limits
LQMS Security Posture
Architecture
Architecture
1. Introduction and Goals
2. Architecture Constraints
3. Context and Scope
4. Solution Strategy
5. Building Block View
6. Runtime View
7. Deployment View
8. Crosscutting Concepts
9. Architecture Decisions
10. Quality Requirements
11. Risks and Technical Debt
12. Glossary
The arrival bundle format
Decisions (ADRs)
Decisions (ADRs)
ADR-0001: Content-Addressed Document Storage with PostgreSQL as Source of Truth
ADR-0002: Single Instance with Scope Hierarchy and Copy-on-Derive
ADR-0003: Fixed Life Cycle States with Configurable Review Processes
ADR-0004: Global Catalogs for Roles and Document Types with Per-Scope Activation
ADR-0005: Modular Monolith
ADR-0006: Three-Layer Search with In-Database Index and Pluggable LLM
ADR-0007: Angular Frontend with Server-Side-Only Enforcement
ADR-0008: Flyway Migrations and jOOQ Codegen from the Migrated Schema
ADR-0009: RLS Enforcement via a Session-Scoped Authorized Scope Set
ADR-0010: Self-Managed QMS via an Internal Mandator
ADR-0011: Authentication via OIDC SSO with Server-Side (BFF) Sessions
ADR-0012: Permission-Based Authorization and System Bootstrap
ADR-0013: User Identity Lifecycle
ADR-0014: Electronic Signatures (Part 11 / Annex 11-Capable)
ADR-0015: Document Effectivity, Periodic Review & Validity
ADR-0016: Data Retention, Disposal & Privacy (FADP / GDPR)
ADR-0016: Data Retention, Disposal & Privacy (FADP / GDPR)
Table of contents
Context
Decision
Consequences
Requirements
ADR-0017: Multi-Part Version Content
ADR-0018: Non-Functional Targets (Capacity, Availability, Security)
ADR-0019: Notifications & Tasks
ADR-0020: Internationalization (Content Language, Time Zones, Formatting)
ADR-0021: General Typed Document Relationships
ADR-0022: Read-Acknowledgement & Questionnaires
ADR-0023: Migration / Import — Current Released State
ADR-0024: Draft / In-Review Cancellation
ADR-0025: Disposal & Erasure Mechanics (Storage, Index, Backups)
ADR-0026: RLS Runtime Safety — Connection-Pool Scope Isolation
ADR-0027: RLS Boundary — Content-Plane vs Control-Plane
ADR-0028: Stateless Encrypted Token-State Cookie (no server-side session store)
ADR-0029: Document Content Model — Draft-Freeze, Content-Table RLS, Append-Only Audit
ADR-0030: Review & Life-Cycle Realization Model
ADR-0031: Released-base readability enforcement & copy-on-derive mechanics
ADR-0032: Frontend realization — Quinoa, Angular Material, i18n & E2E
ADR-0033: CSRF control for the BFF session — SameSite + JSON content-type
ADR-0034: Notification realization — in-process domain events + system-context fan-out
ADR-0035: Fan-out contract as shipped — gate semantics, count disclosure, audit protocol
ADR-0036: Repository layer — services carry rules, repositories carry jOOQ
ADR-0037: Task scheduler — in-process tick, advisory-lock election, SQL sweep
ADR-0038: Periodic-review realization — derived due date, policy-gated confirmation
ADR-0039: Sweep & periodic-review contract as shipped — grants, guards, addressing
ADR-0040: Disposal-due surfacing — closure-anchored retention, scope-level legal hold
ADR-0041: Email channel & notification i18n — notification-as-outbox, structured messages
ADR-0042: Disposal execution — document tombstoning, single-actor hard-gated destruction
ADR-0043: Disposal blob deletion is post-commit, GC-backstopped
ADR-0044: Search FTS baseline — event-indexed, RLS-scoped search_index
ADR-0045: Image Attachments as Content Parts (Rich-Content Slice R2)
ADR-0046: Four-Eyes — Submitter Excluded from Approval
ADR-0047: Four-Eyes — Submitter-Only Exclusion
ADR-0048: Document Organization — Folder Tree per Scope
ADR-0049: Content Model Round 2 — Type Categories, Template Instantiation, Trace Relations, Completeness Rules
ADR-0050: Live Frontend — SSE State Push, CodeMirror 6, Draft Presence
ADR-0051: In-Text Document Links (doc: Scheme)
ADR-0052: Addressees & Read-Acknowledgement (REQ-TRN Realization)
ADR-0053: Addressees Per Document + Process Owner (amends ADR-0052 K-1)
ADR-0054: Process Owner Is a Role (amends ADR-0053 P-3)
ADR-0055: WYSIWYG Editing Mode over Markdown (editor step R4)
ADR-0056: Visual-Editor Chrome via Milkdown Crepe (gated adoption)
ADR-0057: Content Record Is the ProseMirror Document Tree; Markdown Becomes a Derived Projection
ADR-0058: PM_DOC Is the Only Content Format (pre-production cut; amends ADR-0057 §5)
ADR-0059: Editor Engine Switches to TipTap (spike-gated; supersedes the Milkdown/Crepe choice)
ADR-0060: Backup & Restore — Scripted Ordered Backup with Automated Restore Rehearsal
ADR-0061: CSV — Generated Validation Package per Release
ADR-0062: SBOM — CycloneDX over the Production Layers, Validated Against the Artifact
ADR-0063: User Identity Binds on Subject Only (Issuer Becomes Provenance)
ADR-0064: Per-Document Workflow Role Bindings (Author / Reviewer / Releaser), Enforced
ADR-0065: Diagrams — Excalidraw as the Manual Layer, Mermaid Stays for Text-First/UML
ADR-0066: WITHDRAW — the Author Side May Reclaim a Version from Review
ADR-0067: Review Comments — Anchored, Immutable, Resolvable
ADR-0068: Confluence/Jira QMS Import — Staged, Read-Only, Repeatable
ADR-0069: Arbitrary File Attachments — Download-Only Confinement
ADR-0070: Training Questionnaires — Versioned, Auto-Scored, Release-Gated
ADR-0071: Training Plans — Document Obligations + External Trainings & Certifications
ADR-0072: Diagrams — Self-Hosted draw.io Replaces Excalidraw
ADR-0073: Per-Scope QMS Configuration Surface
ADR-0074: PDF Export of Released Documents — Server-Side via Apache FOP over the Canonical Projection
ADR-0075: Source History Import — Continuity Without Forged Audit
ADR-0076: Periodic-review status visibility (completing MVP gap #2)
ADR-0077: Requirement Items — Keyed Blocks Inside Controlled Documents
ADR-0078: Generalized Trace Items (Traceability Model — Stage A)
ADR-0079: Risk & Risk-Control Items (Traceability Model — Stage B)
ADR-0080: Traceability Workspace — Hub, Sub-Pages, and Role-Gated Views
ADR-0081: Draft-Only Trace-Structure Changes, Server-Enforced
ADR-0082: Table-Shaped Risk Authoring over Risk Blocks
ADR-0083: The TD Dossier — a Versioned, Cross-Scope, Regulatory-Structured Deliverable
ADR-0084: Validation & Regulatory Axes (Traceability Model — Stage C)
ADR-0085: Relation-Layer Consolidation — One Trace Vocabulary, One Surface
ADR-0086: Requirement Traceability Chains — End-to-End Path View + Flat Path Export
ADR-0087: The Scope Traceability Report — One Derived Overview Artifact, Never a Controlled Document
ADR-0088: Verification Evidence Classes — Planned vs. Verified, Derived at the Read Layer
ADR-0089: Recurring Obligations — Periodic Tasks With Record Evidence, Not Calendar Series
ADR-0090: Release & Versioning Policy — Deliberate Releases, One Auditor-Facing Number
ADR-0091: Release Modes — Single-Person Record Release With a Structural Four-Eyes Floor
ADR-0092: Orphan-Blob Garbage Collection With a Quarantine Bin
ADR-0093: One Scope Context — the Toolbar Switcher Is the Only Scope Selector
ADR-0094: Calendar-Anchored Obligation Schedules (Clamped, Never Too Late)
ADR-0095: Key-Rule Governance — Free Until First Use, Then Frozen
ADR-0096: Transition Permissions — Always Visible, Deny Unless Granted
ADR-0097: A Governed Provisioning Surface — MANAGE_SCOPES
ADR-0098: Org Chart × Role System — Marriage at the Evidence Level, Never in Authorization
ADR-0099: The User Manual is an In-App Topic Reference, Not a Document
ADR-0100: LQMS Is the Living Quality Management System
ADR-0101: The Executable Validation Journey (PQ Evidence That Cannot Drift)
ADR-0102: Typed Template Variables (text | date | number — and Deliberately No Enum)
ADR-0103: npm audit Joins the Verification Gate as a Second Standing Input
ADR-0104: The Issued Dossier Is a Persisted Artifact of Record — and Clones to a New Draft
ADR-0105: Navigation Information Architecture — Group by Moment-of-Use
ADR-0106: The Client Reflection Follows Assignments, Not Only Content Reach
ADR-0107: The Audit Append Gate Follows Assignment Reach, Not Content Reach
ADR-0108: Mandator Membership — Invite-Accept, with Pre-Assigned Responsibilities
ADR-0109: Organization Founding Is Its Own Process
ADR-0110: The Audit Trail Is Not a Read Model
ADR-0111: The Imported-Person Model, and Project Portability's First Doctrines
ADR-0112: The Element-Kind Catalog — Semantics in the Model, Not Only in the Code
ADR-0113: Project Arrival Import — Records Arrive as They Are, People Arrive as They Were
ADR-0114: The Operating Model Arrives — Roles as Functions, Names as Words, People as This Instance's Decision
ADR-0115: Collaborative Draft Editing — Two Carets, One Truth, Honest Credit
ADR-0116: The System Maintenance Surface — the App Backs Itself Up, the Host Keeps One Dumb Job
ADR-0117: Role Documentation — a Link, a Finding, Per-Source Recognizers; Substitution Rejected
ADR-0118: The Offline QMS Copy — the Repo Carries the Audit Pack, Not a Second Renderer
ADR-0119: Module-Internal Package Structure — Capabilities First, Layers Second, the Root Is the Surface
ADR-0120: The Shared Kernel — the Domain-Exception Vocabulary Leaves the Authorization Module
ADR-0121: The Project Administrator Role — Per-Scope Administration With Read Access, Seeded in the Base Catalog
ADR-0122: Organization-Level Administration — the Cascade Stays, Becomes Visible, and Founds Projects
ADR-0123: Draft Save-Points — Every Save Restorable, Kept for the Life of the Version
ADR-0124: The Birth Path Completes Without Borrowing Content Clothes
ADR-0125: The Export Twin — Export Emits an Arrival Bundle
ADR-0126: Project Dissolution — the Un-Birth of an Unused Scope
ADR-0127: The Base-QMS Layers — One Library, Derived Adaptations, Local Records
ADR-0128: The GLOBAL Cascade Carries Administration, Never Content
ADR-0129: Role Identity from a GLOBAL Assignment Acts in GLOBAL Alone
ADR-0130: Break-Glass — the Project Administrator's Escalation Is a First-Class, Witnessed, Self-Expiring Act
ADR-0131: Role Substitution as Declared Adoption Edges — Emergency Cover Is Governed, Own-Name, Timed Staffing
ADR-0132: Dual-Hat Reviewer Satisfaction Is a Declared Policy Choice — the Strict Floor Stays the Default
ADR-NNNN:
</span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_5" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../requirements/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_5" id="__nav_5_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_5_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_5"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Requirements </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/stakeholder_requirements/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Stakeholder Requirements </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/gap-analysis/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements Gap Analysis </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_admin/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Administration, Permissions & Onboarding </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_api_ui/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: API & User Interface </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_audit_reporting/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Audit Trail & Regulatory Reporting </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_auth/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Authentication & Session </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_backup/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Backup & Restore </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_catalogs/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Catalogs, Roles & Users </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_data_protection/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Data Protection, Retention & Disposal </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_documents/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Documents, Versions & Storage </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_dossiers/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Technical Documentation Dossiers </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_effectivity/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Effectivity, Periodic Review & Validity </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_gspr/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Regulatory Conformity (GSPR / Essential Principles) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_i18n/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Internationalization </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_lifecycle/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Life Cycle & Reviews </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_memberships/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Mandator Membership & Invitations </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_migration/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Migration & Import </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_nfr/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Non-Functional </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_notifications/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Notifications & Tasks </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_obligations/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Recurring Obligations </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_relationships/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Document Relationships </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_risk/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Risk Management (ISO 14971 Hazards & Controls) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_sbom/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Software Bill of Materials & Supply-Chain Assurance </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_search/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Search </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_separation/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Scopes, Mandators & Separation </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_signatures/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Electronic Signatures </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_training/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Read-Acknowledgement & Questionnaires </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_users/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: User Identity & Lifecycle </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_validation/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Design Validation & the Validation Traceability Axis </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_6" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../process/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Process (IEC 62304) </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_6" id="__nav_6_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_6_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_6"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Process (IEC 62304) </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/configuration_management_plan/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Configuration Management Plan </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/problem_resolution/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Problem Resolution Process </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/risk_management/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Risk Management </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/software_development_plan/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Development Plan </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/verification_plan/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Verification Plan </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_7" > <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_7" id="__nav_7_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Operations </span> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_7_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_7"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Operations </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../operations/genesis-installation/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Genesis: Birthing an LQMS Installation with a Base Library </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../operations/deployment/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> LQMS Deployment Guide </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../operations/server-deployment/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> LQMS Server Deployment (single Linux host, public HTTPS) </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_8" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../traceability/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Traceability </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_8" id="__nav_8_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_8_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_8"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Traceability </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../traceability/matrix/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements Traceability Matrix </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_9" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../validation/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Validation (tool lane) </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_9" id="__nav_9_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_9_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_9"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Validation (tool lane) </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../validation/templates/ai-authorship-posture/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> AI-Authorship Posture — How LQMS Is Built, and Why the Validation Evidence Does Not Rest on It (TEMPLATE) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../validation/templates/intended-use/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Intended-Use Specification — LQMS as a QMS / Document-Control Tool (TEMPLATE) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../validation/templates/tool-risk-assessment/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Tool-Risk Assessment — LQMS as a QMS Tool (TEMPLATE) </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_10" > <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_10" id="__nav_10_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Regulatory </span> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_10_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_10"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Regulatory </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../regulatory/mdr-annex-i-skeleton/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> MDR Annex I — GSPR authoring skeleton (paraphrased) </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_11" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../user-guide/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> User guide </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_11" id="__nav_11_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_11_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_11"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> User guide </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../user-guide/tutorial/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Tutorial — from zero to a released document </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../user-guide/administration/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Administering an LQMS Installation </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../user-guide/diagrams/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Diagrams </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a 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</li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../user-guide/traceability-workspace/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> The Traceability Workspace </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../user-guide/training/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Training & Acknowledgements </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-sidebar md-sidebar--secondary" data-md-component="sidebar" data-md-type="toc" > <div class="md-sidebar__scrollwrap"> <div class="md-sidebar__inner"> <nav class="md-nav md-nav--secondary" aria-label="Table of contents"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__toc"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Table of contents </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-component="toc" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#context" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Context </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#decision" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Decision </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#consequences" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Consequences </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#requirements" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-content" data-md-component="content"> <article class="md-content__inner md-typeset"> <a href="https://github.com/nburri/lqms/edit/main/docs/decisions/adr-0016-retention-disposal-privacy.md" title="Edit this page" class="md-content__button md-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M10 20H6V4h7v5h5v3.1l2-2V8l-6-6H6c-1.1 0-2 .9-2 2v16c0 1.1.9 2 2 2h4zm10.2-7c.1 0 .3.1.4.2l1.3 1.3c.2.2.2.6 0 .8l-1 1-2.1-2.1 1-1c.1-.1.2-.2.4-.2m0 3.9L14.1 23H12v-2.1l6.1-6.1z"/></svg> </a> <h1 id="adr-0016-data-retention-disposal--privacy-fadp--gdpr">ADR-0016: Data Retention, Disposal & Privacy (FADP / GDPR)<a class="headerlink" href="#adr-0016-data-retention-disposal--privacy-fadp--gdpr" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h1> <ul> <li><strong>Status:</strong> accepted</li> <li><strong>Date:</strong> 2026-06-17</li> <li><strong>Deciders:</strong> Nicolas Burri</li> <li><strong>Relates to:</strong> <a href="../adr-0001-content-addressed-document-storage/">ADR-0001</a>, <a href="../adr-0013-user-identity-lifecycle/">ADR-0013</a>, <a href="../adr-0014-electronic-signatures/">ADR-0014</a>; GAP-06; security NFRs → GAP-10</li> <li><strong>Refined by:</strong> <a href="../adr-0040-disposal-due-surfacing/">ADR-0040</a> (disposal-due surfacing — closure-anchored retention, scope-level legal hold), <a href="../adr-0042-disposal-execution/">ADR-0042</a> (disposal execution — document tombstoning, single-actor hard-gated destruction)</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p>Engineering decision to <em>support</em> compliance. Actual legal determinations — retention durations, what is exempt, whether a given erasure request is refused — are the operating organization's DPO / regulatory affairs. LQMS provides the mechanisms to implement their policy.</p> </blockquote> <h2 id="context">Context<a class="headerlink" href="#context" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Three forces conflict: ISO 13485 §4.2.5 (retain records for a defined period), our immutable audit trail / signatures / content blobs, and data-protection law (Swiss revised FADP and EU GDPR — right to erasure, minimization, storage limitation).</p> <p>The resolving facts:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Retention outweighs erasure during the retention period.</strong> For records held under a legal retention obligation, the right to erasure is disapplied (GDPR Art. 17(3)(b)/(e); FADP analogues). Medical-device retention is long: EU MDR ≥ 10 years (15 for implantables); FDA QSR/QMSR ≥ 2 years or device life. So the audit trail and signatures stay intact for the full retention period — they are not erased on request.</li> <li><strong>Attribution is pseudonymous by design</strong> (ADR-0013): audit events, approvals, and signatures reference a stable internal user id; human-readable PII (name, email) lives only in the user record. PII can therefore be severed without breaking record integrity.</li> <li><strong>Bounded data scope:</strong> as a QMS <em>tool</em>, LQMS holds staff identity, not patient/ end-customer data (that is product data, out of scope) — keeping the data-subject set small.</li> </ul> <p>Deletion genuinely becomes necessary only in narrow cases: end of retention; personal data with no retention basis (invited-but-never-participated users, profile extras, PII leaked into free-text); non-regulated scopes; and minimization corrections. The common response to an erasure request touching retained records is a <strong>documented refusal citing the retention obligation</strong>, not erasure.</p> <h2 id="decision">Decision<a class="headerlink" href="#decision" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ul> <li><strong>Data minimization:</strong> store only the identity data needed for attribution (stable subject, display name, email) plus what regulated records require; nothing more. Lawful basis is legal obligation / employment, not consent (so consent-withdrawal erasure does not apply).</li> <li><strong>Retention:</strong> retention periods are configurable per document/record type and scope, with a defined retention-start event; the system computes a disposal-due date. Durations (e.g. MDR 10/15 years) are configured by the organization.</li> <li><strong>Legal hold</strong> can be applied to a scope or record set and suspends disposal regardless of retention expiry.</li> <li><strong>Disposal at end of retention is deliberate, authorized, and audited</strong> (not automatic): records are flagged disposal-due; an authorized actor reviews and executes; a disposal record (what / when / who / policy) is retained; legal hold blocks it.</li> <li><strong>Erasure is qualified and narrow:</strong></li> <li>Data under a retention obligation is <strong>retained</strong>, not erased, during retention; the system can produce a <strong>"what personal data we hold about this individual, and on what basis" report</strong> to support a documented refusal and access requests.</li> <li>Where erasure <em>is</em> warranted (no-retention-basis data, non-regulated scopes, end-of-retention, minimization corrections), it is performed by <strong>physically deleting</strong> the user record where nothing retained references it, or <strong>anonymizing</strong> it (PII → non-identifying tombstone, internal id and references preserved) where retained records still reference it — keeping record integrity and historical attribution-token intact.</li> <li><strong>Rectification:</strong> identity claims (name, email) are refreshed from the IdP (ADR-0013).</li> <li><strong>Signature manifestation captures the signer's name as a snapshot</strong> at signing (part of the immutable signed record), retained under the legal basis during retention and disposed at end of retention (refines REQ-SIG-004).</li> <li><strong>Encryption-at-rest / crypto-shredding deferred to GAP-10</strong> (security NFRs). For now erasure relies on physical deletion + user-record anonymization, which suffices for directly-deletable storage.</li> </ul> <h2 id="consequences">Consequences<a class="headerlink" href="#consequences" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ul> <li>The ADR-0012 permission set gains retention/disposal permissions (e.g. <code>MANAGE_RETENTION</code>, <code>APPLY_LEGAL_HOLD</code>, <code>DISPOSE_RECORDS</code>, <code>ERASE_PERSONAL_DATA</code>).</li> <li>Schema: retention policy config (per type/scope), retention-start + disposal-due, legal-hold flags, disposal records, user-record anonymization support.</li> <li>Interaction with backups (REQ-BAK): backup archives are a place disposed/erased data can linger; handling that cleanly is part of the deferred crypto-shredding / GAP-10 work and is noted there.</li> <li>All retention-policy changes, legal holds, disposals, and erasures are audited (REQ-AUD-001).</li> </ul> <h2 id="requirements">Requirements<a class="headerlink" href="#requirements" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Introduces STR-021 and the REQ-DPR group (pending requirements baseline v1.1); refines REQ-SIG-004 (snapshot name).</p> </article> </div> <script>var target=document.getElementById(location.hash.slice(1));target&&target.name&&(target.checked=target.name.startsWith("__tabbed_"))</script> </div> <button type="button" class="md-top md-icon" data-md-component="top" hidden> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M13 20h-2V8l-5.5 5.5-1.42-1.42L12 4.16l7.92 7.92-1.42 1.42L13 8z"/></svg> Back to top </button> </main> <footer class="md-footer"> <nav class="md-footer__inner md-grid" aria-label="Footer" > <a href="../adr-0015-effectivity-periodic-review/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--prev" aria-label="Previous: ADR-0015: Document Effectivity, Periodic Review & Validity"> <div class="md-footer__button md-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M20 11v2H8l5.5 5.5-1.42 1.42L4.16 12l7.92-7.92L13.5 5.5 8 11z"/></svg> </div> <div class="md-footer__title"> <span class="md-footer__direction"> Previous </span> <div class="md-ellipsis"> ADR-0015: Document Effectivity, Periodic Review & Validity </div> </div> </a> <a href="../adr-0017-multi-part-version-content/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--next" aria-label="Next: ADR-0017: Multi-Part Version Content"> <div class="md-footer__title"> <span class="md-footer__direction"> Next </span> <div class="md-ellipsis"> ADR-0017: Multi-Part Version Content </div> </div> <div class="md-footer__button md-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M4 11v2h12l-5.5 5.5 1.42 1.42L19.84 12l-7.92-7.92L10.5 5.5 16 11z"/></svg> </div> </a> </nav> <div class="md-footer-meta md-typeset"> <div class="md-footer-meta__inner md-grid"> <div class="md-copyright"> <div class="md-copyright__highlight"> Built from <code>v0.9.56-4-g06c7f811</code> (commit <code>06c7f811</code>, 2026-09-09) — the same Markdown the repository ships. </div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> </div> <div class="md-dialog" data-md-component="dialog"> <div class="md-dialog__inner md-typeset"></div> </div> <script id="__config" type="application/json">{"base": "../..", "features": ["navigation.instant", "navigation.tracking", "navigation.top", "navigation.footer", "navigation.indexes", "toc.follow", "search.suggest", "search.highlight", "content.code.copy", "content.action.edit"], "search": "../../assets/javascripts/workers/search.6ce7567c.min.js", "translations": {"clipboard.copied": "Copied to clipboard", "clipboard.copy": "Copy to clipboard", "search.result.more.one": "1 more on this page", "search.result.more.other": "# more on this page", "search.result.none": "No matching documents", "search.result.one": "1 matching document", "search.result.other": "# matching documents", "search.result.placeholder": "Type to start searching", "search.result.term.missing": "Missing", "select.version": "Select version"}}</script> <script src="../../assets/javascripts/bundle.83f73b43.min.js"></script> </body> </html>