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ADR-0085: Relation-Layer Consolidation — One Trace Vocabulary, One Surface
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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-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-0085: Relation-Layer Consolidation — One Trace Vocabulary, One Surface
Table of contents
Context
Proposed decision
Alternatives
Open questions for the session
Consequences (if accepted)
Session outcomes (2026-07-21) — ACCEPTED
Clarification 1 (2026-08-11) — the narrowing is FINISHED: coverage rules are references-only
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 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class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Proposed decision </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#alternatives" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Alternatives </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#open-questions-for-the-session" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Open questions for the session </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#consequences-if-accepted" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Consequences (if accepted) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#session-outcomes-2026-07-21--accepted" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Session outcomes (2026-07-21) — ACCEPTED </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#clarification-1-2026-08-11--the-narrowing-is-finished-coverage-rules-are-references-only" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Clarification 1 (2026-08-11) — the narrowing is FINISHED: coverage rules are references-only </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-0085-relation-layer-consolidation.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-0085-relation-layer-consolidation--one-trace-vocabulary-one-surface">ADR-0085: Relation-Layer Consolidation — One Trace Vocabulary, One Surface<a class="headerlink" href="#adr-0085-relation-layer-consolidation--one-trace-vocabulary-one-surface" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h1> <ul> <li><strong>Status:</strong> accepted (Nicolas 2026-07-21, design session — outcomes recorded at the bottom)</li> <li><strong>Date:</strong> 2026-07-19</li> <li><strong>Deciders:</strong> Nicolas Burri (pending), design by Claude.</li> <li><strong>Refines (if accepted):</strong> ADR-0021/0049 (document relations / matrix / coverage rules), ADR-0077/0079 (the trace-link layer this consolidates onto).</li> <li><strong>Origin:</strong> Nicolas (2026-07-19): "Are document-level references still correct now that we have dedicated requirements, risks…? I like referencing documents and the auto-generated from-text links, but do the links still need a type — and are the types right?"</li> </ul> <h2 id="context">Context<a class="headerlink" href="#context" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Two link layers exist because they were built in sequence, not because the domain wants two:</p> <ol> <li><strong>Document relations</strong> (ADR-0021/0049): doc→doc edges typed verifies / satisfies / derives-from / references, plus system-managed provenance (derived-from, instantiated-from) and the auto <code>from_text</code> edges from in-text <code>doc:</code> links. The trace matrix and coverage rules evaluate THIS layer.</li> <li><strong>Trace links</strong> (ADR-0077/0079): typed edges whose source is a document or item and whose target is an item <strong>or a document</strong> (the V055 target-shape CHECK — document targets were built in from the start). Vocabulary: verifies, satisfies, derives-from, references, mitigates, implemented-by (+ Stage C's validates, complies-with). Suspect attestation, the risk/coverage views.</li> </ol> <p>For trace SEMANTICS the overlap is therefore total: "VERPLAN verifies SRS" is expressible in both layers — and users hit exactly that (2026-07-19: a <code>verifies</code> authored in the References box can never clear a control's verification flag, which derives from the trace layer). The hint lines shipped that day are a band-aid, not an answer.</p> <h2 id="proposed-decision">Proposed decision<a class="headerlink" href="#proposed-decision" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p><strong>Split the layers by MEANING, not granularity:</strong></p> <ol> <li><strong>The relations layer keeps what only it does:</strong> <code>references</code> (user-authored + <code>from_text</code> auto-links — unchanged, they are the navigational/informational web) and the <strong>system-managed lifecycle provenance</strong> (derived-from, instantiated-from — facts, not claims). <code>references</code> becomes the ONLY user-authorable relation type; the relation card's UI drops its type picker.</li> <li><strong>All trace CLAIMS live in the trace-link layer only</strong> — verifies, satisfies, derives-from (and the risk/validation/regulatory edges), at whichever granularity fits: whole document or keyed item, source and target alike. One vocabulary, one surface, one suspect/attest mechanism, one place the completeness views read.</li> <li><strong>The trace matrix + coverage rules read the trace layer for trace types</strong> (relations only for <code>references</code> where a rule wants it). This converges with the registered "requirement coverage as a configurable rule kind" follow-up — one coverage engine over trace links.</li> <li><strong>Migration</strong> (data-preserving Vnn): existing user-authored doc-level verifies/satisfies/ derives-from relations become document-target trace links (baseline semantics: document targets carry no item hash — suspect not applicable, as today). Corpus impact is tiny (PULSEMED: 2 verifies edges; the seed's SWTEST verifies edges). The importer's <code>create_trace_relations</code> and the seed emit trace links instead — same resequenced create→link→release order (ADR-0081).</li> </ol> <h2 id="alternatives">Alternatives<a class="headerlink" href="#alternatives" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ul> <li><strong>(a) Status quo + hint lines</strong> — shipped 2026-07-19 as the stopgap; rejected as end state (two surfaces claiming one semantic is a standing audit-explanation burden and a repeat- confusion generator).</li> <li><strong>© Reverse consolidation</strong> (collapse trace links into relations) — rejected: loses item granularity, suspect attestation, and the risk/validation thread.</li> </ul> <h2 id="open-questions-for-the-session">Open questions for the session<a class="headerlink" href="#open-questions-for-the-session" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ol> <li>Does the relation MATRIX page merge into the traceability workspace's views once its trace types move (leaving a references-web view), or stay as-is reading both layers?</li> <li>Coverage rules: bridge (evaluator reads both layers during a transition) or migrate rules in the same release? (Recommend: migrate — few rules exist.)</li> <li>Anything beyond <code>references</code> that is genuinely a DOCUMENT-relation, not a trace claim? (Candidate: none found — provenance is system-managed.)</li> <li>UI: does the trace-links card absorb a "whole-document target" picker affordance prominently enough that the relations card's loss of <code>verifies</code> doesn't feel like a regression? (Pairs with the B5c IA session.)</li> </ol> <h2 id="consequences-if-accepted">Consequences (if accepted)<a class="headerlink" href="#consequences-if-accepted" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ul> <li>The "which box do I use?" question disappears structurally — the opinionated fix.</li> <li>~1–2 slices: coverage/matrix rework + migration + card simplification + importer/seed emission change; from_text machinery untouched.</li> <li>ADR-0049's coverage-rule concept survives, re-pointed; ADR-0021 narrows to references + provenance.</li> </ul> <h2 id="session-outcomes-2026-07-21--accepted">Session outcomes (2026-07-21) — ACCEPTED<a class="headerlink" href="#session-outcomes-2026-07-21--accepted" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Decided by Nicolas in the 2026-07-21 design session (D1 "yes" … D5 "agree"):</p> <ul> <li><strong>D1 — the split by meaning stands as drafted</strong> (§Proposed decision 1-2): relations keep <code>references</code> + system-managed provenance; ALL trace claims live in the trace-link layer only.</li> <li><strong>D2 — the matrix page's trace/coverage views merge into the traceability workspace</strong>; the relations page becomes a pure references-web view (open question 1 resolved).</li> <li><strong>D3 — one-shot conversion</strong>, no bridge: the few existing coverage rules and the doc-level claim relations migrate in the same release; the evaluator only ever reads the trace layer (open question 2 resolved — a bridge would be dead code with audit-explanation burden).</li> <li><strong>D4 — nothing besides <code>references</code> is a genuine document relation</strong> (open question 3 resolved; additive future decision if testing surfaces one).</li> <li><strong>D5 — IA consequence (closes B5c):</strong> the relations card becomes plainly "References" (type picker removed); the trace-links card is THE claim surface and gains the document-target toggle for ALL claim types (it existed for <code>implemented-by</code>); gap-flag in-place authoring stays the primary path (open question 4 resolved — the claim home is one card over, same picker).</li> </ul> <p>Implementation: one migration/rework wave (data-preserving Vnn + evaluator re-point + card simplification + importer/seed emission), queued behind the ADR-0087 report wave. ADR-0088 (verification evidence classes) rides the same wave.</p> <h2 id="clarification-1-2026-08-11--the-narrowing-is-finished-coverage-rules-are-references-only">Clarification 1 (2026-08-11) — the narrowing is FINISHED: coverage rules are <code>references</code>-only<a class="headerlink" href="#clarification-1-2026-08-11--the-narrowing-is-finished-coverage-rules-are-references-only" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Decided by Nicolas 2026-08-10 ("I'd follow your recommendations"), recorded as register #38, realized 2026-08-11. Origin: his first click on the tile then called <em>Document coverage</em>, and the honest question that followed — does document-level coverage still earn its place now that first-class items exist?</p> <p>The answer split in two, and both halves are now in the code:</p> <ol> <li><strong>The unique job survives.</strong> The <code>references</code> web plus opt-in completeness rules over it — "every record cites its governing SOP" — has <strong>no item-level home</strong>, and audit-pack citation closure rides these very edges. That is why this surface was not merged away in D2.</li> <li><strong>The redundant half is gone.</strong> D1 moved every claim to the item layer and D3 chose a one-shot conversion; V060 executed the DATA half (claim relation rows → trace links) but explicitly left <code>coverage_rule</code> alone, so until now the product still admitted a completeness rule <em>about a claim, at the document level</em>, evaluated by a second evaluator that rolled item-level claims back up to documents. <strong>V096 retires them</strong>: the rules are deleted, the <code>relation_type</code> CHECK admits <code>references</code> alone, <code>CoverageRuleService.validate</code> refuses a claim type with a message naming the item-level home, and <code>evaluateViaTrace</code> is deleted. <code>RelationService.TRACE_TYPES</code> — the wider set that existed only to admit those rules — went with it; <code>USER_RELATION_TYPES</code> is now the one vocabulary of this layer, so what may be authored here is exactly what may be read and ruled over here.</li> </ol> <p>Consequences recorded with the decision:</p> <ul> <li><strong>The document pages stop speaking the claim-era language.</strong> The References card no longer renders <code>verifies</code> / <code>satisfies</code> groups (with remove buttons) beside <code>references</code>; those labels left the <code>relations.*</code> namespace; the card's subtitle names the MEANING split instead of granularity ("whole document relations" — the 2026-07-19 band-aid this ADR itself called one, and which stopped distinguishing anything once the trace card gained document targets).</li> <li><strong>The rules are the AXIS DECLARATION.</strong> A scope that configured no coverage rule never adopted citation completeness, so the hub tile hides and the report omits its section — one server-computed flag (<code>Completeness.coverageAxisInUse</code>) read by both, the #37f grammar applied one axis over. This is a declaration gate, never data-emptiness: a scope WITH rules keeps its tile and section even when every rule is fully satisfied.</li> <li><strong>The demo teaches the new shape.</strong> The seed's Cardio 62304 step authored three whole-document SWREQs with zero keyed items and configured the last claim-type rule in existence. Its SWREQ documents now define <code>:::system-requirement</code> items, the SW tests verify THOSE, and its coverage rule became an honest citation rule — with REQ-003 left as the deliberate gap in BOTH layers, so the demo shows two surfaces answering two different questions about the same corpus.</li> <li><strong>The surface has its name.</strong> "Document coverage" described what it ruled over in the claim era; with claims gone it named the wrong thing. Nicolas picked <strong>"Reference coverage"</strong> (2026-08-11, pre-dinner round) — the hub tile, the page title and the scope-picker hint now read it. The PDF report's section is still headed <em>"Document-relation coverage"</em>: it is the same surface under a second name, and aligning it means moving REQ-REP-010's own wording, so it waits for the requirements-baseline pass rather than drifting ahead of it.</li> </ul> </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-0084-validation-regulatory-axes/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--prev" aria-label="Previous: ADR-0084: Validation & Regulatory Axes (Traceability Model — Stage C)"> <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-0084: Validation & Regulatory Axes (Traceability Model — Stage C) </div> </div> </a> <a href="../adr-0086-requirement-trace-chains/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--next" aria-label="Next: ADR-0086: Requirement Traceability Chains — End-to-End Path View + Flat Path Export"> <div class="md-footer__title"> <span class="md-footer__direction"> Next </span> <div class="md-ellipsis"> ADR-0086: Requirement Traceability Chains — End-to-End Path View + Flat Path Export </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>