Specify the evidence architecture

Objectives

You are specifying the evidence architecture for one access-control family before the readiness assessment. The demo version works: collectors run, a notebook produces the numbers, and the diagram looks complete.

Write the specification an auditor could use: one control id threaded through every layer, immutable storage, a documented bridge for the months before go-live, and a read path that does not require you in the room.

audit period      : 2026-01-01 to 2026-12-31
automation go-live: 2026-05-01
prior process     : quarterly manual review, artefacts retained
catalog id        : AC-PROD-ACCESS
layers available  : catalog, collectors, store, monitors, metrics, report

auditor requests:
  "for AC-PROD-ACCESS on 14 August, show me the artefact, the run that
   produced it, the population it covered, and the query I can re-run."

Step-by-step hints

The guided walkthrough, in full. It is free: no XP cost, and it does not touch the paid hint ladder or the reveal gate.

1. Step 1

   Thread the join key

   Take the catalog id from the fixture and declare it once at the top of the specification, then list the layers it must appear in. Six components with private keys are six systems; the id is what makes them one architecture.

   A stable control id is declaredEvery layer of the architecture is named

2. Step 2

   Make the store support a claim about the past

   Turn on write-once storage and set retention to cover the period, the report lag and the programme's stated evidence life: the number here should be years, not months.

   Storage is immutable and retained long enough

3. Step 3

   Cover January to April

   The automation starts in month five. Name the documented interim arrangement that evidences the earlier months; the fixture tells you the prior process kept its artefacts.

   The pre-automation months are bridged

4. Step 4

   Write down the auditor's read path

   Turn on the three properties in the auditor's request: reachable by control id, reachable by date, and paired with a query they can execute themselves.

   An auditor can reach and re-run the evidence

Rules summary

• XP on pass

  50 bonus XP the first time every check goes green.

• Paid hints

  2 available. Each costs 25% of the lab XP (about 13 XP).

• Reveal solution

  Scores 0 XP and unlocks only after 3 check runs.

• Attempt cap

  60 check runs per learner. The runner warns you in the last 10.

• Drafts

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• Walkthrough

  Always free and never penalised: use it before spending a hint.