[Blue-sky feature roadmapping] Iterative Development and Collaborative Assurance Case Management

# Blue-sky feature roadmapping: ## Iterative Development and Collaborative Assurance Case Management To transform the TEA platform into a robust tool that supports the iterative development of assurance cases, we need 1. an overall aim to introduce enhanced collaboration features, 2. comprehensive version control, and 3. a suite of tools that facilitate seamless iterative updates. The objective with this major plan is to enable users—ranging from researchers and developers to auditors and regulators—to collaboratively build, manage, and revise assurance cases over time while maintaining a clear audit trail of changes and supporting diverse team dynamics. ### Key Features and Goals - **Collaborative Development and Editing**: Implement real-time collaborative development and editing features that allow multiple users to work on the same assurance case simultaneously. - **Version Control System**: Integrate a robust version control system to track changes over time, allowing users to revert to previous versions if needed and understand the evolution of the assurance case. - **Change Approval Processes**: Develop mechanisms for proposing changes, reviewing them, and approving modifications, which will help formalise the development and maintenance of assurance cases. - **Access Control and Permissions**: Enhance the platform’s access control system to manage different levels of permissions among users to ensure that modifications are controlled and traceable. - **Notification and Communication Tools**: Implement notification systems to alert users of changes, comments, or reviews required, facilitating better communication within teams. - **Audit Logs**: Create comprehensive audit logs that capture detailed information about who made what changes and when, providing accountability and transparency. - **Implementation of Argument Patterns**: Extension of platform by linkage with a library of argument patterns, which can be indexed and queried based on relevant metadata (e.g. suggested use for pattern from pattern author). Way to search for popular or patterns, and also allow for the community to provide feedback on patterns. - **Integration with the Assurance Ecosystem**: Allow for integration with core external tools such as repositories or project management software to align assurance case development with broader project workflows. - **Extensibility**: Ensure the platform can be extended by the community to bring new features beyond the core set (e.g. plugins and extensions). - **User Training and Documentation**: Provide extensive documentation and training materials to support users in utilizing new collaborative and version control features effectively. - **Automated Assurance Support**: Implement an assurance support feature (e.g. assurance copilot or chatbot) that can help users reflect on the development of an assurance case. ### Potential user stories #### General - As an assurance case editor, I want to be able to edit cases collaboratively in real-time with other users so that we can work together seamlessly from different locations. - As a project manager, I need to track changes made to assurance cases, so I can review the evolution of the case and revert changes if necessary. - As a compliance officer, I want to set up a formal review process for changes to assurance cases to ensure they meet regulatory standards before being finalized. - As an assurance case editor, I need to receive notifications about required actions on the assurance cases I am involved with, to stay updated on my tasks. #### Integration with External Tools: GitHub - As an assurance case editor, I want the ability to link and sync our assurance cases with external version control systems like GitHub, so that we can leverage robust versioning tools and integrate our work with wider development ecosystems. #### Collaborative Editing: Commenting and Annotation System - As a team member, I need to be able to comment on and annotate specific parts of an assurance case, so that I can provide context-specific feedback and suggestions without altering the original content. #### Notification and Communication Tools: Historical Comparison Viewer - As a project auditor, I want a tool that allows me to visually compare different versions of an assurance case, so I can easily see what has changed between iterations and understand the impact of those changes. #### Notification and Communication Tools: Automated Change Notifications - As a team member, I want to receive automated notifications when changes are made to sections of an assurance case I am working on or following, so that I'm always informed about updates without needing to constantly check manually. #### Access Control and Permissions - As a project manager, I need to assign specific roles and permissions to team members regarding who can view, edit, or approve changes to assurance cases, ensuring that sensitive information is protected and only accessible to authorized personnel. #### Offline Editing Capability - As an assurance case editor, I want the ability to work on assurance cases offline and have changes sync once I reconnect to the internet, so that I can work flexibly from any location without constant internet access. #### Template and Clone Features - As a new project member, I need the ability to use templates or clone existing assurance cases to start new projects, so that I can maintain consistency in structure and content across similar cases without starting from scratch. #### Audit Logs generally - As a project manager, I want to view a comprehensive audit log of all actions taken within the assurance case, including who made changes, what changes were made, and when, so that I can ensure accountability and traceability throughout the project lifecycle. - As an auditor, I need the ability to export audit logs in a standardized format for compliance review and archival purposes, so that I can perform external audits efficiently and maintain records outside the TEA platform. - As a compliance officer, I want the system to generate automated audit reports based on predefined intervals or triggers, so that I can easily review compliance with internal standards and regulatory requirements without manually compiling data. #### Notification and Communication Tools generally - As a team member, I want to configure notifications to alert me about specific types of changes or updates in assurance cases I am involved with, so that I can tailor the alerts to my needs and avoid notification overload. - As a team member, I need an in-app messaging system that allows for direct communication between users within the platform, so that we can discuss and resolve issues related to assurance cases without leaving the tool. - As a project manager, I want an activity feed that displays real-time updates and communications on assurance cases, so that I can have a centralized view of all relevant activities and interactions in one place.