The canonical model and the ledger
The model
Section titled “The model”Canonical model in the portal shows what the product is now, as a map or as a tree. Directions head columns, capabilities sit under the direction they live under, and constraints connect to what they constrain.
- Live shows active and delivered items. This is the source of truth.
- Archive shows everything, including replaced and withdrawn items, which appear struck through. The history of what the product used to be is part of the record.
Select an item to open it in the inspector. You can see where it came from (the proposal and commitment), when it entered the model, when it was delivered, what it replaced, and its other links.
Reading position
Section titled “Reading position”Every model read is stamped with the ledger entry it was taken at, shown beside the page title. A screenshot of the model is a claim about one specific moment.
Contradictions
Section titled “Contradictions”Two items can be linked as contradicts. That records a known conflict and shows it is unresolved, instead of quietly picking a winner. When the team settles it, the link is resolved.
The overview
Section titled “The overview”Overview is the product status page in one view: the live items grouped by type with their delivery state, plus what is in flight and what kind each proposal in review is.
The ledger
Section titled “The ledger”The Ledger is the project’s append-only record. Every transition is one ledger entry, numbered from 1 within the project:
- proposals created, revised, accepted and rejected, and every answer given;
- commitments created, started, verified and replaced;
- items added, delivered, replaced, withdrawn and reinstated;
- links added, removed and resolved;
- members added and removed, and the project archived or unarchived.
Each entry names who acted: a person, an agent or the system. Work an agent did is never mistaken for a decision a person made.
Filter the ledger by kind of event, by who acted, or by words in the entry, and export it. Select an entry to see exactly what it recorded.
Why stamps matter
Section titled “Why stamps matter”The ledger position doubles as the project’s revision counter. If you act on what you read and the project has moved since, the action is refused with the position to catch up from. Nobody can change the project on top of a picture that has already moved.