VIN
Architecture
Five layers: rules, knowledge, work, gate and audit. Rules determine the work, the work produces records, and the records feed back to correct the rules.
The Five Layers and What Happens When Each Fails
| Layer | Question it answers | What happens when it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Rules layer | What is the correct method? And why this one? | Practice stays with individuals; when they go, the capability goes |
| Knowledge layer | To do this, which rules must I read? | Working from impression, missing new or revised standards |
| Work layer | Who performs this? With what tools? | One role does everything; permissions and data exposure grow too wide |
| Gate layer | Where can it still be stopped in time? | Discovered only afterwards, when the thing has already been done |
| Audit layer | Why was it done this way? What went wrong before? | The same error recurs, unnoticed |
Rules Layer | Your Organisation's Own Standards
Carries architecture standards, equipment standards, naming conventions, installation procedures, change processes and data classification policy. All rules are version-controlled and state their scope, prerequisites and source of authority; a fact is written once and only referenced elsewhere. The rules layer also records the reasoning and the rejected options, so that later readers need not derive it all again.
Knowledge Layer | Guides Organised by Type of Work
It answers one question: to do this, which rules must I read? It is organised by type of work rather than by document structure, with one guide per class of work containing the required-reading list, conditional reading, output specification, closing checks, and the common omissions and past lessons for that class.
Each task starts by updating the guide itself, then the rules it requires — until the index is updated, you do not know what needs updating.
Gate Layer | Interception Points Decided by Risk
Interception happens at three points: before work begins (checking prerequisites are in place), before an irreversible action (the change plan goes for independent review), and before delivery (output checks and independent acceptance).
Gate placement is decided by when an error becomes irreversible — errors in documents and implementation can still be caught before they enter the repository, whereas errors in installation and deployment cannot be caught once done; only the latter therefore needs a gate beforehand.
Audit Layer | Traceable Records
Keeps the complete record of every task: which revision of the rules it followed, what it did, what resulted, how many times it failed, and the full execution log of each failure. Records are triaged on machine-decidable conditions: those meeting every condition are closed, the rest become work items.
The conditions for closing are not left to the performing role's discretion — because closing is the one path with no downstream check.