STV_ADR_009: Resolve evidence rows before exploration

Status: accepted. Date: 2026-10-24. Scope: model, graph, layout and render. Decision owner: project owner through Round 10: CR_013 classified evidence rows. Supersedes: partially STV_ADR_008: Stable navigation after fresh placement for test-lane assumptions when classified rows are configured. Superseded by: none. Legacy-role decisions remain applicable.

Context

STV_CR_013: Vertical target levels for artifacts and test records requests nine vertical categories and stable verification-boundary classification; the owner explicitly chose a fallback row for unclassified or conflicting records. Position test evidence in c... (STV_SHR_012), Preserve semantic layout (STV_SYS_005), Place classified test evide... (STV_SWR_012), Honor resolved declared lev... (STV_SWR_037), Order controls using target... (STV_SWR_055), Stabilize committed navigat... (STV_SWR_058) and Resolve configurable per-ob... (STV_SWR_061) define the paths.

Decision

Keep the default five-type preset and explicit legacy test role compatible. Add configurable levels_by_tag and one-hop level_from placements with optional fallback_level. MODEL validates placement selectors, named levels and relation names. GRAPH resolves visible published records in two passes: fixed/tag owners then owner-derived records, using indexed complete relationships. Serialize object.level and placement_fallback only for classified records. Ordinary fixed objects and old schema-1 graphs remain compatible with type-level fallback. LAYOUT and RENDER control ordering share resolved-level lookup. Classified test cases/executions use ordinary rank rows and stable slots, not the legacy lane.

The project configures stakeholder, system, system_tests, system_executions, system_arch, software, software_tests, software_executions, software_arch, unclassified_tests, problems. Cases use test_system/test_software tags; executions inherit through incoming executed_by links. Missing/conflicting evidence uses the common fallback row, displayed as Unclassified test evidence. Problem reports stay last, root stays above all rows and empty rows retain existing physical spacing. Fixed/tag owners can supply one-hop classification. Chained/cyclic data links use fallback (or strict mode if no fallback is configured), never recursive inference. No ID prefix heuristic is used.

Alternatives and consequences

Visible-neighbor median inference reclassifies shared cases during navigation. ID prefixes are project naming conventions, not host metadata. Duplicating host Need types breaks existing schemas. A mandatory build error for ambiguous data was offered; the owner chose fallback retention. The chosen additive contract keeps generic type names and existing graph identity/links, at the cost of an extra row when ambiguous records exist. Wrong model configuration remains an error. No dependency, network service, manual dragging, later occurrence mode, capacity change or new semantic relation is introduced.

Handover and checks

Owners: Host model normalization (STV_SWE_MODEL), Graph adapter and indexes (STV_SWE_GRAPH), Semantic rank layout (STV_SWE_LAYOUT), Accessible view and viewport (STV_SWE_RENDER). Use Validate classified placeme... (STV_TC_SW_046), Resolve stable classificati... (STV_TC_SW_047), Align classified rows throu... (STV_TC_SW_048), Published nine-row evidence... (STV_TC_SY_061) plus legacy/PR013/packaging regression cases. The model/graph/build error ownership remains transactional. Update the software dataflow and build-state action diagrams, inspect standalone/embedded exports, then warnings-as-errors Sphinx and full traceability/test-coverage checks.