> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.cortex.aic.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.cortex.aic.io/reference/readme.md).

# Readme

Use this book to learn the CORTEX web application from your first sign-in to the end of an intelligence task. It is also a guide for user research. A researcher can use the [practice journey](/research/practice-scenario.md) to observe each step.

The book uses the words on the current CORTEX menu. **Bold text** names a menu item, button, tab, or field. For example, **Intelligence cycle → Direction** means: open the **Intelligence cycle** group in the menu, then select **Direction**. Some actions are in the **Tasks** menu at the top of a page.

## Start with one workspace

1. [Sign in and choose a workspace](/getting-started/first-session.md).
2. [Find the menu, search, and page actions](/getting-started/navigation.md).
3. [Check the workspace and its members](/getting-started/workspaces.md).
4. [Follow the complete task in order](/research/practice-scenario.md).

A workspace keeps a team's question, source material, analysis, product, and decisions together. Check the selected workspace before you create or change a record. The name of the current workspace appears at the top of the application.

## Work through the task

| Order | Open this menu item                                                    | What you do                                                                 |
| ----- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1     | [**Intelligence cycle → Direction**](/lifecycle/direction.md)          | State the decision and the question. Assign an owner.                       |
| 2     | [**Intelligence cycle → Collection**](/lifecycle/collection.md)        | Plan authorized collection and record the result.                           |
| 3     | [**Sources & evidence → Evidence memory**](/sources-and-evidence.md)   | Preserve original material. Review its processing. Select an exact passage. |
| 4     | [**Intelligence cycle → Analyse**](/lifecycle/analyse.md)              | Make a judgment from cited evidence. Ask a different person to review it.   |
| 5     | [**Intelligence cycle → Products**](/lifecycle/products.md)            | Write a product from the reviewed work.                                     |
| 6     | [**Release & sharing → Releases**](/menu-areas/release-and-sharing.md) | Review and approve the exact content that people will receive.              |
| 7     | [**Intelligence cycle → Feedback**](/lifecycle/feedback.md)            | Record receipt, response, and the decision about more work.                 |

The work can move back to an earlier step. For example, feedback can show that the original question is still open. A saved draft does not mean that a product is approved. A download does not mean that a recipient received a release.

## Find a detailed procedure

The [menu map](/reference/table-of-contents.md) lists every current menu item and its page address. The [detailed task guides](/getting-started/choose-a-workspace.md) give the full steps, prerequisites, checks, and common problems from CORTEX's in-app **Help & user guide**. Use the book contents to open a specific task guide. Each guide also gives its in-app Help address.

If a menu item is absent, check your selected workspace, role, permission, handling access, and the workspace's enabled features. The application shows only the areas that you can use. [Roles and access](/reference/roles-and-access.md) explains this rule. [Solve common problems](/menu-areas/help-and-node/troubleshooting.md) helps when an action does not complete.

## Use this book in a research session

Use the approved Demo organization and fictional data when they are available. A researcher should ask a participant to read the task, choose the next action, and explain what they expect to happen. Record the text they saw, the route they used, the result, and any point of confusion. The [researcher guide](/research/researcher-guide.md) gives a session method.

The application and its retained records are the source for the current state of work. If a screen differs from this book, record the difference and check the in-app **Help & user guide** before you continue.