> 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/research/practice-scenario.md).

# Practice Scenario

Use this exercise with the approved Demo or Trial data. It takes a person from the first question to the final feedback record. The workspaces and people in the exercise are fictional. Do not use a real allegation, real source, live selector, or customer record.

The detailed Demo data can contain three cases:

| Workspace                         | Plain description                                                                                                       |
| --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Operation LANTERN QUAY · DEMO** | A team assesses a possible procurement concern and keeps a lawful servicing explanation in view.                        |
| **Operation NORTHBRIDGE · DEMO**  | A team reviews a possible cargo diversion and keeps a legitimate subcontracting explanation in view.                    |
| **Operation GLASS HARBOR · DEMO** | A team reviews possible disruptive access to a port training environment and keeps an authorised supplier test in view. |

Choose one case. Use **Operation GLASS HARBOR · DEMO** for the steps below if it is available. The same path applies to the other two cases. Each saved case has a requirement, collection plan and tasks, sources, original material, a reviewed analysis, a product, a controlled package, a simulated receipt, feedback, and a follow-on requirement. The first requirement remains active because a central gap remains. That state is part of the exercise.

Read [Roles and access](/reference/roles-and-access.md) before you assign accounts. Use each person's own account. A read-only session can follow the saved records without making a new decision. If the study includes a save, use a separate synthetic test record approved for the session.

## Task 1: choose the case

Tell the participant: “Find the workspace for Operation GLASS HARBOR and open it. Tell me how you know it is the right place.”

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## Sign in

Sign in.
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## Open Choose workspace

Open **Choose workspace** in **Operations & workspaces**.
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## Find the workspace

On **Your workspaces**, use **Find a workspace** if needed.
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## Read the workspace details

Read the purpose and handling on the workspace card.
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## Open the workspace

Select **Open workspace**.
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Ask what the handling means to the participant. Note whether they found the correct workspace without a hint. If the workspace is absent, record the account and message. Do not switch to another person's account to force it to appear.

## Task 2: find the current question

Tell the participant: “Find the main question in this case. Tell me what decision the team needs to support.”

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## View lifecycle requirements

Open **Overview**. Select **Lifecycle** to see visible requirement rows.
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## Find the active requirement

Open **Direction** from **Intelligence cycle**. Find the active requirement for this case.
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## Read the requirement details

Read its question, owner, priority, due time, and information gaps.
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## Find the follow-on requirement

Find the follow-on requirement. Ask why the first requirement is still active.
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Ask the participant to explain the difference between a requirement and a collection plan. A requirement states the information need. A collection plan states how the team will collect against it. A finished plan does not close the requirement.

If the participant can open **Tasking evidence** from **Overview**, ask them to read the five slices and the named blockers. A slice marked **Unknown** or **Partial** needs more inspection. It is not a statement that the stage is empty.

## Task 3: see how the team collected information

Tell the participant: “Find how the team tried to answer the question. Show me one task and its source.”

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## Open Collection

Open **Collection** in **Intelligence cycle**.
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## Find the plan and tasks

Open the plan linked to the requirement. Find the selected requirement version and the tasks.
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## Inspect a task

Open one task. Read its assigned person, source, state, timing, and recorded result.
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## Find the linked source

Open **Sources** in **Sources & evidence**. Find the source linked to that task.
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## Review authority

If the account can see it, open **Authority cases**. Ask what decision permits the source to be used.
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The saved scenario has three completed tasks and three separately authorised sources. Do not infer authority from the source name alone. Ask whether the participant can find the result that supports a later assessment.

## Task 4: inspect the original material

Tell the participant: “Find the material that came from the source. Tell me which part is the original and which part CORTEX processed.”

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## Open Evidence memory

Open **Evidence memory** in **Sources & evidence**.
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## Search for material

Use the page's filter action after entering search terms. Wait for the submitted result.
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## Open a material record

Open a material record linked to the case.
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## Inspect record details

Find its original file information, hash, acquisition details, processing state, and extracted text.
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## Find cited material

Find a cited passage or segment used later in the case.
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The exercise has three original text files. A saved original and a processed extraction are different records. A later extraction can change without changing an earlier exact citation. If the page shows quarantine or a failed scan in another synthetic example, ask the participant what action they would take before use.

## Task 5: inspect a relationship

Tell the participant: “Show me a connection between two things in the case. Tell me how certain the team is about that connection.”

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## Open relationship records

Open **Entities** or **Relationship review** in **Sources & evidence**.
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## Open the relationship

Open the relationship linked to the case.
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## Review evidence and status

Find the evidence and the current proposal or review state.
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## Compare graph and text

Open **Graph explorer** if the account has access. Compare the diagram with the text details.
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Ask the participant whether a drawn line proves the relationship. A proposed relationship and a reviewed one have different status. The evidence and review decide what the analyst may use.

## Task 6: inspect the assessment

Tell the participant: “Find the team's assessment. Show me a reason that supports it and a reason that might change it.”

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## Open Analyse

Open **Analyse** in **Intelligence cycle**.
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## Open the analytical workspace

Open the analytical workspace linked to the requirement.
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## Review the assessment

Find the question, evidence citations, hypotheses, competing explanation, assumptions, judgement, and uncertainty.
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## Find the independent review

Find the independent review and the exact revision it reviewed.
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Ask the participant to explain why the authorised supplier test remains relevant in this scenario. A reviewed assessment can still contain uncertainty. A later edit needs its own review.

## Task 7: inspect the product

Tell the participant: “Find what the team prepared for a reader. Tell me whether it was only a draft or was released.”

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## Open Products

Open **Products** in **Intelligence cycle**.
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## Open the case product

Open the product linked to this case.
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## Review product details

Read the title, template, sections, source notes, cited evidence, and exact content revision.
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## Distinguish exports from releases

If the page offers an internal export, ask how the participant would tell that export from a controlled release.
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A saved product is not approval to send it. An internal PDF, Word, or JSON export is also not a recipient receipt. The product must move through the separate release workflow.

## Task 8: follow approval, delivery, and receipt

Tell the participant: “Find what was approved, who received it, and how CORTEX shows that they acknowledged it.”

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## Open Releases

Open **Releases** in **Release & sharing**.
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## Find the linked release

Open the release linked to the product. Find the exact product revision and named recipient.
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## Read approval history

Read the review and approval history. Identify the separate reviewer, approver, and distributor duties where shown.
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## Find the released package

Find the released package and its manifest or hash details.
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## Find recipient acknowledgement

Find the recipient acknowledgement. Ask whether a download alone would create this receipt.
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The Demo case has a simulated acknowledgement. In actual work, the intended recipient must explicitly acknowledge the exact package. A changed product or audience needs a new check; an earlier approval does not cover a different package.

## Task 9: close the loop without assuming completion

Tell the participant: “Find the recipient's response. Show me what the requirement owner did with it.”

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## Open Feedback

Open **Feedback** in **Intelligence cycle**.
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## Open linked feedback

Open the feedback linked to the release and receipt.
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## Read feedback details

Read usefulness, timeliness, corrections, lessons, and follow-on information needs.
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## Review the owner response

Return to **Direction**. Find the owner's recorded response and the follow-on requirement.
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Ask whether submitted feedback closed the original question. It did not do so automatically. The owner must make a separate Direction decision. In this scenario the main gap remains, so the original requirement remains active.

## Task 10: find supporting evidence of activity

If the account has access, tell the participant: “Find where you would check what happened and when.”

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## Open Pulse & audit

Open **Pulse & audit** in **Assurance & governance**.
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## Find a workspace event

Find an event related to this workspace.
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## Identify event details

Ask which actor, time, record, and action the event identifies.
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## Identify the effect of marking an event as read

Ask what marking the event as read would change.
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A personal read marker changes that person's view of Pulse. It does not approve a product, acknowledge a release, or change a requirement.

## Optional tasks for specialist research

Use these only when the participant's account and workspace expose the destination.

* Open **Shield sanitisation**. Ask the participant to explain why a literal sanitised derivative still needs its own review and release.
* Open **Map & spatial context**. Ask the participant to tell a declared planning area from a verified live location.
* Open **UK sharing agreements**, **UK recipient packages**, or **Received UK packages**. Ask them to find the separate agreement, prepared package, and receipt steps.
* Open **Mission portfolio**, **Intervention queue**, or **Situational picture** with an appointed lead. Ask them what the coverage and freshness labels mean.
* Open **Help & user guide** and find an answer when a step is unclear.

## End the exercise

Ask three questions:

1. “Which record would you open next, and why?”
2. “Which actions changed a saved record, and which actions only changed your view?”
3. “What remains unknown in this case?”

Record the exact page names and any message that blocked the participant. Use the [researcher guide](/research/researcher-guide.md) to capture the observation. Do not treat a completed exercise as proof that the underlying intelligence is correct or that every user can access every step.