> 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/researcher-guide.md).

# Researcher Guide

This guide helps you observe how a person uses CORTEX. Start with an approved Demo or Trial organisation. Use fictional records. Give the person one task at a time. Ask them to say what they expect before they select a control. Record what they do and what the page shows.

CORTEX uses five parts of the intelligence cycle: **Direction**, **Collection**, **Analyse**, **Products**, and **Feedback**. Other menu groups contain the evidence, release, people, and assurance work that supports those parts. The five parts do not imply that one person can do every action. CORTEX checks each account, workspace, and record when a person opens or changes it.

Use the [practice scenario](/research/practice-scenario.md) for a complete exercise. Read [Roles and access](/reference/roles-and-access.md) and [Retained records](/reference/retained-records.md) before you lead a session.

## Prepare the session

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Ask for the organisation and participant accounts

Ask the node operator for the CORTEX address, the intended Demo or Trial organisation, and a separate account for each participant. Do not put a password in research notes.
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{% step %}

### Select the workspace

Ask which workspace the participant should use. The detailed Demo data can include **Operation LANTERN QUAY · DEMO**, **Operation NORTHBRIDGE · DEMO**, and **Operation GLASS HARBOR · DEMO**. These are fictional investigations.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Confirm the account's tasks

Confirm which tasks the account can do. A requirement owner, collector, analyst, release reviewer, and recipient have different work. The Demo organisation has named accounts for these duties.
{% endstep %}

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### Confirm the session type

Check whether the session is for observation or for changes to synthetic records. For an observation session, use the saved Demo records. For a change session, use the workspace and records approved for the exercise.
{% endstep %}

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### Prepare research notes

Prepare a place to record the participant's words, the menu text they select, the result they see, and any point where they stop. Do not copy protected material into the research record.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Do not assume that a missing menu item is a defect. The selected workspace, enabled features, handling, grant, and membership affect what each person can see. Ask the participant what they expected. Record the account and workspace used so that the team can repeat the finding.
{% endhint %}

## Start in CORTEX

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Sign in

Ask the participant to sign in with their own account.
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### Choose a workspace

Ask them to select **Choose workspace** in **Operations & workspaces**. The workspace directory can also appear when no workspace is selected.
{% endstep %}

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### Find the intended workspace

Ask them to find the intended workspace. The directory uses the **Your workspaces** tab and a **Find a workspace** control. They can select **Open workspace** on the correct card.
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### Check the workspace purpose and marking

Ask them to read the workspace purpose and full protective marking before they continue. Similar workspace names do not mean that the workspaces have the same purpose or access.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Open Overview

Ask them to open **Overview**. Let them explain what **My work** and **Lifecycle** show. The personal view shows work visible to that account. The lifecycle view shows a bounded page of requirements and observed stage states.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Find Help & user guide

Ask them to find **Help & user guide** in **Help & node**. It is available to a signed-in person before they select a workspace. It has task guides and answers.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
If a page does not open, record its message. Ask the participant what they would do next. Do not direct them to use another person's account as a way around access.
{% endhint %}

## Find a page

Ask the participant to use the menu once and the page finder once.

* In the side menu, **Intelligence cycle** contains **Direction**, **Collection**, **Analyse**, **Products**, and **Feedback** when those destinations are available.
* **Sources & evidence** contains pages such as **Sources**, **Evidence memory**, **Entities**, **Relationship review**, and **Graph explorer**.
* **Release & sharing** contains **Releases** and any UK sharing and package pages available to the account.
* **Assurance & governance** contains **Pulse & audit**, **Shield sanitisation**, and other governance pages available to the account.
* **People & settings** contains **Workspace settings**, **Users and access**, and other permitted people or setting pages.

The person can select **Go to** in the header or press **Alt+K**. They can then type a page name and select the result. **Find a page or area** filters the side menu. These controls find pages. They do not search intelligence records.

On a small screen, the participant must first open **Workspace navigation** to show the menu. Ask whether that control is clear to them. If they use a keyboard, ask them to move through tabs and the page finder without help.

## Follow the complete work path

Use the [practice scenario](/research/practice-scenario.md) as the main session script. Give the next task after the participant finishes the current one.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Find the question

Find the question in **Direction**. Ask what decision it supports, who owns it, and what gap remains.
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{% step %}

### Find the plan

Find the plan in **Collection**. Ask which question it addresses and which tasks, sources, and people it uses.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Inspect source and material records

Inspect source and material records in **Sources** and **Evidence memory**. Ask the participant to tell an original file from a processed extraction and to identify a blocked or quarantined item if the exercise contains one.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Inspect a relationship

Inspect a relationship in **Entities**, **Relationship review**, or **Graph explorer**. Ask what is proposed, disputed, or reviewed.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Review analysis

Open **Analyse**. Ask the participant to find evidence, an alternative explanation, uncertainty, the current judgement, and independent review.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Review product content

Open **Products**. Ask the participant to identify the exact content revision and source references. An internal draft or export is not an approved release.
{% endstep %}

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### Review releases

Open **Releases**. Ask the participant to find review, approval, package, recipient, and acknowledgement as separate events.
{% endstep %}

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### Review feedback

Open **Feedback**. Ask how the recipient's response links back to the original question. The requirement owner makes any later Direction decision.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Review audit activity

Open **Pulse & audit** if the account has access. Ask what activity the page records and what a personal read marker means.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

The participant might use the **Tasks** menu on a detail page to move to related work. Ask whether the names and order of actions help them. Each destination still checks current access.

## Observe saved work and errors

CORTEX retains a record only after the person uses its final save action and gets a confirmed result. **Continue** and **Back** in a guided form move through an unsaved draft. **Cancel**, closing the page, or refreshing it can lose that draft. Ask the participant to tell you which action saves the record.

If the participant changes a search field, ask them when they expect the results to change. On many lists, they must select the page's **Search**, **Find**, or **Apply filters** action. **Previous** and **Next** use the last submitted filter. The count describes records visible to that account.

When an action fails, copy the exact message and note the control selected. Typical recovery questions are:

* Did the participant select the correct workspace?
* Is the account's grant and membership still current?
* Does the participant have the needed permission and handling access?
* Is the feature enabled for this workspace?
* Did another person change the saved record?
* Did the node connection stop before a save result appeared?

Ask the participant what they would do before you explain the answer. If a save result is uncertain, inspect the current saved version before another save. Do not ask the participant to repeat an approval, release, or other final action without checking the retained result.

## Record a useful finding

For each task, record:

| Field              | What to write                                                                         |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Task and role      | The instruction you gave, the account duty, and whether the session allowed changes.  |
| Workspace and page | The selected workspace and the exact menu or page text.                               |
| Expected result    | What the participant thought would happen before acting.                              |
| Observed result    | What they selected, what CORTEX showed, and any saved version or state.               |
| Difficulty         | Where they paused, went back, used Help, or asked for help.                           |
| Evidence           | A safe screenshot or note that contains no password or protected operational content. |
| Follow-up          | The change or question for the product team to check.                                 |

Separate what the participant said from your interpretation. If a menu item is absent, record that fact with the account and workspace. If a result says **Unknown**, **Partial**, or **No current access**, keep that exact text. An empty list is not proof that no other records exist.

At the end, ask the participant which page they would open next, what they think was saved, and what they would tell a colleague who takes over the work. These answers show whether the platform makes the next action and retained state clear.