> 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/workflow-guides/direction/mission-operations.md).
# Mission Operations
**Open this area:** In the CORTEX menu, select **Operations & workspaces → Mission portfolio**.
Use explicit mission and operations appointments to inspect bounded delivery evidence, cross-workspace interventions, workload and accountable responsibility transfer.
**Who uses this:** Requirement owner, Collector, Analyst, Administrator.\
**Open in CORTEX:** `/operations/portfolio`.\
**In-app guide:** `/help?topic=mission-operations`.
**Expected result:** A current lead can find delayed or unresolved work without disclosing inaccessible workspaces or treating an outgoing note as acceptance.
## Before you start
* Hold a current approved Mission lead appointment for portfolio access or Operations lead appointment for workspace operations and handover actions.
* Keep ordinary membership, grants and handling for each workspace; appointments do not grant compartment access.
* Use retained assignments, deadlines and source versions rather than informal staff scoring.
## What to do
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## Start in the Operations lead workspace
Open Operations lead workspace for one current, appointment-scoped starting point. It previews the first bounded page of ranked blockers, overdue work and unassigned work with protected source actions, then shows one authorised workspace's requirement observations and the first situation page.
* Blocked and overdue badges use the negative status tone; unassigned uses the attention tone, with text always retained.
* Select any eligible map marker to show that authorised workspace's bounded coverage and freshness, then use its protected operations action.
* An exact current situation link also appears when the workspace has a current intervention; otherwise use the generic full situation link.
* Unknown or unmapped context remains list-only.
* Operational read, due, update and freshness times use the same day, month, year and minute UTC format.
* Unknown means the authorised source did not establish that time, not that the source is fresh or stale.
* Counts and signals remain page-scoped, coverage and freshness stay visible, and unavailable workspace names or totals are withheld.
* Use the full queue, progression and full-screen situation links for paging and detail.
* Losing the appointment, ordinary access or handling removes the combined view rather than leaving an earlier preview on screen.
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## Triage the mission portfolio
A current Mission lead appointment and ordinary workspace access are required.
* The opening signals count only workspaces on the current page with known overdue requirements, outstanding Collection tasks or a due or overdue deadline.
* The page orders its represented workspaces by those known signals; it does not rank the entire portfolio.
* Review workspace work opens the protected operations route.
* Expand Leadership, coverage and source details for named leads, freshness, further measures and exact source explanations.
* Missing appointments or membership have direct recovery links.
* Unknown and partial measures stay explicit.
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## Read coverage before comparing
Requirement and Collection measures use bounded authorised pages.
* When a page is incomplete, derived active, overdue, outstanding or unresolved counts are unknown.
* Inaccessible workspace names and counts are not included.
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## Triage the operations intervention queue
The cross-workspace queue includes only workspaces where you hold a current Operations lead appointment and ordinary access.
* It orders retained blockers before overdue and unassigned work.
* Each row uses one labelled state badge:
* **Blocked** and **Overdue** are action-required states.
* **Unassigned** is an attention state because an accountable owner still needs to be established.
* A blocked row that is also overdue states both facts in that badge.
* Read Complete, Partial or Unknown coverage and source freshness before using the represented count.
* An empty page links to workspaces and formal appointments; it does not imply no outstanding work when coverage is incomplete.
* Use a row's protected next action to select that workspace and continue through the current owning Direction or Collection record; the server reauthorises the typed source key before redirecting.
* View in operations situation rechecks the same current intervention and opens the appointed workspace page containing it without changing your selected workspace.
* Mission lead appointment alone does not grant this view.
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## Read the operations situation
On desktop, the full-screen source-linked area-of-interest map opens with the authorised list beside it, with at most 20 currently appointed Operations lead workspaces per page.
* Hide map gives the list the full width; Show map restores the paired view.
* On a narrow screen, the equivalent list opens first and the persistent Show map or Show list control alternates the two views without changing the evidence page.
* Use the right-side Views menu to switch between Portfolio, Interventions, Progression and Situation.
* Expand a workspace row with Enter or Space for details, next actions and its stable reference.
* Selecting a row synchronises its eligible pin; selecting a pin returns to, reveals and scrolls its row, and Escape clears selection.
* Reduced-motion preferences disable animated movement.
* Pins and rows come from the same bounded page.
* A queue link focuses only an exact current authorised intervention.
* A pin requires:
* An exact current linked Point.
* Operator declaration.
* Both numeric precisions within 1,000 metres.
* Medium or High source confidence.
* A bounded non-future source time no older than 90 days.
* It remains retained area-of-interest context, never a live operational location.
* Legacy, manual, coarse, stale, changed or inaccessible context remains list-only.
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## Choose a Geographic Point for workspace context
In an existing workspace's details, a current Manager with Mapping read access can browse authorised, handling-compatible Geographic records ten at a time or look up an exact record ID.
* Review Point features twenty at a time, then choose one to copy its exact current identity and coordinates into the pending form.
* Complete the source description, observed time and declared precision before saving.
* The picker does not save or attest.
* Changing coordinates clears the pending link.
* Final save rechecks the current source, access, handling and coordinates.
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## Inspect requirement progression
A current Operations lead appointment and ordinary workspace access are required; when none is available, the page links directly to formal appointments and workspace membership.
* Choose one of at most 20 appointed workspaces; the chooser then folds away above a delivery dashboard.
* Page-scoped overdue and attention signals lead into lifecycle stages and up to 25 requirements.
* Overdue and attention items appear first within that page.
* Review requirement opens the protected source.
* Expand Observation details and source record for version, handling and full explanations.
* Stage totals remain unknown unless every visible requirement and relevant metadata record is represented.
* Changing workspace resets the requirement page and does not change your selected-workspace cookie.
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## Enter through protected navigation
Use the validated workspace selection action to open the protected operations view.
Where a current Direction or Collection intervention supplies a next action, the server re-reads that source key and reauthorises the workspace before selecting it and redirecting to the source-owned route.
* No arbitrary return address is accepted.
* Queue text records source-backed evidence; it never applies an automated intervention or staff score.
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## Manage workspace workload
Open one workspace through its normal scoped actor.
* The dashboard counts overdue, blocked, unassigned and due-next-week work from represented source records; signals can overlap.
* Needs intervention and Next deadlines show up to five direct source actions each.
* One shared state badge marks the highest-priority intervention as Blocked, Overdue or Unassigned.
* Blocked work that is also overdue says **Blocked · overdue** in one badge.
* Stage and count badges remain categorical labels rather than workflow judgements.
* All represented work keeps status, date and source action visible; expand a record for assignment and reason.
* Due and source freshness times use `dd MMM yyyy HH:mm UTC` and retain their exact UTC instant.
* Missing due time says **Not recorded**; unknown freshness says **Unknown**.
* Open Leads, capacity and source coverage before treating a count as complete.
* Refine represented work filters by exact person identifier, stage and due date.
* Team filtering matches the exact capacity resource name only where a Collection task retains an approved allocation.
* Unavailable or incomplete capacity evidence stays explicit.
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## Manage the shift handover view
The status and overdue counts cover every handover currently visible to you in this workspace, including later retained pages.
* An Operations lead sees authorised workspace handovers; other members see only handovers addressed to them.
* Records with an unavailable exact pinned source are excluded without revealing their number.
* The checked time marks when this overview was read.
* Checked, update and retained deadline times use `dd MMM yyyy HH:mm UTC` and retain their exact UTC instant.
* Missing due time says **Not recorded**; unknown freshness says **Unknown**.
* Up to five decisions awaiting your action and five earliest dated pins are shown; the retained list remains paged at 20.
* Timing labels distinguish overdue work, work due within 24 hours and later upcoming work.
* These are retained handover pins, not every workspace deadline; open the source for its current status and the full workload view for other task windows.
* The empty state explains what to prepare before a handover can be created.
* Only a current Operations lead sees Create handover.
* Each retained row explains its acceptance state without expansion.
* Expand it for exact work pins and note, then More controls and immutable history for successor selection and revisions.
* Previous and Next keep the confirmed page visible during a read and change the page number only when the next page succeeds.
* A temporary error names the failed page and leaves the same button available to retry.
* Revoked workspace or source access clears the old overview, page and actions; restore authority and reopen it.
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## Create an exact handover draft
Open Create handover when needed.
* Read the Before you begin panel for current Operations lead authority, an eligible different workspace member and authorised requirements or Collection plans.
* Recipient availability is not claimed until lead authority permits its check.
* The Recipient, Exact work and Review steps show required fields, live issues and coloured readiness.
* Continue is available once the current step is valid.
* Add 1–50 exact work pins, each with an action of 3–1,000 characters.
* The note is optional, but a 3–1,000 character rationale is required.
* Back preserves the pending draft.
* Discard and close removes only unsaved entries.
* Create retains a Draft only.
* The server rechecks appointment, recipient, current source version, hash, owner, deadline and handling.
* A changed source causes a conflict rather than a stale pin.
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## Offer and accept deliberately
The Operations lead offers the retained draft. Only the named recipient can accept responsibility.
* An outgoing note is not acceptance.
* Acceptance does not rewrite the source record's owner or assignment.
* Continue any required reassignment in the source workflow.
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## Close or supersede with history
An Operations lead closes resolved accepted work or supersedes it with a retained successor.
Immutable revisions preserve actors, times, reasons, exact pins and acceptance.
Export follows the same current access and combined handling.
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## Check the result
* Is the appointment current and the selected workspace still authorised?
* Does cross-workspace access come from a current Operations lead appointment?
* Are measures complete, partial or unknown?
* Are lifecycle counts described as observations rather than requirement satisfaction?
* Does every displayed pin satisfy the current source-link policy while remaining clearly described as retained area-of-interest context?
* Is the blocker and next action supported by the retained source state?
* Does every handover pin the exact current source version and required action?
* Has the named recipient explicitly accepted?
* Does the source workflow still need reassignment or completion?
## If you get stuck
Why is a workspace absent?
The current identity lacks a current Mission lead appointment, ordinary workspace access or required handling, or the bounded appointment/workspace population exceeded its safe window. Ask an administrator to review the explicit appointment and membership; do not infer a hidden count.
Why is a workload number unknown?
The authorised source page is incomplete, no supported capacity aggregate exists or the underlying records do not retain that measure. Open the workspace source records or refine filters rather than deriving a utilisation score from the sample.
Why is the intervention queue empty or incomplete?
The queue uses current Operations lead appointments and bounded Direction and Collection pages. An empty Complete queue has no represented source-backed intervention. Partial or Unknown coverage means one or more source sets are incomplete or unavailable, so do not treat the represented count as a global total. A Mission lead appointment by itself never adds a workspace.
Why is an appointed workspace list-only on the situation page?
No area may be retained, a legacy or manual area may lack an exact current geographic Point link, the declaration or source may be coarse, stale, future-dated or temporally unsupported, or source/operations access may be unavailable. A Manager can use the protected Point picker in workspace details or enter the exact record identity manually, then complete the operator declaration and save. Selection alone does not attest the area or guarantee a pin. The cross-workspace page never requests configured online tiles.
Why are requirement stage totals unknown?
The requirement page does not represent every visible requirement, or a relevant lifecycle metadata source is disabled, denied, incomplete or unavailable. The returned rows remain useful observations, but they are not a percentage or proof of requirement satisfaction. Open the protected requirement workflow for the current source record.
Why can I see a handover but not accept it?
Only the named recipient accepts. Operations leads create, offer, supersede and close. Reload after a conflict and confirm recipient identity, current appointment, source versions and handling.
What happens when I switch workspaces while handovers load?
The old workspace's handover page and unsaved draft are cleared immediately. The new workspace loads after any pending action finishes, then rechecks your current access. A save or status change already sent to the old workspace may still complete there; check that workspace's retained history before retrying.
Did acceptance transfer the source owner?
No. It retains acknowledgement of the handover only. Use the requirement, Collection or other source workflow for any separately authorised reassignment, and confirm that retained result there.
## Responsibility and limits
* Mission and Operations leads are explicit approved appointments. Manager alone is not leadership evidence; revocation removes views and actions immediately.
* Portfolio and operations views coordinate work. They do not score people, infer utilisation from unknown capacity or bypass personnel and deconfliction checks.
* Handover records preserve accountability but do not mutate or complete their pinned records. Every view revalidates current owning-source access. There is no raw-body handover export; use controlled Product and Release workflows for information leaving the workspace.
**Reference and scope:** Implementation guidance for accountable direction, coordination and continuity. Technical workspace roles do not create mission command or an operational appointment.
## Related workflows
* [Retain independent formal appointments](file:///7397340/assurance/formal-appointments.md)
* [Use your dashboard and tasking lifecycle](file:///7397340/getting-started/personal-dashboard.md)
* [Define and manage an intelligence requirement](broken://pages/a3f2962cffcc70cf813c6d3f127204cdbceb7466)
* [Plan collection and record observed results](file:///7397340/collection/collection.md)
* [Use Pulse and inspect retained activity](file:///7397340/assurance/pulse.md)
* [Manage accounts, grants and workspace membership](file:///7397340/assurance/access.md)