Governance And Change Management

This section defines governance expectations for the standard source itself. It is informative for the current working draft and may become normative for future release process rules.

11.1 Working Draft State

The working version is mutable. It may change as controls, evidence expectations, mapping rows, claim limits, terminology, and governance rules are reviewed.

Working-draft changes SHOULD be recorded in the changelog when they materially affect:

• scope
• terms
• assurance levels
• control-family requirements
• evidence expectations
• mapping posture
• claim language
• release or certification posture

11.2 Released Version State

A released version, if one is created in the future, SHOULD be copied into a versioned release folder and treated as append-only except for explicit errata.

Released versions SHOULD identify:

• version key
• release date
• source commit or release snapshot
• document status
• superseded version, if any
• applicable errata
• release notes or changelog entry

No released version exists in this working draft.

11.3 Manifest-Driven Version Pointers

The repository manifest SHOULD remain the source of truth for:

• the working draft pointer
• released version list
• latest release pointer
• latest docs alias
• source directory and entrypoint for each version

The latest alias MUST NOT be maintained as hand-edited source content. A future documentation site may generate a latest route from manifest data only when latest points at a released version.

11.4 Errata

Errata SHOULD be used for released-version corrections that do not justify rewriting released text. Errata records SHOULD identify:

• affected version
• affected section or requirement
• correction type
• correction text or explanation
• publication date
• status

Errata should not be used to introduce new control requirements into a released version. Material control changes should occur in a new version.

11.5 Change Review

Future change governance SHOULD distinguish:

• editorial changes
• terminology changes
• requirement changes
• evidence-model changes
• mapping changes
• claim-language changes
• release-process changes

Requirement, evidence, mapping, and claim-language changes SHOULD receive stronger review than editorial changes because they can affect implementation expectations and public interpretation.

11.6 No Current Public Governance Body

This working draft does not establish:

• public standards governance
• a working group
• a certification board
• auditor qualification rules
• trademark, logo, seal, or badge usage
• dispute, appeal, revocation, or nonconformance handling

Any future public governance model must be defined before public conformance or certification claims are allowed.