Chapter 48 — Evidence dossier
Lesson map
Lesson 48 published. Map, example, EX142.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["48.1 Contents"]
N2["48.2 Organisation"]
N3["48.3 Sensitivity"]
N4["48.4 Approval"]
N5["Writing evidence summaries"]
N6["Integrity of the dossier"]
N7["Reuse beyond the thesis"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> N5 --> N6 --> N7
N7 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX142"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["48.1 Contents"]
N2["48.2 Organisation"]
N3["48.3 Sensitivity"]
N4["48.4 Approval"]
N5["Writing evidence summaries"]
N6["Integrity of the dossier"]
N7["Reuse beyond the thesis"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> N5 --> N6 --> N7 --> Q["EX142"]
[Learning outcomes]
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[48.1 Contents]
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[48.2 Organisation]
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v
[48.3 Sensitivity]
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v
[48.4 Approval]
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v
[Writing evidence summaries]
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v
[Integrity of the dossier]
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v
[Reuse beyond the thesis]
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v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX142]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) assemble evidence; (2) organise for examiners; (3) protect sensitive details.
48.1 Contents
The evidence dossier gathers everything that supports the thesis claims: the requirements and their rationale, the traceability table, lab and production test results, measurements of reachability, denies, availability and latency, the independent review log, the recovery trial report and the decision records. Kofi includes failures and their fixes, not only final passing results. A dossier is different from an appendix of everything produced; each item is included because a specific claim in the thesis depends on it, and anything not supporting a claim is left out.
48.2 Organisation
Examiners have limited time, so the dossier is organised for finding things quickly. The index is arranged by requirement and by thesis chapter, so a reader checking a claim can go straight to its evidence. Every item has a short identifier used in the thesis text, such as T-R1-03 for the third test of requirement R1. Items are grouped into folders by type, and a one-page guide explains the structure. Good organisation also helps the council, which will reuse the dossier for audits long after the thesis is examined.
48.3 Sensitivity
Real network details could help an attacker, and real names and device identifiers are personal or confidential data. Before the dossier leaves the council, Kofi replaces internal addresses with synthetic ranges, replaces device and staff names with codes, and removes supplier account details. He keeps a mapping only on council systems, so the council can relate the sanitised dossier to real devices if needed. He checks every file, including images and log extracts, because sensitive details often hide in screenshots and examples rather than main text.
48.4 Approval
The council's information governance officer and network lead review the sanitised dossier and formally approve it for release to the examiners. This approval protects the council and Kofi: nobody can later claim that sensitive information was shared without permission. The approval, with date and names, is recorded in the dossier itself. Seeking approval also catches mistakes; in this case the reviewers spot one diagram still showing a real building name, which is replaced before release. Release controls are a normal part of professional work with partner data.
Writing evidence summaries
Each dossier entry has a short summary on top: what the evidence is, which requirement or claim it supports, when it was produced, which configuration version it relates to and what it shows. An examiner can read the summaries to understand the evidence base without opening every file. Kofi writes summaries in plain language and states results directly, including failures that were later fixed. For example, the entry for the misordered rule rollback records the failure, the fix and the new template check. Including corrected failures shows the process worked, which is more convincing than a dossier containing only passing results.
Integrity of the dossier
Evidence must be trustworthy. Kofi stores test outputs, measurements and configuration versions in version control, where each change is recorded with a date and author. Exported reports include a checksum so any later alteration can be detected. Raw data supporting summaries is kept, so examiners can check that a figure such as the 76.7 percent reduction can be recalculated from the underlying zone data. He avoids editing results after the fact; if an error is found, a correction is added as a new dated entry rather than replacing the original, preserving the history of what was known when.
Reuse beyond the thesis
The dossier is designed to outlive the thesis. The council can use it as the baseline for future audits, as onboarding material for new engineers and as evidence for its cyber assurance submissions. Kofi organises it so these uses are easy: a council version omits academic discussion, while the thesis version includes it. Neighbouring councils interested in similar work can be given the synthetic, sanitised version. Building the dossier with these audiences in mind from the start avoids rework and increases the long-term value of the effort the council invested in the project.
Worked example
The dossier index has 64 entries.
Synthetic case. The dossier is synthetic.
Errors and limits
Unindexed evidence is hard for examiners to use.
Exercises
- EX142 — Dossier contents. List four dossier items. Rubric: 3 = four;; 2 = three;; 1 = fewer;; 0 = none.
- EX143 — Sensitivity. How are sensitive details protected? Rubric: 3 = synthetic replacements;; 2 = removed;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX144 — Council approval. Why does the council approve it? Rubric: 3 = confirm no sensitive data;; 2 = permission;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
Synthesis
An organised dossier supports the thesis claims.
Continue studying — chapter 48 of 50
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