NAVV Wiki - Waterline Taxonomy and Information Architecture v3

Specification: NAVV Wiki — Waterline Taxonomy and Information Architecture (v3)

Canonical Summary

  • Single NAVV-Wiki/ root folder introduced — one wiki, three tiers - P3-Governance/ moves inside NAVV-Wiki/ (logical constitutional independence retained) - CaaG standards remain at project root (cross-wiki scope) - Wiki agent infrastructure (registry, wiki CLAUDE.md) placed at NAVV-Wiki/ level - All v2 design decisions and CaaG decisions remain in force — unchanged

Context

This specification establishes the architectural framework for organizing NAVV-Wiki content across three information tiers: Deep Ocean (governance), Below the Waterline (operational), and Above the Waterline (commercial). It defines the taxonomy that governs where content belongs and how tiers relate. The specification is the foundational reference for all wiki content organization.

Key Relationships

  • PART-OF: p3-index — The canonical design authority for the three-tier waterline architecture governing all P3 document classification; defines Deep Ocean, Below the Waterline, and Above the Waterline tiers and their governance rules

Caveats and Limitations

This document represents a point-in-time analysis. Subsequent decisions or implementation changes may supersede specific recommendations or assessments contained herein.

Change Log

Version Date Scope Change Type Triggering Source
1.0 2026-05-16 Full Article Format Migration (v1→v2) Sonnet (TP-0009): Promoted from Droppings/ — initial Tier A promotion
1.1 2026-05-16 Full Article Format Migration (v1→v2) Sonnet (TP-0011): Added Relationships section descriptions — corrective action for semantic completeness
2.0 2026-05-16 Full Article Format Migration WP-007 (TP-0014)

Type: Design Specification — Revised following Brian's 2026-05-14 feedback (single-root question)
Commissioned by: Brian, via Missives/NAVV-2026-05-14
Date: 2026-05-14
Supersedes: Droppings/NAVV Wiki - Waterline Taxonomy and Information Architecture v2
Status: Pending Brian's approval before any restructuring begins

Changes from v2:

  • Single NAVV-Wiki/ root folder introduced — one wiki, three tiers
  • P3-Governance/ moves inside NAVV-Wiki/ (logical constitutional independence retained)
  • CaaG standards remain at project root (cross-wiki scope)
  • Wiki agent infrastructure (registry, wiki CLAUDE.md) placed at NAVV-Wiki/ level
  • All v2 design decisions and CaaG decisions remain in force — unchanged

Brian's approvals to date (all in force for v3):

  • Flat sub-folder structure within NAVV-Operational/ (#approved/brian)
  • Web navigation model: P3 artefact-centric primary (#approved/brian)
  • Traceability header format (#approved/brian)
  • CaaG Tier A as minimum standard for NAVV-Operational documents (#approved/brian)
  • Registry bootstrap as Stage A before Candidate Audit (#approved/brian)
  • Linter commissioned after registry bootstrap (#approved/brian)

1 — The Core Question: One Wiki or Three?

Brian's question cuts to the architectural heart: are we building three independent tier-folders, or one integrated wiki with three tiers?

Answer: One integrated wiki.

The v2 proposal (three separate top-level folders) created a structural problem that Brian correctly identified. Three independent folders at project root means:

  • No shared coordination point for wiki-managing agents
  • No shared registry root — registry scope becomes ambiguous
  • Brian managing three separate structures — "a pathway to hell"
  • Agents cannot traverse from the operational tier to the canonical record without reaching across sibling folders

The correct structure mirrors the NDIS-Wiki pattern: one root folder that owns the entire wiki management infrastructure, with the tier structure nested inside it.

NAVV-Wiki/ is that root.

2 — The NDIS-Wiki Analogy

NDIS-Wiki/ is not the wiki itself — it is the root of the entire wiki management infrastructure. Inside it lives:

  • The article folders (concepts/, topics/, legislation/, etc.)
  • The registry (registry.json)
  • The CLAUDE.md (wiki agent constitution)
  • The raw content, quality logs, tools, etc.

Autonomous agents managing the NDIS wiki are rooted at NDIS-Wiki/ — they do not need to reach outside that folder to do their work.

NAVV-Wiki/ follows the same pattern. It is the coordination root for all agents managing NAVV's governance wiki. Everything the NAVV wiki needs — across all three tiers — lives inside NAVV-Wiki/.

3 — Revised Physical Folder Architecture

3.1 — Project Root (what Brian sees in Obsidian)

NAVV-NDIS-Handbook/
├── NAVV-Wiki/              Single root — NAVV governance wiki (all three tiers) — NEW
├── NDIS-Wiki/              NDIS product wiki — existing, unchanged
├── Context as a Graph (CaaG)/  Shared CaaG standards — cross-wiki, stays at root
├── Droppings/              Ephemeral working space — unchanged
├── Andrew-Interface/       Andrew interaction material — unchanged
├── Missives/               Control artefacts — unchanged
├── Standards/              Control standards — unchanged
├── Stock-Takes/            Audit reports — unchanged
├── History/                Historical records — unchanged
├── Sandpit/                Experimentation — unchanged
└── Tools/                  Project tools — unchanged

3.2 — NAVV-Wiki/ Internal Structure

NAVV-Wiki/
├── P3-Governance/          Deep Ocean — moved from project root (see Section 4)
│   ├── Principles/
│   ├── Products/
│   ├── Strategy/
│   ├── Governance/
│   ├── Maturity/
│   ├── Patterns/
│   ├── Charters/
│   ├── Sagas/
│   ├── P3-Reference/
│   └── P3-Index.md
├── NAVV-Operational/       Below the Waterline — new (flat structure)
├── NAVV-Commercial/        Above the Waterline — new (placeholder)
├── navv-registry.json      NAVV wiki entity registry — new
└── CLAUDE.md               Wiki agent constitution — new (wiki-scoped)

3.3 — Why CaaG Stays at Project Root

The CaaG standards govern multiple wikis — currently the NDIS-Wiki and the NAVV-Wiki. Placing Context as a Graph (CaaG)/ inside NAVV-Wiki/ would incorrectly imply it is NAVV-specific. It remains at the project root as cross-wiki infrastructure.

When agents need CaaG standards while working within NAVV-Wiki/, they reach up one level. This is the only cross-boundary reference from NAVV-Wiki/ agents, and it is explicitly scoped to read-only reference standards.

4 — The P3-Governance/ Move

4.1 — What Changes

P3-Governance/ moves from NAVV-NDIS-Handbook/P3-Governance/ to NAVV-NDIS-Handbook/NAVV-Wiki/P3-Governance/.

The folder contents are unchanged. The separation guarantee is unchanged.

4.2 — The Separation Guarantee (Clarified)

The P3-Index.md states: "Deleting P3-Governance/ must not affect any product artefact."

This guarantee is a logical property, not a filesystem property. Moving P3-Governance/ inside NAVV-Wiki/ does not change the logical guarantee — it means:

  • The contents of P3-Governance/ do not embed or depend on product artefact files
  • Product artefact files (NDIS-Wiki/, etc.) do not depend on P3-Governance/ being at any particular path
  • P3-Governance/ retains its constitutional independence as the canonical governance record

Obsidian resolves WikiLink by file name, not by full path. Moving P3-Governance/ inside NAVV-Wiki/ does not break any existing wiki links that use bare file names (e.g., Direction Statement, NAVV Principles Register - 2026-05-08). These will continue to resolve correctly.

Any references that use full paths (e.g., in CLAUDE.md or control documents) will need to be updated — this is a one-time migration task, not an ongoing burden.

4.4 — Brian's Explicit Approval Required

The P3-Governance/ move is a structural change to existing canonical content. Nothing moves until Brian explicitly confirms.

  • Approve the move of P3-Governance/ from the project root into NAVV-Wiki/. #action/brian

5 — Agent Coordination Model

With NAVV-Wiki/ as the common root:

Single coordination point: Agents managing the NAVV wiki are rooted at NAVV-Wiki/. They can access all three tiers without crossing outside their root.

Registry scope: navv-registry.json at NAVV-Wiki/ level covers all entities in all three tiers — Deep Ocean artefacts in P3-Governance/, operational documents in NAVV-Operational/, and commercial documents in NAVV-Commercial/.

Wiki CLAUDE.md scope: A CLAUDE.md at NAVV-Wiki/ level governs wiki agent behaviour — article standards, link protocol, CaaG tier requirements, linter rules. This is separate from the project-level CLAUDE.md (which governs the broader project sub-agent behaviour).

Agent independence from NDIS-Wiki: NAVV-Wiki/ agents do not enter NDIS-Wiki/ and vice versa. Cross-wiki federation (the CaaG graph) is managed at the project root level when that work commences.

6 — Revised Staging Implications

All v2 staging decisions remain in force. The single-root architecture adds one step to Stage A:

Stage A — Foundation (revised)

  1. Create NAVV-Wiki/ folder at project root
  2. Move P3-Governance/ into NAVV-Wiki/ — Brian's explicit approval required first
  3. Create NAVV-Wiki/NAVV-Operational/ and NAVV-Wiki/NAVV-Commercial/ (placeholder)
  4. Bootstrap navv-registry.json at NAVV-Wiki/ level — register all Deep Ocean artefacts
  5. Create NAVV-Wiki/CLAUDE.md — wiki agent constitution
  6. Establish the Tier A document template for NAVV-Operational documents
  7. Update any full-path references in project-level control documents (CLAUDE.md, P3-Index.md)

Stage B — Below-the-Waterline build (unchanged from v2)
Stage C — Linter WP (unchanged from v2)
Stage D — NDIS-Wiki CaaG retrofit (future, unchanged from v2)

7 — Open Decisions

One open decision remains (all others resolved):

Decision Status
Single NAVV-Wiki/ root Recommended in this document — Brian to approve
P3-Governance/ move Brian's explicit approval required (Section 4.4)
Folder names (NAVV-Operational, NAVV-Commercial) #approved/brian
Sub-folder strategy (flat) #approved/brian
Web navigation model #approved/brian
Traceability header format #approved/brian
CaaG Tier A as minimum standard #approved/brian
Registry bootstrap before Candidate Audit #approved/brian
Linter after registry bootstrap #approved/brian
  • Approve the single NAVV-Wiki/ root folder architecture as described in Section 3. #action/brian
  • Approve the move of P3-Governance/ into NAVV-Wiki/ (Section 4). #action/brian

Once both are approved, Stage A can commence.

Prepared by Sonnet — 2026-05-14
Commissioned via Missives/NAVV-2026-05-14