Implementation Plan: CI/CD Pipeline and Living Dashboard

Branch: 005-ci-cd-dashboard | Date: 2026-02-15 | Spec: spec.md Input: Feature specification from /specs/005-ci-cd-dashboard/spec.md

Summary

Implement automated CI/CD validation and a living compliance dashboard for the rcd-cui project. GitHub Actions workflows will run lint, syntax-check, and YAML validation on PRs, build the execution environment and deploy generated documentation and compliance dashboard to GitHub Pages on merge to main, and run scheduled nightly assessments. The dashboard provides public, unauthenticated access to SPRS scores, control status, POA&M summary, and downloadable compliance artifacts. README badges display CI status, SPRS score (via dynamic JSON endpoint), and last assessment date.

Technical Context

Language/Version: YAML (GitHub Actions workflows), Bash (scripts), Python 3.9+ (existing tooling) Primary Dependencies: GitHub Actions, GitHub Pages, shields.io (badges), existing Makefile targets Storage: Git repository, gh-pages branch for published artifacts, JSON files for badge data Testing: Workflow validation via act (local), integration testing via test PRs Target Platform: GitHub.com (Actions runners: ubuntu-latest) Project Type: Infrastructure/DevOps (GitHub workflows and configuration) Performance Goals: PR checks complete within 5 minutes, dashboard deployment within 5 minutes of merge Constraints: Must use existing execution environment, must work with current Makefile targets Scale/Scope: Single repository, ~35 roles, 5 audience-specific documents, 1 dashboard

Constitution Check

GATE: Must pass before Phase 0 research. Re-check after Phase 1 design.

Principle	Status	Evidence
I. Plain Language First	PASS	Dashboard and docs serve non-technical stakeholders (PIs, VCR, auditors)
II. Data Model as Source of Truth	PASS	Dashboard generated from existing YAML data models via `make docs`
III. Compliance as Code	PASS	CI enforces code quality gates; dashboard shows compliance posture
IV. HPC-Aware	N/A	CI/CD infrastructure, not HPC control implementation
V. Multi-Framework	PASS	Crosswalk CSV includes all 4 framework mappings
VI. Audience-Aware Documentation	PASS	Publishes all 5 audience-specific documents to GitHub Pages
VII. Idempotent and Auditable	PASS	Workflows are deterministic; git history provides audit trail
VIII. Prefer Established Tools	PASS	Uses GitHub Actions (established), shields.io (established), existing EE

Gate Result: PASS - No violations, proceed to Phase 0.

Project Structure

Documentation (this feature)

specs/005-ci-cd-dashboard/
├── spec.md              # Feature specification
├── plan.md              # This file
├── research.md          # Phase 0 output
├── data-model.md        # Phase 1 output
├── quickstart.md        # Phase 1 output
├── contracts/           # Phase 1 output (internal contracts)
│   └── README.md
└── tasks.md             # Phase 2 output (/speckit.tasks command)

Source Code (repository root)

.github/
├── workflows/
│   ├── ci.yml                    # PR validation workflow
│   ├── deploy.yml                # Merge-to-main deployment workflow
│   └── nightly.yml               # Scheduled assessment workflow
└── CODEOWNERS                    # (optional) code ownership

reports/
├── dashboard/
│   └── index.html                # Compliance dashboard (existing)
├── badge-data.json               # JSON endpoint for dynamic badges (new)
└── ...                           # Other generated reports

docs/
└── generated/
    ├── pi_guide.md               # Generated PI documentation
    ├── researcher_quickstart.md  # Generated researcher documentation
    ├── sysadmin_reference.md     # Generated sysadmin documentation
    ├── ciso_compliance_map.md    # Generated CISO documentation
    ├── leadership_briefing.md    # Generated leadership documentation
    ├── glossary_full.md          # Generated glossary
    └── crosswalk.csv             # Framework crosswalk (existing)

README.md                          # Updated with badges

Structure Decision: Infrastructure project using GitHub workflows in .github/workflows/. No new source directories needed; leverages existing reports/, docs/generated/, and Makefile targets. Adds badge-data.json for dynamic badge support.

Complexity Tracking

No violations detected. Table not required.

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