trust-systems-meta-model

Model, Bind, Validate, Compare, Publish

This page is the shortest path through the repository if you want to use TSMM as infrastructure rather than read it as theory.

1. Model

Start with a graph.

• canonical graph: model/graph/tsmm.graph.json
• graph schema: schemas/tsmm-graph.schema.json
• graph model: TSMM Graph Model
• authority and delegation: Authority graph, Delegation patterns
• lifecycle: Lifecycle model

If you are designing a new system, the graph gives you the quickest way to represent actors, authorities, policies, evidence, decisions, and effects in one place.

2. Bind

Once the system is modeled, connect it to a real ecosystem surface.

• bindings overview: Bindings
• contract model: Binding contract
• machine-readable bindings:
  • bindings/trqp/tsmm-trqp-binding.json
  • bindings/openid-federation/tsmm-openid-federation-binding.json
  • bindings/dcas/tsmm-dcas-binding.json
  • bindings/vtc/tsmm-vtc-binding.json
  • bindings/havid/tsmm-havid-binding.json
  • bindings/oasf/tsmm-oasf-binding.json

Use the binding layer when you want to state what TSMM can preserve, what gets lost, and what behavior a translation is expected to uphold.

3. Validate

The repo now supports validation at four practical layers.

• schema and example validation: python scripts/validate_examples.py
• graph validation: python scripts/validate_tsmm_graph.py
• binding validation: python scripts/validate_bindings.py
• YAML model validation: python scripts/validate_yaml_models.py
• test vectors: python scripts/validate_test_vectors.py
• schema coverage: python scripts/check_schema_coverage.py
• documentation and link checks: python scripts/check_docs.py

The validation surface is deliberately lightweight. The aim is to make representative artifacts testable without requiring a large external harness.

4. Compare

Comparison becomes easier once systems share a graph vocabulary and binding contract.

• interoperability layer: Interoperability
• interoperability matrix: interop/interoperability-matrix.yaml
• crosswalks: Crosswalks
• concrete system examples: System examples

Use this layer when you need to explain whether two systems align structurally, semantically, or behaviorally.

5. Publish

Once the model and binding are stable, publish the system in a way that preserves operator accountability, control references, evidence pointers, and evaluation traceability.

• publication guidance: OASF publication guidance
• publication binding: TSMM to OASF Binding
• publication crosswalk: TSMM ↔ OASF Crosswalk
• worked example: examples/profiles/oasf-publication-profile.json

Use this layer when you need TSMM-described systems to become assurance-addressable without flattening trust semantics into a transport-specific schema.

A practical sequence

1. Start from model/graph/tsmm.graph.json.
2. Copy the nearest example system from examples/systems/.
3. Adjust nodes, edges, policy, and evidence paths for your ecosystem.
4. Add the most relevant binding from bindings/.
5. Run the validators.
6. Use the interoperability matrix and crosswalks to compare your model with adjacent systems.
7. Publish the resulting profile through the OASF-oriented publication guidance if the system needs downstream discovery, assessment, or assurance reuse.

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