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Version: Stage 5 - Deliverable Acceptance Check

2026-10-16 1055 AEDT

UN CEFACT GRID Project - PST​

Oct 16, 2026 10:55 AM AEDT

Attendees​

  • Sankarshan
  • Steve Capell
  • John Phillips

Summary​

Platform migration and cloud setup with verifiable history and test environment deployment

Deployment Target Migration
Migration of 8 sites from GitLab pages to Amazon S3 improved reliability and content negotiation capabilities. Cloud infrastructure configuration stalled previously due to resource constraints but resumed.

Verifiable History and Testing
Introduction of document number 7 addressed historical verification for cryptographic keys and registries using WebVH. Test environment deployment enabled global pilot testing.

Merges and Multilingual Support
GitLab merges closed 50 public review comments. Secretariat agreed to publish UNTP in 6 official UN languages using Claude with structured Scalable Vector Graphics diagrams.

Decisions​

Aligned​

  • Migration of deployment targets to cloud CDN The project participants aligned to move site deployments from GitLab pages to cloud-based CDN and S3 infrastructure to ensure stability and content negotiability.

  • Incorporation of verifiable history documentation The participants agreed to adopt and merge the new verifiable history and life cycles documentation utilizing web VH as the underlying DID method.

Next steps​

  • [Steve Capell] Send Closure Report: Forward the closure report template created by Zach for use in the secretariat submission process.

  • [John Phillips] Verify Comment Count: Conduct a review to confirm the exact number of public review comments received for the project.

  • [Steve Capell] Update GRIDpage: Modify the project documentation page to reflect alignment and decisions made regarding recognized entities.

  • [John Phillips] Submit Merge Request: Create and submit a new merge request from the main branch to the test environment.

  • [Steve Capell] Test Pipeline: Execute a performance and conformance test package across all aspects including the grid to ensure spec readability.

Details​

Deployment Target Migration for Platforms: Steve Capell explains their merge request to change the deployment target for eight project sites from GitLab pages (a lightweight static web hosting service) to a content delivery network and Amazon S3 or similar storage [00:00:03] [00:01:53]. The underlying problem with GitLab pages is reliability issues when GitLab goes down and a lack of content negotiation capabilities, which are essential for serving structured data like JSON-LD alongside HTML to make content robot-friendly and automation-friendly [00:00:54]. This deployment shift applies to eight sites, including low-code and vocab sites, scaling from code lists to richer registers. John Phillips agrees with these reasons, confirming alignment with performance, scalability, and shared fate principles [00:01:53] [00:07:11].

Cloud Infrastructure Configuration and Foundation Setup: Steve Capell details a three-month effort with the UN to configure continuous integration and continuous deployment main to the cloud, initially attempting to use Cloudflare R2 and workers because the UNICC already had an account. The plan stalled due to UNICC being under-resourced on information and communications technology, but Steve Capell notes that agreement was reached yesterday for UNICC to take ownership and cover the small expenditure [00:03:03]. Steve Capell deployed test sites to `trade-comments.org` instead of `unicc.org` because they do not control the UNICC domain name system. Furthermore, Steve Capell mentions that an international organization for digital commons foundation is planned around the January timeframe to receive funding and support for UN standards, which owns the reserved domain [00:05:19].

Overview of Verifiable History and Life Cycles: John Phillips introduces their merge request addressing verifiable history and lifecycle requirements, noting that previous documentation focused exclusively on current validation. The underlying problem involves three key life cycles requiring historical verification: cryptographic key rotation and revocation, grid participant life cycles (applicant, active, suspended, inactive, and withdrawn), and changes in authoritative country registries over time [00:08:02] [00:10:14]. To resolve this, John Phillips created document number seven to outline verifiable history and life cycles using the WebVH method [00:09:02]. sankarshan and John Phillips note that the verifiable credentials community has traditionally focused too heavily on present-focused use cases, neglecting historical facts such as past driving licenses [00:11:55].

Test Versus Production Environments and Grid Contracting: John Phillips asks whether moving to the production environment is imminent, and Steve Capell clarifies that the current merge is strictly for a test environment, with production following later. John Phillips notes that grid authorities may establish periodic contracting processes for technical service providers every three years, similar to the PKD model, meaning the test environment is used for exploration rather than preempting production operations [00:13:52]. Steve Capell distinguishes between publishing specifications to robust cloud endpoints and managing rollout, adoption, and test infrastructure for software vendors [00:14:48].

Web Verifiable History and Pilot Testing Environment: John Phillips discusses the transition to the WebVH model, noting that British Columbia provides a concrete instance of moving to this infrastructure from an Indy environment. Steve Capell and John Phillips highlight that this non-official, non-indexed, and undiscoverable test endpoint allows participating pilots from countries like India, China, the UK, and others to test functionality and build confidence before seeking formal bureaucratic approvals to sign on behalf of their nations [00:16:59].

Executing GitLab Merges and Resolving Public Review Comments: John Phillips initiates the merge process in GitLab, observing the test pipeline running and temporarily modifying merge settings to remove the co-lead approval requirement due to Joe Spencer's absence [00:18:47]. Steve Capell clarifies that a separate merge request from main to test is required to trigger deployment to the test branch [00:22:06]. John Phillips notes that these merges close approximately 50 public review comments, including feedback from David Mallay and India [00:23:00].

Public Review Metrics and World Wide Web Consortium Recognized Entity Alignment: Steve Capell and John Phillips discuss the public review metrics, noting approximately 50 total comments received across contributions from reviewers like Brett, Chris Pap, and India, with zero comments received from Russia after a four-week request [00:23:58]. Steve Capell adds that following a discussion on aligning with World Wide Web Consortium recognized entities, they recognized a difference in data concepts where registrations are treated as properties of peer-recognized entities, requiring another upcoming update to the grid page [00:25:00].

Multilingual Support and Diagram Localization Using Claude: Steve Capell shares preparations for upcoming meetings in Geneva in two to three weeks, noting that following requests from Russia and China, the secretariat agreed to publish UNTP in all six official UN languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian) using Claude, provided a disclaimer is included [00:26:39]. To handle diagram labels, Steve Capell explains that they are regenerating Portable Network Graphics diagrams from scratch into structured Scalable Vector Graphics formats using Claude to allow efficient text replacement across languages, while John Phillips notes a preference for text-based Mermaid diagrams [00:27:46].

Verification of Deployed Test Site: John Phillips checks the pipeline and confirms that `grid.unc.org` has successfully built and deployed the new verifiable history site, allowing participants to view and critique the implementation. John Phillips then proposes concluding the meeting early [00:30:24].

Automated Implementation and Specification Testing with Artificial Intelligence: Steve Capell discusses the ongoing challenge of specification complexity discouraging implementers, arguing that well-structured machine-readable specs should allow software and robots to automatically generate implementations [00:31:21]. sankarshan shares a successful experiment where they used a trust registry specification to build, deploy, and test compliance against a clean-room test suite [00:33:29]. John Phillips and Steve Capell agree that using artificial intelligence to test specifications against automated pipelines helps identify gaps, improve documentation, and reduce adoption costs [00:32:24].