# Phase 0 Output: Research (044)

## Decisions

### 1) `scope_key` reuse

- Decision: Use the existing Inventory selection hash as `scope_key`.
  - Concretely: `scope_key = InventorySyncRun.selection_hash`.
- Rationale:
  - Inventory already normalizes + hashes selection payload deterministically (via `InventorySelectionHasher`).
  - It is already used for concurrency/deduping inventory runs, so it’s the right stable scope identifier.
- Alternatives considered:
  - Compute a second hash (duplicate of selection_hash) → adds drift without benefit.
  - Store the raw selection payload as the primary key → not stable without strict normalization.

### 2) Baseline selection (MVP)

- Decision: Baseline run = previous successful inventory sync run for the same `scope_key`; comparison run = latest successful inventory sync run for the same `scope_key`.
- Rationale:
  - Matches “run at least twice” scenario.
  - Deterministic and explainable.
- Alternatives considered:
  - User-pinned baselines → valuable, but deferred (design must allow later via `scope_key`).

### 3) Persisted generic Findings

- Decision: Persist Findings in a generic `findings` table.
- Rationale:
  - Enables stable triage (`acknowledged`) without recomputation drift.
  - Reusable pipeline for Drift now, Audit/Compare later.
- Alternatives considered:
  - Compute-on-demand and store only acknowledgements by fingerprint → harder operationally and can surprise users when diff rules evolve.

### 4) Generation trigger (MVP)

- Decision: On opening Drift, if findings for (tenant, `scope_key`, baseline_run_id, current_run_id) do not exist, dispatch an async job to generate them.
- Rationale:
  - Avoids long request times.
  - Avoids scheduled complexity in MVP.
- Alternatives considered:
  - Generate after every inventory run → may be expensive; can be added later.
  - Nightly schedule → hides immediacy and complicates operations.

### 5) Fingerprint and state hashing

- Decision: Use a deterministic fingerprint that changes when the underlying state changes.
  - Fingerprint = `sha256(tenant_id + scope_key + subject_type + subject_external_id + change_type + baseline_hash + current_hash)`.
  - baseline_hash/current_hash are computed over normalized, sanitized comparison data (exclude volatile fields like timestamps).
- Rationale:
  - Stable identity for triage and audit.
  - Supports future generators (audit/compare) using same semantics.
- Alternatives considered:
  - Fingerprint without baseline/current hash → cannot distinguish changed vs unchanged findings.

### 6) Evidence minimization

- Decision: Store small, sanitized `evidence_jsonb` with an allowlist shape; no raw payload dumps.
- Rationale:
  - Aligns with data minimization + safe logging.
  - Avoids storing secrets/tokens.

### 7) Name resolution and Graph safety

- Decision: UI resolves human-readable labels using DB-backed Inventory + Foundations (047) + Groups Cache (051). No render-time Graph calls.
- Rationale:
  - Works offline / when tokens are broken.
  - Keeps UI safe and predictable.

## Notes / Follow-ups for Phase 1

- Define the `findings` table indexes carefully for tenant-scoped filtering (status, type, scope_key, run_ids).
- Consider using existing observable run patterns (BulkOperationRun + AuditLogger) for drift generation jobs.
