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Ataytis Assurance · Goal Structuring Notation

Goal Structuring Notation

What the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) diagram type draws, what it checks and does not assess, the standards that describe it, and its defaults.

What it draws

Goal Structuring Notation draws a structured argument, such as a safety case, a security or compliance case, or any other claim that needs evidence behind it: the claims being made (goals), how each is broken down (strategies), the solutions that reference the evidence supporting them, and the context, assumptions and justifications they rely on. It reads top to bottom, from the top goal down to its solutions, with context set beside the element it qualifies.

It also draws the modular extension of the standard, with modules, contracts and away elements, and the dialectic extension, where one element challenges another.

What it checks, and what it does not

The argument's structure is checked against the connections the GSN Community Standard permits, and the decorator marks against the rules the standard gives for them. Nothing is calculated, and the argument's confidence or sufficiency is not assessed. Status and Health are shown as your data supplies them.

Standards

The default profile is designed with reference to the GSN Community Standard v3. A goal structure is also a way to set out the assurance case or safety case described in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026-2:2022, UL 4600, ISO 26262-10:2018 and EN 50126-2:2017. Notation standards lists what each one covers.

Defaults

SettingDefault
Notation profileGSN Community Standard v3. Custom is also available.
OrientationTop to bottom. Every orientation is available.
Connected node is read asThe element this row leads to: what supports it, or what puts it in context
Required mappingsNode ID, Node type and Relationship type
Node type when the cell is blankGoal
Relationship type when the cell is blankSupportedBy
Identifier drawn on each elementThe Node ID, unless an Identifier column is mapped
Summary stripOff. When turned on, it counts goals and solutions by Status.

In this section

Preparing GSN dataOne row per connection, the columns, and a complete example.GSN elements and relationshipsEvery element type, the connections the standard permits, choices and challenges.GSN decoratorsUndeveloped, public, choice and the other marks, written in one column.Reading a goal structureLayout, notation profiles, the summary strip, the Node Inspector and focus.GSN validationRules, messages and fixes.
Goal Structuring Notation — Ataytis Assurance | AtaytisTech