Quality Requirements

Quality goals, scenarios, and measures for the Connected Trade Network

Quality Goals Overview

The Connected Trade Network must meet stringent quality requirements to ensure secure, reliable, and efficient operations in the container transport ecosystem.

Top 5 Quality Goals

Priority	Quality Goal	Description	Key Metric
1	Security	Zero-trust data access control	No unauthorized access incidents
2	Performance	Fast response times for real-time operations	API response <500ms (P95)
3	Reliability	Consistent availability for transport operations	99.9% uptime
4	Scalability	Handle growing network participants	Support 10,000+ active parties
5	Interoperability	Seamless integration with diverse systems	100% standards compliance

Quality Tree

Connected Trade Network Quality
├── Security
│   ├── Authentication (OAuth 2.0, mTLS)
│   ├── Authorisation (VAD validated locally at the data provider)
│   ├── Encryption (TLS 1.3, AES-256)
│   └── Audit (Complete trail)
│
├── Performance
│   ├── Response Time (<500ms P95)
│   ├── Throughput (1000 req/s)
│   ├── Token Generation (<100ms)
│   └── Cache Hit Ratio (>90%)
│
├── Reliability
│   ├── Availability (99.9%)
│   ├── Fault Tolerance (Multi-region)
│   ├── Recovery (RTO 1hr, RPO 15min)
│   └── Data Integrity (ACID)
│
├── Scalability
│   ├── Horizontal (Auto-scaling)
│   ├── Data Volume (Millions of records)
│   ├── Concurrent Users (10,000+)
│   └── Event Processing (10K/s)
│
└── Usability
    ├── API Design (REST/OpenAPI)
    ├── Documentation (Comprehensive)
    ├── Error Messages (Clear)
    └── Integration (SDK/Examples)

Quality Scenarios

Security Scenarios

SC-1: Unauthorized Access Attempt

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Attacker attempts to access container data without valid tokens
Source	External malicious actor
Environment	Production system under normal load
Response	System denies access, logs attempt, alerts security team
Measure	100% of unauthorized attempts blocked within 50ms

SC-2: Token Forgery

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Forged VAD token presented for data access
Source	Compromised party system
Environment	Production API gateway
Response	Token signature validation fails (JWKS mismatch), access denied
Measure	Forged tokens detected in <10ms with 100% accuracy

SC-3: Data Breach Prevention

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	SQL injection attempt on the ASR API
Source	External attacker
Environment	Public-facing API
Response	Input sanitization prevents injection, attempt logged
Measure	Zero successful injection attacks

Performance Scenarios

PE-1: Peak Load Handling

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	5000 concurrent API requests during port congestion
Source	Multiple transport parties
Environment	Production system, business hours
Response	System scales automatically, maintains response times
Measure	P95 response time <500ms, P99 <1000ms

PE-2: Bulk Participant Onboarding

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Excel file with 200 participants uploaded
Source	Association administrator
Environment	Normal system load
Response	File processed, participants onboarded, notifications sent
Measure	Complete processing within 5 minutes

PE-3: Token Generation Load

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	1000 simultaneous VAD token requests
Source	Participants at shift change
Environment	Peak morning hours
Response	Tokens generated without queuing
Measure	All tokens generated within 100ms

Reliability Scenarios

RE-1: Database Failure

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Primary PostgreSQL instance fails
Source	Hardware failure
Environment	Production operations
Response	Automatic failover to replica, cache serves reads
Measure	Service restored within 60 seconds, zero data loss

RE-2: Region Outage

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Complete West Europe region outage
Source	Major datacenter incident
Environment	Active transport operations
Response	Traffic routed to North Europe, degraded mode activated
Measure	Service available within 5 minutes, core functions maintained

RE-3: Event Grid Failure

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Event Grid service becomes unavailable
Source	Azure service issue
Environment	Normal operations
Response	Events queued locally, batch delivery when restored
Measure	No events lost, delivery delay <15 minutes

Scalability Scenarios

SA-1: Network Growth

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Network grows from 1000 to 10000 active participants
Source	Business expansion
Environment	Production over 6 months
Response	System scales infrastructure automatically
Measure	Performance maintained, no degradation

SA-2: Data Volume Increase

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	Participant, endpoint and audit records grow to 10 million
Source	Accumulated network activity
Environment	Production database
Response	Partitioning activated, archival process engaged
Measure	Query performance <100ms maintained

SA-3: Event Storm

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	50000 events generated in 1 minute
Source	Major port system update
Environment	Event processing system
Response	Events buffered, processed in priority order
Measure	All events processed within 5 minutes

Usability Scenarios

US-1: API Integration

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	New developer integrates with CTN API
Source	Third-party system developer
Environment	Development environment
Response	Developer uses documentation and SDK
Measure	Working integration within 2 days

US-2: Error Resolution

Aspect	Description
Stimulus	API returns validation error
Source	Client application
Environment	Production API
Response	Clear error message with resolution guidance
Measure	Issue resolved without support in 90% of cases

Performance Requirements

Response Time Requirements

Operation	Target (P50)	Target (P95)	Target (P99)	Current
Token Validation	20ms	50ms	100ms	35ms
Participant Lookup	30ms	100ms	200ms	85ms
Authorization Decision	50ms	150ms	300ms	120ms
Endpoint Registration	200ms	500ms	1000ms	420ms
Bulk Onboarding (per participant)	100ms	300ms	500ms	250ms
Event Delivery	200ms	1000ms	2000ms	750ms

Throughput Requirements

Component	Requirement	Current Capacity	Headroom
API Gateway	5000 req/s	8000 req/s	60%
Token Generation	1000/s	1500/s	50%
Event Processing	10000/s	15000/s	50%
Database Writes	500/s	800/s	60%
Cache Operations	50000/s	75000/s	50%

Resource Utilization Targets

Resource	Normal	Peak	Alert	Critical
CPU	40%	70%	80%	90%
Memory	50%	75%	85%	95%
Disk I/O	30%	60%	75%	90%
Network	40%	70%	80%	95%
Queue Depth	100	1000	5000	10000

Reliability Requirements

Availability Targets

Service Level	Target	Measurement Period	Allowed Downtime
Core Services	99.9%	Monthly	43 minutes
API Gateway	99.95%	Monthly	22 minutes
Data Access	99.9%	Monthly	43 minutes
Event Delivery	99.5%	Monthly	3.6 hours
Portal Access	99.0%	Monthly	7.2 hours

Failure Recovery

Scenario	RTO	RPO	Method
Service Crash	30 seconds	0	Auto-restart
Database Failure	1 minute	0	Replica failover
Cache Failure	5 minutes	N/A	Rebuild from DB
Region Failure	15 minutes	15 minutes	Cross-region failover
Complete Disaster	1 hour	15 minutes	Full restoration

Security Requirements

Authentication & Authorization

Requirement	Implementation	Validation
Multi-factor authentication	Keycloak MFA (enforced on admin surfaces)	Audit logs
Token expiration	Short-lived VAD (1 hour)	Token validation
Privilege escalation prevention	Role-based access control	Penetration testing
API rate limiting	1000 requests/minute per client	API Management

Encryption Standards

Data State	Standard	Key Management
In Transit	TLS 1.3 minimum	Managed certificates
At Rest	AES-256-GCM	Azure Key Vault
Tokens	RS256 signing	HSM-backed keys
Backups	AES-256	Azure managed

Compliance Requirements

Standard	Requirement	Evidence
GDPR	Data protection, right to erasure	Audit trails, data retention policies
SOC 2 Type II	Security controls	Annual audit report
ISO 27001	Information security management	Certification
NIS2 Directive	Cybersecurity measures	Compliance report

Monitoring and Alerting

SLA Monitoring

Metrics:
  - name: api_availability
    target: 99.9%
    window: 5m
    alert: below 99.5%

  - name: response_time_p95
    target: 500ms
    window: 1m
    alert: above 750ms

  - name: error_rate
    target: <1%
    window: 5m
    alert: above 2%

  - name: token_generation_success
    target: 99.9%
    window: 5m
    alert: below 99%

Alert Priority Matrix

Severity	Response Time	Examples
Critical	15 minutes	System down, data breach, total failure
High	1 hour	Performance degradation, partial outage
Medium	4 hours	Non-critical errors, high latency
Low	Next business day	Minor issues, documentation

Testing Requirements

Test Coverage Targets

Test Type	Coverage Target	Current	Gap
Unit Tests	80%	75%	5%
Integration Tests	70%	65%	5%
API Tests	100%	95%	5%
Security Tests	100% critical paths	90%	10%
Performance Tests	All key scenarios	80%	20%

Load Testing Scenarios

Scenario	Users	Duration	Success Criteria
Normal Load	1000	2 hours	<500ms P95
Peak Load	5000	30 minutes	<1000ms P95
Stress Test	10000	15 minutes	No crashes
Endurance	2000	24 hours	Stable performance

Quality Assurance Process

Code Quality Gates

Pull Request Checks:
  - Code Coverage: minimum 80%
  - Security Scan: no high/critical issues
  - Code Review: 2 approvals required
  - Build Success: all targets
  - Test Success: all tests passing
  - Performance: no regression >10%

Deployment Quality Checks

1. Pre-deployment: Automated tests, security scan
2. Deployment: Blue-green deployment, health checks
3. Post-deployment: Smoke tests, monitoring validation
4. Rollback Criteria: Error rate >5%, response time >2x

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These quality requirements ensure the Connected Trade Network meets operational excellence standards.