Worked example

The life of one Intent

One statement-of-work request, followed end-to-end: decision → sourcing → contract → signature → committed spend → audit. The same Intent ID rides every hop, so months later one query still explains the whole engagement.

01 · Decision
A manager asks for an outcome, not headcount

Lena Brandt, platform lead in the EMEA services program, needs the EU reporting warehouse migrated before the Q4 close — fixed scope, roughly twelve weeks. Triage diagnoses the request instead of routing it straight to a requisition form.

What Triage concluded

work_type service · channel SoW (confidence 0.87) · risk medium. Contingent labour was considered and rejected: the ask is a deliverable with acceptance criteria, not a seat to fill. That reasoning is captured — not lost in a hallway conversation.

The Compliance File

Request summary, classification rationale and confidence, constraints and assumptions, alternates considered, required approvals — bundled and referenced from the Intent Record at df://emea-services/itn_Vq3kX9mR2d/v2. It travels with the decision into every downstream system.

02 · Intent Record
The decision becomes a portable asset

v1 was minted straight from Triage output. Mapping preflight for the Coupa step found one gap — cost_center_id is mandatory there — so composerID raised an enrichment request back to Lena instead of failing the publish. Her answer produced v2. No reject/resubmit loop, no re-keying.

{ "intent_id": "itn_Vq3kX9mR2d", "intent_version": 2, "program_id": "emea-services", "created_at": "2025-06-02T09:14:22Z", "work_type": "service", "channel_recommendation": "sow", "confidence": 0.87, "risk_posture": "medium", "constraints": { "location": { "country": "DE", "remote": "hybrid" }, "start_date": "2025-07-07", "duration_weeks": 12, "budget": { "cap": 150000, "currency": "EUR" } }, "stakeholders": { "requestor": "l.brandt", "business_owner": "l.brandt", "cost_center_id": "CC-4417" }, "defence_file_ref": "df://emea-services/itn_Vq3kX9mR2d/v2", "current_state": "published" }
03 · Channel Execution Plan
Four destinations, one deterministic plan

The Channel Registry resolves the SoW channel for this program into an ordered destination chain. Each step carries its own mapping profile and idempotency key — swap Coupa for SAP Ariba by swapping a mapping profile; the Intent Record doesn't change.

StepStageDestinationObjectIdempotency key
1Competitive sourcingGlobalitySourcing eventitn_Vq3kX9mR2d-2-globality
2ContractIroncladSoW workflow + recorditn_Vq3kX9mR2d-2-ironclad
3Execution & evidenceDocuSignEnvelopeitn_Vq3kX9mR2d-2-docusign
4Committed spendCoupaRequisition → POitn_Vq3kX9mR2d-2-coupa
04 · Publish log
External IDs, captured and correlated

Every create/update is keyed, logged, and written back. Each destination object also carries the Intent ID — a custom field, a workflow property, an envelope field — so correlation survives outside composerID too.

When (2025)DestinationExternal objectIntent ID carried asStatus
Jun 08GlobalityGLB-EVT-88412event referencecreated
Jun 15Globalityaward → Meridian Data Partnersawarded
Jun 16IroncladWF-2419 · RCD-99871 (Statement of Work)workflow property intentIdlaunched
Jun 17DocuSignenvelope 9f2c1e77-…textCustomField intent_idsent
Jun 19DocuSigncertificate of completioncompleted
Jun 22CoupaREQ-55208 → PO CPO-104233custom field intent-idPO issued · €144,000
05 · Back-sync & drift
The record stays truthful after go-live

Webhooks feed the intent timeline from every destination. In August, a €4,200 change order was keyed directly into the Coupa PO — human-in-the-loop drift. Reconciliation caught the delta between the destination and the last-published intent; program policy said require re-approval, not silently accept.

When (2025)EventDetail
Jul 07delivery_startedMeridian mobilised; fixed-scope milestones, no timesheets
Aug 14drift_detecteddrift  PO amount 144,000 → 148,200 (edited in Coupa)
Aug 15reapproved · override_eventBusiness owner approved the change order; intent → v3
Oct 02invoices_matched€148,200 settled against CPO-104233
Oct 02closedTimeline sealed — decision to reconciliation, one key

Any republish after the change order uses v3 keys (…-3-coupa); retries of stale v2 keys stay inert by design.

06 · The audit answer
“Why did we spend €148k with Meridian?”

Months on, finance asks the question every program eventually gets. Without a spine, the answer is archaeology across five systems. Here, it's one query by Intent ID.

For the exec

No orphan spend. Every euro traces to a scored, defensible decision — with the alternates considered on record.

For procurement & HR

One front door, enrichment instead of rejection loops, and the same request experience whichever systems sit underneath.

For the CTO

Deterministic keys, mapping-profile portability, evidence propagation. Integration as policy, not as projects.

One query returns
Compliance File (rationale & alternates) · Globality event + award · Ironclad SoW record · signed DocuSign envelope + certificate · Coupa REQ / PO / invoices · the drift event and its re-approval — every hop timestamped against itn_Vq3kX9mR2d.

All identifiers, parties and amounts on this page are illustrative.