WF / SOP / WS / CHK / REF Document Architecture

framework

Core idea

Five document types, each doing one job, with a prefix and a sequential number. Every stage of an investigation gets the same four working documents plus a shared reference shelf, so an investigator, a supervisor, and a reviewer can all locate the same artifact from its identifier alone.

Components

Prefix	Document type	Job
WF	Operational Workflow	One-page visual roadmap of the stage. Read first, to see the sequence before starting.
SOP	Standard Operating Procedure	Step-by-step guidance: purpose, scope, procedure, documentation requirements, quality considerations, common pitfalls. Read before touching the worksheet.
WS	Operational Worksheet	The working document. Where observations, evidence, analytical findings, and notes actually get recorded.
CHK	Operational Checklist	Quality assurance. Confirms documentation is complete, steps were performed, findings are recorded, and the case can advance.
REF	Operational Reference	Quick-reference material consulted mid-investigation. Matrices, format guides, directories, glossary.

Numbering is prefix plus a sequential number tied to the stage: SOP-006 is the sixth SOP. A stage’s four documents share the number, so WF-003, SOP-003, WS-003, and CHK-003 are one set.
Sequence within a stage: review the WF, follow the SOP, complete the WS, verify with the CHK, consult REF as needed, then advance.
Revision control: each document carries a version number, revision date, and summary of changes. Organisations can extend this with reviewer names and approval dates.

When to use

When you are standing up a case-file template or a team’s casework system and need the artifact taxonomy before the content. It is also the fix for the common failure where procedure, working notes, and quality checks all live in one sprawling document nobody can review.

Avoid when

The architecture is a filing convention, not a methodology. Five well-named documents per stage do nothing for a case whose analysis is wrong. Consistency of application is what makes it pay off; a half-adopted naming scheme is worse than none, because identifiers stop being predictable.

Example

An investigator picking up a colleague’s wallet-analysis handover knows without asking that SOP-003 tells them how the review was supposed to be done, WS-003 holds what was actually found, and CHK-003 says whether it was signed off. The same numbers appear in the report’s methodology section.

The Six Operational Phases of the Cryptocurrency Investigation Methodology · Obsidian Case-Management Workflow · The Analysis Standard: Four-Block Write-Up · Handover Reports Must Be Replicable · Preserve the Analysis, Not Just the Finding