Definition
Note: "Lifecycle" is reused as a pattern name across several independently defined AAOE specifications — the Engineering Lifecycle, the Discovery Lifecycle, the Specification Lifecycle, the Knowledge Lifecycle, and the Architectural Decision Lifecycle — but does not have a single standalone definition applicable to all of them. This entry is a candidate for future refinement.
Provisionally: a Lifecycle is the ordered sequence of governed states a specific kind of artifact or knowledge progresses through, from its origin to its retirement or supersession.
Why It Matters
Each AAOE Lifecycle defines states specific to what it governs — a Specification's lifecycle (Draft, Accepted, Revised, Superseded, Archived) is not the same shape as the Engineering Lifecycle (Architecture through Next Work Order). Readers should not assume one lifecycle's states apply to another.
Related Concepts
- Engineering Lifecycle
- Discovery Lifecycle
- Specification Lifecycle
- Knowledge Lifecycle
References
- OM-0001 — Engineering Lifecycle
- DISC-0001 — Discovery Lifecycle
- STD-0001 — Specification Lifecycle
- GV-0004 — Knowledge Lifecycle
- GV-0001 — Architectural Decision Lifecycle