CONOPS
The CONOPS (Concept of Operations) describes how the system is intended to be used: who the operators are, what tasks they perform, what scenarios the system supports, and what success looks like. It is usually the first formal artifact a project produces.
In Ngenaire a CONOPS is a single document made up of ordered sections. You author rich text, embed images, mint traceable annotations, and export the whole thing to PDF.
Location:
/system-definition/conops(sidebar: Define → CONOPS).
What a CONOPS contains
- Sections — an ordered outline you can add to, rename, reorder, and delete. Each section has a rich-text body.
- Inline images — diagrams, screenshots, and photos embedded directly in a section's text.
- CONOPS objects — highlighted spans of text promoted into coded, traceable annotations that can link to requirements.
- Lists of Figures and Images — auto-collected from the inline images.
Walkthrough
1. Open the CONOPS
In the sidebar click Define → CONOPS. The page lists existing CONOPS documents for the project. Click an entry to edit it, or create a new one.
2. Build the section outline
Add the sections your project needs — for example Purpose and scope, Stakeholders, Operational environment, Operational modes, Scenarios, and Constraints and assumptions. You can reorder, rename, or remove any section. Edits save as you work.
3. Generate a section with AI
For any section, use Generate with AI to have the AI Assistant draft an initial version — operational scenarios, assumptions, stakeholder concerns, and modes — based on the project's name, description, and existing artifacts. Review and edit the draft before relying on it.
4. Embed inline images
While editing a section, use Insert image to upload a diagram, screenshot, or photo (PNG, JPEG, WEBP, GIF, or SVG). The image is placed at your cursor and renders inline both on screen and in the exported PDF. Uploaded images are stored securely and served through signed URLs, so they appear correctly in the same-origin export.
Images are indexed automatically:
- An image with caption text (Markdown alt text, e.g.
) is listed under List of Figures. - An image without a caption (
) is listed under List of Images.
Both lists appear under the Table of Contents — in the on-screen outline panel (each entry scrolls to its image) and in the exported PDF — and each is shown only when it has entries.
5. Create CONOPS objects from highlighted text
Select a phrase in a section and promote it to a CONOPS object — a coded, traceable annotation with its own object code. Give it a type/label and optionally link requirements. The highlighted span is marked in the text; click it later to edit or delete the object. Objects that link requirements become traceable nodes, so you can see in the Network View which parts of the CONOPS narrative drive which requirements.
6. Export
Use Export to download the CONOPS as a PDF. The export carries the section content, inline images, and the auto-collected Lists of Figures and Images.
Tips
- Keep scenarios concrete. A scenario should name the actors, the environment, and the sequence of operator actions. Vague scenarios produce vague requirements.
- Mint objects for anything traceable. When a sentence states a stakeholder need or an operational constraint that a requirement should satisfy, highlight it and link the requirement so the trace is explicit.
- Iterate. A CONOPS is a working document — update it as the design and scenarios evolve.