KIT Lifecycle
| Status | Created | Post-History |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | 04-Apr-2024 | Initial contribution |
| Active | 07-Nov-2025 | Updated maturity level framework |
KIT Lifecycle Overview
The Tractus-X KIT ecosystem uses a comprehensive lifecycle framework to ensure quality, completeness, and real-world validation. KITs progress through distinct lifecycle stages: Sandbox, Incubating (with three sub-states), and Graduated.
Maturity Level Process
Each maturity level signals the quality, completeness, and proof that the use case solves specific business problems and provides value to all stakeholders. To advance between levels, developers must fulfill various criteria and complete mandatory artifacts and deliverables.
Detailed Maturity Levels
For more information look at the TRG 10.03 - KIT Lifeclycle documentation.
Sandbox Level
Purpose: Initial exploration and community validation
Sandbox is the entry point for new KIT ideas. At this stage, the focus is on establishing a clear vision, mission, and business value proposition. This level serves as a preview of potential business innovation and allows for community feedback and validation.
Key Characteristics:
- Conceptual phase with defined vision and scope
- Community interest validation
- Basic problem definition and domain identification
- Foundation for future development
- No standards a mandatory, just a clear business vision
- Technical implementation proposal can already be done
Incubating Level
Purpose: Active development with structured progression
Incubating represents the active development phase where KITs evolve from concept to functional implementation. This level includes three distinct sub-states that provide clear progression milestones:
Draft State
- Focus: Initial development and structure setup
- Activities: Basic artifact creation, initial documentation, architecture planning
- Deliverables: Core documentation framework, basic API specifications
In Progress State
- Focus: Active implementation and content development
- Activities: Full artifact development, implementation work, testing
- Deliverables: Complete documentation, working implementations, test cases
In Review State
- Focus: Quality assurance and community review
- Activities: Peer review, quality validation, compliance checking
- Deliverables: Reviewed and approved artifacts, feedback incorporation
Graduated Level
Purpose: Production-ready with proven real-world validation
Graduated is the highest maturity level, indicating that the KIT has passed comprehensive testing, expert validation, and real-world case studies. These KITs are production-ready and have demonstrated business value through community adoption.
Key Characteristics:
- All mandatory artifacts completed and validated
- Successful case study with community partner
- Expert testing and approval completed
- Proven business value and clear technical implementation
- Ready for operational deployment
- Assigned Code Owner
For more information look at the TRG 10.04 - KIT Graduation Process documentation.
Current KIT Portfolio by Lifecycle Stage
The following sections display all KITs organized by their current lifecycle stage, providing a comprehensive overview of the ecosystem's development status.
Graduated KITs
Production-ready KITs with proven business value through community validation
Incubating - In Review
KITs undergoing final quality assurance and community review
Incubating - In Progress
KITs in active development with ongoing implementation work
Incubating - Draft
KITs in initial development phase with basic structure setup
Sandbox KITs
Early-stage KITs focusing on concept validation and community feedback
Artifacts and Deliverables
This section provides an overview of required artifacts for each maturity level and incubating sub-state. For detailed examples and specifications, please refer to TRG 8.03 - KIT Framework.
Artifact Requirements by Maturity Level
- Mandatory
- * Optional/Recommended
- In Development
- Expert Review Needed
| Artifact / Stage | Sandbox | Incubating Draft | Incubating In Progress | Incubating In Review | Graduated | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Requirements | ||||||
| Changelog | Version history and updates, is mandatory for all lifecycles | |||||
| Code Owner | * | Required for graduation - how to configure see TRG 10.02 - KIT Content Structure and see also TRG 10.05 - KIT Graduation Process | ||||
| All Files | ||||||
| Notice | Legal and compliance notice in every file as described in TRG 07.07 and TRG 07.08 | |||||
| KIT Icon | SVG KIT icon stored at /static/img/kits/<kit-id>/<kit-id>-kit.svg as described in TRG 10.02 - KIT Content Structure | |||||
| Adoption View | ||||||
| Vision / Mission | Core foundation document, which describe why it makes sense and what is the goal of the KIT | |||||
| Business Value(s) | This is necessary to show if there is a clear business value for the KIT | |||||
| Use Case / Domain explanation | Explains the Use Case (What is its context) and how it works | |||||
| Business Processes | May not be relevant for Network Services | |||||
| Tutorials / Videos | * | * | Educational content | |||
| Whitepaper | * | * | Research and analysis document | |||
| Development View | ||||||
| Architecture Overview | * | System design and architecture diagrams that describe the system and its contexts. | ||||
| Component/Sequence Diagrams | * | Implementation details on the components and services from a KIT and how they interact with each other | ||||
| Standards | * | Industry standards compliance, if industry specific like (Catena-X e.V. standards) shall be referenced in the Industry Extension under the industry branch | ||||
| API-Specification / Protocols | * | Technical interface definitions, required for developing microservices | ||||
| Logic / Schema | * | Required for documenting the context, diagrams which specify the system that can be built with the KIT | ||||
| Semantic Models / Data Structures | Described the Data Models and Data Structures handled by applications based on this KIT | |||||
| Test Cases | * | Described test cases how to validate the functionality of this KIT | ||||
| Operation View | ||||||
| Deployment Guide | How to set the system and bring it up and running | |||||
| Operation/Monitoring Guidelines | Guidelines for operating and maintaining the KIT in production environments | |||||
| Security Guidelines | Security best practices, threat models, and security configurations | |||||
| Success Stories | ||||||
| Reference Implementations | * | COTS or Open Source implementations that used this KIT to build an application successfully, showing clear adoption paths and demonstrating the value of the KIT | ||||
| Documentation | ||||||
| Extra Documentation / Links | * | * | * | * | A KIT can include additional documenation or links if is relevant for the users of the KIT | |
| Sample Data | * | Example datasets from this KIT to help users understand and implement the datamodels effectively at the systems | ||||
| Industry Extensions | ||||||
| At least one Industry Extension | * | Required for graduation - at least one industry extension with industrial standards compliance - see TRG 10.02 - Industry Extensions | ||||
Incubating Sub-State Progression
Draft → In Progress:
- Complete basic artifact framework
- Establish development methodology
- Initial community feedback integration
In Progress → In Review:
- All mandatory artifacts completed
- Implementation testing completed
- Documentation review ready
- Have a clear code owner assigned
In Review → Graduated:
- Pass community review process
- Complete successful case study (success story)
- Expert validation and approval
Graduation Stage
How to graduate a KIT? Graduation is the highest quality level to achieve, all the artifacts in the table above should be completed. It has passed expert testing and been approved. Thereafter, please follow the next steps in how to graduate a KIT.
- View the TRG 10.04 - KIT Graduation Process documentation for detailed graduation requirements and process.
KIT Deprecation
- View the TRG 10.05 - KIT Deprecation Process documentation for deprecation criteria and procedures.
Currently Deprecated KITs
Deprecated KITs (1)
These KITs are no longer maintained and should not be used for new implementations.
Additional Resources
KIT Documentation
- KIT Framework - Complete guide to KIT structure, artifacts, and requirements
- KIT Getting Started - How to create a KIT
- KIT Master Data Overview - Complete KIT metadata, statistics, and data structure
- KIT Statistics - Analytics dashboard for KIT ecosystem metrics
Documentation References
KIT-Specific TRGs (Tractus-X Release Guidelines)
- TRG 10.01 - KIT Architecture - KIT framework categories and classification
- TRG 10.02 - KIT Content Structure - Required content and structure
- TRG 10.03 - KIT Lifecycle - Maturity levels and lifecycle management
- TRG 10.04 - KIT Graduation Process - Graduation requirements and process
- TRG 10.05 - KIT Deprecation Process - Deprecation criteria and procedures
Legal & Licensing
- TRG 7.07 - Legal notice for non-code - Image and media licensing requirements
- TRG 7.08 - Legal notice for KIT documentation (CC-BY-4.0) - Documentation licensing