SOP: ACU Lesson Plan Template Architecture

Standard Operating Procedure: ACU Lesson Plan Template Architecture & Deployment

Document ID: SOP-TR-ENG-409
Effective Date: October 24, 2023
Version: 3.2.0
Review Cadence: Semi-Annual
Owner: Julian Vance, Chief Architect, Template Registry

---

1. Executive Summary & Purpose

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) defines the institutional engineering standard for designing, validating, and deploying Australian Catholic University (ACU) compliant lesson plan templates within the Template Registry ecosystem. Adherence to this protocol ensures programmatic consistency, strict adherence to institutional pedagogy frameworks (e.g., Higher Education Standards Framework), and flawless downstream rendering across all Learning Management Systems (LMS).

---

2. Scope & Prerequisites

2.1 Scope

This document governs all digital and print lesson plan architecture bearing the ACU institutional identifier, managed via the Template Registry CI/CD pipeline.

2.2 Prerequisites & Tooling

• Access Control: Level 3 Write/Deploy permissions in the Template Registry repository.
• Software Stack:
  • VS Code (latest stable) with Jinja2 and Markdownlint extensions.
  • Pandoc (v3.1+) for multi-format document compilation.
  • Git CLI configured with institutional GPG signing.
• Compliance Frameworks: ACU Brand Guidelines v4.1, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA.

---

3. Roles & Responsibilities (RACI Matrix)

---

4. Step-by-Step Procedure

Phase 1: Schema Initialization & Environment Setup

• 1.1 Clone the master repository via terminal: git clone https://github.com/template-registry/acu-core.git
• 1.2 Checkout a new feature branch adhering to naming convention: git checkout -b feature/acu-lesson-plan-[version]
• 1.3 Verify local schema validator dependencies: npm install --prefix ./schemas

Phase 2: Template Structure & Metadata Encoding

• 2.1 Open schemas/acu-lesson-plan-base.json and verify root metadata parameters (institution: "ACU", framework: "higher-ed").
• 2.2 Inject mandatory ontological fields:

  {
    "learning_outcome_mapping": true,
    "accreditation_standard": "TEQSA_v2",
    "accessibility_compliant": "WCAG_2.1_AA"
  }
  

• 2.3 Construct the structural sections within the Markdown template wrapper (templates/acu_lesson_plan.j2):
  • Unit Code & Title Header
  • Graduate Attributes Matrix
  • Synchronous/Asynchronous Timetable Block
  • Formative/Summative Assessment Alignment

Phase 3: Validation, Compilation & Compliance Testing

• 3.1 Execute schema validation suite: npm run validate -- --template=acu_lesson_plan
• 3.2 Run automated accessibility sweep: npx pa11y-ci ./build/acu_lesson_plan.html
• 3.3 Compile test artifacts using Pandoc: pandoc templates/acu_lesson_plan.j2 -o build/test_output.pdf --pdf-engine=weasyprint

Phase 4: Staging Deployment & Pull Request

• 4.1 Commit validated changes with semantic message: git commit -m "feat(acu): update lesson plan schema to v3.2.0 [SOP-409]"
• 4.2 Push branch to remote and open a Pull Request targeting main.
• 4.3 Trigger automated CI/CD pipeline and verify 100% test coverage pass rate.

---

5. Quality Assurance & Pro-Tips

5.1 Pro-Tips & Best Practices

• Jinja Inheritance: Always extend from base_layout.j2 to inherit global ACU branding stylesheets dynamically.
• Accessibility First: Never hardcode contrast ratios; use CSS variables mapped directly to the ACU design token registry (--acu-primary-navy, --acu-accent-gold).
• Modular Timetables: Design the lesson block using flexible grid structures to support both block-mode and standard semester delivery models.

5.2 Common Pitfalls

• Metadata Drift: Failing to update the JSON schema version alongside the Jinja template will cause silent compilation failures in downstream LMS parsers.
• Hardcoded Fonts: Avoid utilizing local font files; rely exclusively on the institutional CDN links specified in the header partials.

5.3 Metric Thresholds

• Schema Validation: 0 errors on structural linting.
• Accessibility Score: 100% pass rate on WCAG 2.1 AA automated audits.
• Compilation Time: < 1.5 seconds per document instance.

---

6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What should I do if the automated CI/CD pipeline flags a WCAG contrast violation on the header block?
A: Do not adjust opacity manually. Pull the latest color tokens from the acu-design-tokens package and ensure the background uses --acu-primary-navy paired with white typography (#FFFFFF), which guarantees a 7:1 contrast ratio.

Q2: How are updates to ACU pedagogical frameworks propagated to existing instances?
A: Because templates reference the remote schema via a semantic version pointer (@v3.x), breaking structural changes require a major version bump. Existing instances remain pinned to their build-time schema version until explicitly migrated by the LMS Administrator.

---

Approved by: Julian Vance, Chief Architect