Case Collaboration Teams: Multi-User Investigation Workspaces

Overview#

When a counter-terrorism unit needs to bring together officers from three different agencies at short notice, the last thing anyone should be thinking about is access provisioning, folder structures, or who has the latest version of the briefing document. Case Collaboration Teams handles that overhead so investigators can focus on the investigation.

The module provides dedicated team workspace orchestration for complex investigations, enabling concurrent collaboration through team rooms, task distribution, secure file sharing, and integrated communication. It consolidates team coordination, resource management, permission hierarchies, and cross-jurisdictional collaboration into a single secure environment built for high-stakes investigations requiring seamless teamwork across organisational boundaries.

Key Features#

• Dedicated Team Workspaces: Secure, isolated environments for each investigation team with customisable layouts, role-based access controls, and complete data separation between teams
• Flexible Team Structures: Support teams from small two-person partnerships to large multi-agency task forces with dynamic membership, flexible hierarchy structures, and configurable roles
• Real-Time Presence Indicators: See who is working on what in real time, reducing duplication of effort and enabling spontaneous coordination between team members
• Task Routing and Assignment: Ensure work reaches the right investigator based on expertise, clearance level, current availability, and workload balance
• Integrated File Sharing: Share documents within team workspaces with version control, access logging, and conflict prevention to maintain a single source of truth
• Threaded Discussions: Maintain conversational context tied directly to case evidence, tasks, and decisions within the workspace, preserving the reasoning behind investigative choices
• Workload Dashboards: Real-time visibility into team workload, progress, blockers, and capacity for supervisors and team leads to manage resources effectively
• Cross-Organisational Collaboration: Securely collaborate with external agencies and partners while maintaining organisational data boundaries, access policies, and audit trails
• Team Templates: Pre-configured team structures for common investigation types that can be deployed quickly with appropriate roles, permissions, and workspace layouts
• Resource Allocation: Track and manage shared resources including personnel, equipment, and facilities across team workspaces

Use Cases#

Federal Law Enforcement Task Forces#

Multi-agency task forces coordinate investigations through shared workspaces that respect each agency's data access policies while enabling effective collaboration on joint cases. Team leads from each agency manage their own personnel while coordinating through a shared investigation workspace.

Financial Crimes Investigation Units#

Teams of investigators, analysts, and forensic accountants work together on complex fraud cases, sharing evidence, coordinating interviews, and building prosecution-ready case files within a unified workspace. Specialised roles ensure appropriate access to sensitive financial data.

Counter-Terrorism Operations#

Time-critical intelligence sharing and coordinated response activities are managed through secure team workspaces with strict access controls and real-time communication capabilities. Rapid team formation and dynamic membership support fluid operational requirements.

Corporate Security Teams#

Internal investigation teams coordinate across departments and geographic locations to manage incidents, conduct reviews, and produce reports within a controlled collaboration environment. Team workspaces maintain separation between concurrent investigations.

Training and Mentorship#

Experienced investigators mentor junior team members through shared workspaces where trainees can observe investigation techniques, contribute under supervision, and receive guided feedback on their work.

Workflows#

Team Formation and Onboarding#

1. A team lead creates a new workspace for an investigation, selecting a team template or configuring a custom structure
2. Roles and permissions are defined based on the investigation requirements and security classification
3. Team members are invited and receive access to relevant case materials based on their assigned role
4. Initial task assignments are distributed based on expertise, clearance, and availability
5. The team begins collaborating within the workspace using shared tools and communication channels

Investigation Coordination#

1. The team lead monitors progress through the workload dashboard and activity feeds
2. Tasks are created, assigned, and tracked with deadlines and priority levels
3. Team members update progress, share findings, and discuss approaches within threaded discussions
4. Tasks are reassigned or escalated as investigation priorities shift and new information emerges
5. Milestones and deliverables are tracked against investigation timelines with automated reminders

Team Restructuring#

1. As investigations evolve, the team lead adjusts membership by adding or removing team members
2. New members are onboarded with access to relevant workspace history and current assignments
3. Departing members' work is reassigned and their access is revoked with appropriate handoff documentation
4. All membership changes are recorded in the audit trail for accountability

Integration#

• Programmable API Access: Connect team workspaces with external systems for automated data sharing, workflow coordination, and team management
• Directory Services: Synchronise team membership, roles, clearance levels, and availability from organisational directories for efficient user management
• Communication Platforms: Integrate with existing communication tools for notification delivery and cross-platform collaboration support
• Case Management Systems: Link team workspaces with broader case management workflows for end-to-end investigation tracking and reporting

Open Standards#

• RFC 6455 (WebSocket Protocol): Real-time presence indicators, typing notifications, and workspace activity broadcasts are delivered over persistent WebSocket connections that follow RFC 6455, with bearer-token authentication on the handshake as required by the platform contract.
• GraphQL (June 2018 Specification): All workspace queries and mutations, task assignment, note threading, entity locking, and workload data, are exposed through a typed GraphQL API, enabling clients to request precisely the fields needed for their collaboration view.
• SCIM 2.0 (RFC 7643 / RFC 7644): Team membership, roles, and clearance levels are synchronised from organisational directories via a dedicated SCIM 2.0 provisioning integration, keeping workspace access current without manual user management.
• OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token (RFC 6750) / JWT (RFC 7519): Access to team workspaces is gated by RS256-signed JSON Web Tokens; the same bearer-token credential authorises both REST and WebSocket connections, enforcing per-tenant isolation.
• NIST RBAC Model (ANSI/INCITS 359): Role-based access control governs every read and write operation within team workspaces, Lead, Supervisor, Analyst, and External Agency roles each carry distinct permission sets enforced at the service layer.
• RFC 3161 (Trusted Timestamping): Case exports produced by collaboration teams carry RFC 3161 Time-Stamp Authority tokens, providing cryptographic proof of when shared evidence packages were finalised for chain-of-custody purposes.
• ISO 8601 (Date and Time Representation): All timestamps for presence events, task deadlines, membership changes, and audit entries are serialised in ISO 8601 / UTC format, ensuring consistent cross-jurisdictional time representation.

Last Reviewed: 2026-02-05 Last Updated: 2026-04-14