Release Notes — v1.8.0 (July 2026)

Release Summary

Version 1.8.0 delivers the Cowork GA governance refresh, adds Control 4.16 (Microsoft Scout Governance), and regenerates all canonical derived assets after integrating shared-doc wiring, cross-control links, monitor repairs, and authored-content overlays.

Verification date for this release train: 2026-07-10.

Highlights

Control 4.16 — Microsoft Scout Governance added in Pillar 4 with a Regulated overall governance tier and a full 4-playbook implementation set.
Control 4.15 — Copilot Cowork Governance refreshed for GA operating posture, with updated cross-control supervision and records-linking guidance.
Canonical counts regenerated and reconciled:
Controls: 64
Pillars: 16 / 17 / 15 / 16
Tier totals: Baseline 18, Recommended 33, Regulated 13
Playbooks: 272 total (253 control implementations + 19 cross-cutting)
Manifest and template regeneration completed across content graph, manifest, assessment data, and role-checklist workbooks (canonical + homework-linked roles; no placeholder .xlsx artifacts).
Monitor attribution/configuration repairs carried into this release baseline and reflected in regenerated outputs.

Data and Authoring Notes

Manifest TODO markers were re-measured during regeneration:
Baseline before regeneration: 211
Final after merge/rebuild: 208
Net delta: -3
One explicit Scout sector TODO remains by design for preview-era evidence limits.

Monitoring Operational Caveat

Newly added Scout Microsoft Learn URLs are seeded into monitor drift baselines by the first scheduled monitor run after this release.
If you need immediate deterministic baselines (for example, before the next scheduler window), intentionally refresh current monitor state first; otherwise expect first-run deltas.

Important Preview Caveat

Scout remains a Frontier preview capability and Cowork feature behavior can continue to evolve. This release documents the governance posture verified as of the date above; organizations should re-verify Microsoft documentation, policy surfaces, and evidence paths before relying on controls for production regulatory attestations.