# Engineering and Security Checklist - Form 22-0976 Application for Approval of a Program in a Foreign Country

## Engineering Checklist

### Product Description

Implementation of VA Form 22-0976 (Application for Approval of a Program
in a Foreign Country) as a digital form on VA.gov. This form allows
School Certifying Officials to submit applications digitally for VA
approval of foreign educational programs, replacing the current manual
PDF process.

**Motivation:** Streamline the foreign program approval submission
process, provide better tracking and validation, and reduce manual
processing overhead for the Federal Approvals team.

**Collaboration Cycle Request:** \[Link to GitHub issue\]

### UX Design Description

-   Digital form interface for School Certifying Officials

-   Multi-step form with sections for general information, degree
    programs, certifications, medical school info (if applicable), and
    contacts

-   Confirmation screen upon successful submission

\[Link to Figma design\]

**Engineering Challenges:** Form validation for complex institutional
and program data, handling multiple application types
(initial/reapproval/new programs/update), international address
validation, medical school specific requirements, multiple degree
program entries, branch campus handling.

### Frontend Changes

**New Function:** Complete new form implementation for 22-0976

**Design System Components:** Leverages existing VA.gov form components

**Shared Code:** No changes to shared frontend code

**Analytics:** Standard form event tracking with GA, error monitoring
via existing VA.gov analytics

**Error Detection:** Frontend validation errors, submission failures
tracked via Datadog

### Backend Changes

**Infrastructure Dependencies:** Uses existing education benefits
infrastructure

**New Connections:** None - leverages existing VA.gov backend systems

**API Polling:** Not required

**Error Handling:** Standard form validation, database error handling

**Shared Code:** No changes to shared backend code

**Logging:** Form submission events, PDF generation status

**User-uploaded Data:** No user file uploads

**Temporary Files:** PDF files temporarily generated during processing,
automatically cleaned up after delivery to FE

### Internal API Changes

**New APIs:** (modified to add new form) POST
/v0/education_benefits_claims/22-0976

**Deprecations:** None

**Documentation:** Standard VA.gov API documentation patterns

**Call Patterns:** Single submission per application, low volume
expected

**Rate Limiting:** Standard VA.gov rate limiting applies

**Third Party Integrations:** None

**Scheduled Jobs:** No new batch jobs required

**Schema Validation:** Uses vets-json-schema validation

### External API Changes

**External APIs:** None

**PII/PHI Transmission:** No PII/PHI transmitted externally

### Background Jobs

**Background Processing:** PDF generation

**Error Handling:** Standard Rails job error handling

### Data Storage

**Database Changes:** Uses existing education benefits claims table
structure

**Indexes:** Leverages existing indexes

**PII/PHI:** Contains institutional contact information (names, email
addresses, signatures) - not veteran PII/PHI

**Data Volume:** Low volume - estimated \<500 submissions annually

**Database Impact:** Minimal impact on existing systems

**Data Expiration:** Standard VA.gov data retention policies apply

**Cleanup:** Temporary PDF files cleaned up immediately after FE
delivery

### Libraries and Dependencies

**New Dependencies:** None - uses existing VA.gov technology stack

**Updated Dependencies:** None required

### Metrics, Logging, Observability, Alerting

**Key Monitoring Areas:** Form submission success/failure, PDF
generation

**Custom Metrics:** None beyond standard form metrics

**Sensitive Data:** No sensitive data in logs

**Alerting:** Uses existing Datadog education benefits monitoring

### Infrastructure and Network Changes

**Changes:** None - uses existing VA.gov infrastructure

### Test Strategy

**Automated Tests:** Unit tests, integration tests for controller and
form validation

**Front End:** E2E cypress testing with platform\'s form tester utility,
a keyboard only cypress test, and unit testing in excess of 80% coverage
goal

**Manual Testing:** Form submission workflows, PDF generation, multiple
program entries, medical school specific fields

**UAT:** Testing with sample institutional and program data

**Test Data:** Sample institution data, test facility codes, multiple
degree programs, branch campus scenarios

### Rollout Plan

**Feature Flags:** Every form uses a boolean in the content-build repo
registry.json file to turn on the form in prod/turn it off. We would
have to make another PR for this repo and get it approved by platform to
flip this \"toggle\".

**Team Coordination:** FE and BE

**Rollback Plan:** Feature flag disable

### Internal Administration Tasks

**Maintenance Tasks:** Standard VA.gov database maintenance, submissions
monitoring

**Administration Method:** Existing VA.gov administrative interfaces and
Datadog monitoring

## Security Checklist

### Problem Statement

Form 22-0976 digitizes the foreign program approval application
submission process, allowing School Certifying Officials to generate
applications digitally rather than manually completing PDFs, improving
security and tracking.

### Monitoring Plan

**Code Base Compromise Detection:** Datadog monitoring, abnormal traffic
pattern detection

**Disabling Process:** Feature flag capability

**Process Execution:** Runs within existing education benefits
infrastructure with standard authentication

**Process Isolation:** Standard VA.gov application isolation

**Additional Credentials:** Uses existing VA.gov service credentials

### Release Plan

\[Link to detailed release plan with completed Planning sections\]

### Endpoint Security

**New Endpoints:** (modified) POST /v0/education_benefits_claims/22-0976

**Abuse Scenarios:**

-   Form spam submissions (mitigated by rate limiting)

-   Invalid data submission (mitigated by input validation)

-   PDF generation abuse (mitigated by submissions rate limiting)

-   Malicious program data entry (mitigated by input validation and
    sanitization)

**Mitigation:** Standard VA.gov security controls, input validation,
rate limiting

### Logging Data

**New Logging:** Form submission events, PDF generation status

**Data Captured:** Institution identifiers, submission timestamps,
application type

**Storage:** Standard VA.gov logging infrastructure

### Personal Information

**PII/PHI:** Contains institutional contact information (names, email
addresses, signatures of school officials) - not veteran PII/PHI

**Encryption:** Standard VA.gov database encryption

**Data Scrubbing:** Standard data retention and cleanup policies apply

### Cookies

**Cookie Usage:** Uses existing VA.gov session management

**New Cookies:** None

**Modified Cookies:** None

### Authentication

**Authentication Status:** Institutional login optional

### Additional Focus Areas

-   PDF generation security and temporary file handling

-   Facility code verification and validation

-   International address validation

-   Digital signature handling for authorizing officials

-   Multiple degree program entry validation

## Artifacts

### Architecture Diagram

![Diagram AI-generated content may be
incorrect.](./image1.png){width="6.0in"
height="4.299305555555556in"}

### Security Approach

-   Leverages existing VA.gov security model

-   Standard authentication and authorization

-   Encrypted data storage

-   Input validation and sanitization

### Incident Response Plan

**Primary Contact:** VEBT team

**Slack Channels:** #vfep-developer-support

**Security Timeline:** Standard VA.gov security patch process

**Dashboards:** Education Benefits Claims Datadog dashboard

### Sequence Diagram

![Diagram AI-generated content may be
incorrect.](./image2.png){width="6.95415791776028in"
height="3.7636165791776026in"}

### Data Flow Diagram

![Diagram AI-generated content may be
incorrect.](./image3.png){width="7.267221128608924in"
height="3.200437445319335in"}

### API Documentation

-   Standard VA.gov API documentation

-   Endpoint: POST /v0/education_benefits_claims/22-0976

-   Uses existing education benefits claims controller pattern

### Product Links

**Release Plan:** \[Link\]

**Product Outline:** \[Link to GitHub product outline\]

**Incident Response:** Included in product outline

**Product Playbook:** \[Link\]