Impact Framework Project Updates 2024-07-10

## Who

Sponsor: @jawache (GSF)
Product owner: @jmcook1186 (GSF)
Leads: @navveenb (Accenture), @srini1978 (Microsoft)

## Overview

A great fortnight for IF - we completed our "trust" epic and started the "i/o" epic.
The final changes for the last epic included shipping `if-check` (thanks @manushak ) and integrating it into our CI/CD allowing us to check a large set of positive and negative test case manifests when we merge into our `release` branch as part of our automated testing (nice work @narekhovhannisyan ). We also made some necessary upgrades to our existing builtins, including adding some more robust validation that handles zeros more gracefully and avoids unnecessary panics. At the end of the epic we also did some substantial cleanup that included restructuring the IF repository so it's easier to work with as we add more features.

We also made a solid start on the new "i/o" epic, including deprecating our current CSV export features in favour of a dedicated script. This is part of a general move towards exhaust scripts that act independently of `if-run` - this is a simpler and greener flow as it means ytou can reformat outputs without havign to re-execute manifests. @narekhovhannisyan is also busy refactoring IF so that the execution of a manifest is separated into distinct phases that can be run independently, making IF more modular and greener.

We have also added more community plugins to the Explorer - the plugin ecosystem is growing!

## Updates

Here's the links to more details about the most significant changes made over the last fortnight.

- [`if-check`](https://github.com/Green-Software-Foundation/if/issues/638)
- [`if-csv`](https://github.com/Green-Software-Foundation/if/issues/784)
- [automated testing](https://github.com/Green-Software-Foundation/if/issues/621)
- improvements to plugins
- including making them [robust to zero values](https://github.com/Green-Software-Foundation/if/issues/850)
- [new manifest examples](https://github.com/Green-Software-Foundation/if/issues/800) and demo pipelines
- More plugins listed on the [Explorer website](https://explorer.if.greensoftware.foundation/)
- Some substantial repository cleanup at the end of the last epic, including restructuring the IF files to work better for our larger scope that includes more independent commands (`if-run`, `if-diff`, `if-csv`, `if-check`, `if-env`.

## Issues

We have had a great fortnight, with no notable blockers.

## Outlook

In the near future, we're focusing on the following features and initiatives:
- Exhaust scripts
- #781
- #782
- #784
- Phased execution - #809
- Revise the IF website to showcase the latest developments and promote community contributions.
- Identify and develop the missing components within the IF ecosystem to enable a comprehensive lifecycle assessment of the IF.