Encouraging-not-daunting UI design DNA for every AJ-owned product
AJ explicitly rejected the R-Plan v1 admin/planner UI (2026-05-04) — technically correct (proper WBS, RLS, CPM, audit) but UX-hostile. Internal architecture (SAP codes, L1/L2/L3, FS/SS/FF/SF, curve method, constraint type, float, EV) leaked into the user’s face. Adoption dies at the first form.
Bar: A person who has never used the product completes their first real task in <90 seconds, with zero help text consulted, and leaves feeling encouraged — not interrogated, not lost, not punished.
8 rules (apply to every user-facing surface in R-Plan, R-Dash, R-TaskFlow, future R-* products):
- Encouraging color, never punitive. Default state is neutral or positive (slate / soft green / sky-blue). Red appears ONLY on confirmed problems with clear remediation copy. Never red-as-default; never red on empty/pristine state.
- Three statuses, big icons, zero jargon. 🟢 On Track / 🟡 Watch / 🔴 Behind / ✓ Done / 🔵 Planned. No “float”, “variance %”, “EV” in the default surface. Power-users opt into numbers via “Advanced” toggle.
- Minimum screens, maximum coverage. Every workflow lives on ONE primary screen — outline + inline-edit + status strip. No “go to settings → set up calendar → come back → create project.”
- Inline edit, never modal forms. Click a row, fields appear, click out, saved. No submit buttons. No “open form, fill 9 fields, submit, redirect.”
- Hide architecture. SAP codes auto-generated. WBS levels = outline indent (Tab/Shift-Tab). Dependencies = drag a line. Calendars = sane default. Curve methods = “linear” hidden default.
- Encouraging copy, never blaming. Empty state: “Let’s add your first phase” — not “No phases configured”. Validation error: “Project codes use letters, numbers, and dashes — try
tower-8” — not “RPLAN-VALIDATION: regex pattern not matched”. - Defaults so good 95% of users never change them. If a field has a default that’s right most of the time, hide the field. Expose only when the user signals power-mode.
- The 90-second test gates every release. Telemetry instruments this from day one. Fail the bar → fix before shipping.
Reference implementation: R-Plan Wave 7 (commit c96c4b0) — apps/web/src/components/outline/ (StatusPill + OutlineTree + OutlinePhaseSection + OutlineTaskRow + AddPhaseRow + AddTaskRow) and apps/web/src/lib/actions/outline*.ts (single-round-trip read aggregation + auto-creating WBS chain on quick-add). Internal feedback file: feedback_design_philosophy_encouraging.md in aj-workspace memory.
Overrides PMI/SAP/enterprise-software conventions everywhere they conflict. When in doubt: simpler, friendlier, fewer fields, bigger defaults.