alumni_lookup

Phase 13 — Progressive Dashboard & Engagement Tiers

Canonical sources: Portal philosophy, posture, and language live in /docs/planning/champion-portal/source/README.md. Use these sources (including CHRIST_CENTERED__IDENTITY_STATEMENT.md) when writing specs or user-facing copy. Prefer quoting/paraphrasing over inventing new language.

Status: ✅ Complete (all sub-phases 13.1–13.8 implemented, root route switched to /home) Completed: February 26, 2026 Tests: 3856 total suite, 0 failures, 0 errors

Phase Completion Summary

Root Route Switch (Final step)

Dashboard Design Refinements (Final polish)

Completion Summary — Sub-Phases 13.1 + 13.2

Implemented: February 23, 2026
Tests: 3706 total suite, 0 failures — 58 new tests (25 Tierable + 24 DashboardVisibility + 9 HomeController + 3 helper/view)

What Was Implemented

13.1 — Journey Engine & Tier Detection

13.2 — Progressive Dashboard Layout

Spec Deviations

Deferred

Completion Summary — Sub-Phase 13.4: Tier 1 — Member Experience

Implemented: February 2026
Tests: 3752 total suite, 0 failures

What Was Implemented

13.4.1 — Onboarding Stage (New Arrival + Profile Building)

13.4.2 — Exploring Stage (Community Discovery)

13.4.3 — Connecting & Engaged Member Stage (Career + Directory)

13.4.4 — Language Updates

Beyond Spec — Additional Deliverables

Spec Deviations

Deferred

Completion Summary — Sub-Phase 13.3: Activity Feed

Implemented: February 2026 (commit afcc9a132ca9d9129c6ae7c229677c0caaa9b5d0) Tests: Included in suite (14 files, 1188 insertions)

What Was Implemented

Completion Summary — Sub-Phase 13.8: Freshness, Signals & Milestones

Implemented: February 26, 2026 Tests: 3852 total suite, 0 failures — 29 new tests

What Was Implemented

13.8.1 — “What’s New” Summary Bar

13.8.2 — Milestone Celebrations

13.8.3 — Connections Sidebar Redesign

13.8.4 — Community Activity Badge Labels

Beyond Spec — Role Card Visibility Expansion

Related Documents:

Problem Statement

The dashboard currently presents the entire application at once. A new user lands and sees 13+ sections representing every feature built across 11 phases. No amount of reordering fixes a scope-of-information problem. Three root causes need addressing:

  1. No progressive disclosure — Every user sees the same dashboard regardless of journey stage
  2. No engagement model in the UX — The system treats everyone identically from signup, but the actual program has three distinct tiers of engagement
  3. No narrative — The dashboard is a feature inventory, not a story about what this site is and what the user should do next

This phase transforms the dashboard from a static feature catalog into a journey-aware, tier-conscious, narrative-driven experience that reveals the right content at the right time.

The Three-Tier Engagement Model

This is the structural backbone. The portal serves three concentric rings:

Tier 1: Alumni Member (100% — everyone who signs up)

Posture: “You belong here. Welcome home.” Focus: Reactive — discover, consume, connect

Core Activities:

Promotional Mechanisms: Give members access to do things a Champion would do — and after doing it, remind them that they’re acting like a Champion, and why not make it official? (Submit a news story, submit an event, comment on a discussion, etc.)

Tier 2: Alumni Champion (~10% — explicit opt-in)

Posture: “You’re already showing up — let us recognize that.” Focus: Proactive — plan events, share news, connect actively, take role-aligned actions

Opt-in mechanism: Complete the Champion Role discovery quiz (already built in Phase 11). Low bar — takes ~2 minutes. It’s recognition of what they’re already doing, not a new commitment.

Recognition signals:

Role-based coaching: At the Champion’s preference, provide ideas on how to engage through their role:

These prompts answer the question: “How can I get more deeply involved / engaged?”

Tier 3: Community Leader (~1% — promotion)

Posture: “You’re the boots on the ground.” Focus: Enable Champions, lead communities, bridge to Alumni Engagement team

Key Data Model Insight

We don’t need a new model or role field. The tier is derived from existing data:

Tier Detection Code
Tier 3: Community Leader Has CLC assignments champion.community_leader? / champion.is_community_leader?
Tier 2: Alumni Champion Has completed role quiz champion.has_champion_role? (checks primary_role.present?)
Tier 1: Alumni Member Default — everyone else !has_champion_role? && !community_leader?

The feature flag system (config.x.features.* + feature_enabled?() helper) provides the control layer on top for gradual rollout.

Internal naming stays the same: The model is Cp::Champion — renaming it would be a massive refactor for no user-facing benefit. Internally “champion” remains the model name. User-facing, “alumni” / “Bruin” / “member” is the default. “Champion” only appears after opt-in and in celebratory moments.

The Ideal User Journey

This is the narrative the dashboard should guide users through, step by step. The dashboard reveals features progressively as the user advances.

Step Action Dashboard Response
1 Join the Alumni Network — signs up and lands in portal Welcome experience, minimal UI
2 Complete 75%+ of their profile — via wizard or edit profile Profile completion is the obvious first thing to do
3 Discover Communities — understand the site is community-driven Explain: communities = ways to find alumni who share your journey (district, major/college, industry, student activities). Joining lets you (re)connect, discuss, read news, find events
4 Join 2+ communities — and explore what they offer Community suggestions become prominent
5 Discover Career Resources — application, resume, interview resources; career fairs; alumni willing to connect for professional growth Career resources section appears
6 Discover the Alumni Network — other alumni in their communities willing to connect Directory and recommendations surface
7 Send 3+ connection requests — for career or reconnection Connection prompts and “Bruins You Might Know”
8 Discover the Champion Opportunity — understand they can go deeper by opting in; roles reflect their natural posture toward helping; 2-minute quiz Champion opt-in nudge after performing Champion-like actions
9 Take the Champion Role quiz — choose a Champion Role Transition to Tier 2 dashboard experience
10 Contribute to Communities — comment on discussions, add topics, submit news, submit events, welcome new members, invite others Contribution prompts and coaching based on role

Dashboard Design Principles

Progressive Disclosure

The dashboard reveals features as the user progresses through their journey. A brand-new user does not see 13 sections. They see what matters right now for where they are.

Implementation approach: A journey_stage helper method on the champion (or computed in the controller) determines which dashboard sections render. Sections have visibility rules tied to journey progress, not just “has content.”

Fresh, Relevant, Active

The dashboard should make the site feel fresh, relevant, continually updated, and active. Discussions, News, and Photos should be about what you might have missed. A relevance algorithm should combine:

…to surface the most important content on the main dashboard.

Feed-Like Experience

Combine dynamic content into one section — or have something that feels more like a feed on the left side — to make the dashboard more scrollable and less overwhelming. Less “feature inventory,” more “here’s what’s happening in your world.”

Tier-Aware Content

Tier Dashboard Emphasis
Tier 1 (Member) Discovery, profile completion, community joining, connection-making. Sprinkle in gentle nudges toward Champion opt-in after performing Champion-like actions.
Tier 2 (Champion) Role-aligned coaching, contribution prompts, recognition signals. Surfaces “ways you can help” based on chosen role.
Tier 3 (Community Leader) Community health metrics, new member welcoming, bridging to the Alumni Engagement team.

Sub-Phase Progress

Sub-Phase Name Status Effort
13.1 Journey Engine & Tier Detection ✅ Complete Medium
13.2 Progressive Dashboard Layout ✅ Complete High
13.3 Activity Feed ✅ Complete High
13.4 Tier 1 — Member Experience ✅ Complete Medium-High
13.5 Tier 2 — Champion Experience ✅ Complete Medium
13.6 Tier 3 — Community Leader Experience ✅ Complete Medium
13.7 Champion Nudge Engine ✅ Complete Medium
13.8 Freshness, Signals & Milestones ✅ Complete Medium-High

Table of Contents

  1. Problem Statement
  2. The Three-Tier Engagement Model
  3. The Ideal User Journey
  4. Dashboard Design Principles
  5. Sub-Phase Progress
  6. Sub-Phase Details
  7. Current State Analysis
  8. Phase 12 Finding Integration
  9. Testing Requirements
  10. Definition of Success

Goals

Goal Metric
Progressive disclosure New user sees ≤ 4 sections on first dashboard visit; sections increase as they progress
Tier-aware dashboard Tier 2 Champions see role coaching and contribution prompts that Tier 1 Members do not
Narrative-driven onboarding User can identify the one thing to do next within 3 seconds of landing
Feed-like freshness Returning user sees what’s changed since last visit; dashboard feels alive
Language alignment Zero instances of gatekeeping language (“qualify”, “earn”, “become”) for Tier 1 users
Champion opt-in lift Measurable increase in Champion Role quiz starts after nudge engine ships
Mobile-first Engaging content visible within 1 scroll on mobile at every tier
Performance maintained Dashboard load time equal or better than current (lazy loading + reduced initial queries)

Build Strategy: Parallel /home Route

The new progressive dashboard is built as a separate controller and view tree alongside the existing dashboard. This avoids destructive changes to the working dashboard during development.

  Current Dashboard New Home
Route GET /dashboard GET /home
Controller Cp::DashboardController Cp::HomeController
Views app/views/cp/dashboard/ app/views/cp/home/
Named route cp_dashboard_path cp_home_path
Auth root root to: 'cp/dashboard#show' Feature-flagged swap

Why parallel, not replace:

Root switching (in config/routes.rb):

authenticated :cp_champion do
  if Rails.configuration.x.features.progressive_dashboard
    root to: 'cp/home#show', as: :cp_authenticated_root
  else
    root to: 'cp/dashboard#show', as: :cp_authenticated_root
  end
end

Note: Both routes remain accessible at all times (/dashboard and /home). The feature flag only controls where the authenticated root redirects. This means a user can always access either dashboard by URL during the transition.

Deprecation plan (post-Phase 13):

  1. Flip feature flag to true in staging, QA the new home
  2. Flip in production, monitor for issues (keep old dashboard accessible for 2-4 weeks)
  3. Remove Cp::DashboardController, app/views/cp/dashboard/, and related routes
  4. Optionally rename Cp::HomeController to Cp::DashboardController and update routes (or keep as /home)

Non-Goals

What Why Not
New data model / role field for tiers Tiers derive from has_champion_role? and community_leader? — no schema change needed
Renaming Cp::Champion model Massive refactor, no user-facing benefit; internal naming stays
Real-time updates (WebSocket) Turbo Frames for lazy loading, but no Action Cable
Full portal redesign This is dashboard-focused; other pages get tier-awareness and language updates only as needed
Rebuilding authentication/verification Verification flow stays; only the language around it evolves
Event RSVP tracking Prerequisite for some future counters, but out of scope for Phase 13

Current State Analysis

Dashboard Section Inventory (Current Order)

Left Column (2/3 width, lg:col-span-2): | # | Section | Current Weight | Problem | |—|———|—————|———| | 1 | Welcome Hero | Medium | Static — same for new and returning users | | 2 | Community Notifications | Low | Conditional — fine | | 3 | Invited Community | Low | Conditional — fine | | 4 | Next Steps | Medium | Only 3 possible steps (profile, verification, location) — no journey awareness | | 5 | Community Suggestions | Medium | Too prominent for housekeeping | | 6 | Role Card | Medium | Shows to everyone equally — no tier context | | 7 | Discussions (Google News layout) | Medium | Buried below 4 cards; visually identical to News | | 8 | News (Google News layout) | Medium | Same layout as Discussions — redundant | | 9 | Photo Albums | Medium | Buried at bottom | | 10 | Champions You Might Know | Medium | Buried at bottom | | 11 | Quick Actions | Medium | Hidden on mobile; duplicates navigation |

Right Column (sidebar, renders first on mobile): | # | Section | Current Weight | Problem | |—|———|—————|———| | 1 | District Card | Medium | On mobile: appears before all content | | 2 | Upcoming Events | Medium | Good content, wrong position | | 3 | Your Communities | Medium | Activity badges unlabeled | | 4 | Connections | Medium | Shows message threads, titled “Connections” | | 5 | Your Profile | Medium | Completion % useful but buried |

Root problem: Everything has the same visual weight. 14 queries on page load. No awareness of user journey or tier. A new user and a 2-year veteran see the same dashboard.

What Exists That We Leverage

Existing System How It Serves Phase 13
has_champion_role? (Phase 11) Tier 2 detection — primary_role.present?
community_leader? / is_community_leader? Tier 3 detection — clc_assignments.exists?
profile_completion_percentage / profile_complete? Journey stage gating (Step 2)
cp_communities membership count Journey stage gating (Step 4)
connection_count column Journey stage gating (Step 7)
Champion Role quiz + ChampionQuizService Opt-in mechanism for Tier 2 (Step 9)
RoleIdeaPack / RoleIdeaPackService Tier 2 coaching content (already built)
Cp::OnboardingEvent Analytics tracking for journey progression
seen_tooltips JSONB Dismissal tracking for nudges
notification_preferences JSONB Coaching delivery preferences (digest, in-app)
Feature flag system (config.x.features.*) Gradual rollout control
last_sign_in_at / current_sign_in_at “What’s new since last visit” baseline

Sub-Phase Details

Sub-Phase 13.1: Journey Engine & Tier Detection

Problem: The dashboard has no concept of where a user is in their journey or what tier they belong to. Every user sees the same 13+ sections.

Goal: Build the foundational logic that determines a champion’s engagement tier and journey stage, so subsequent sub-phases can render tier- and stage-appropriate content.

13.1.1 — Tier Detection Helper

Add a helper/concern that exposes the champion’s engagement tier:

# app/models/concerns/cp/tierable.rb (or in Cp::Champion directly)
def engagement_tier
  return :community_leader if community_leader?
  return :champion if has_champion_role?
  :member
end

def tier_member?
  engagement_tier == :member
end

def tier_champion?
  engagement_tier == :champion || engagement_tier == :community_leader
end

def tier_community_leader?
  engagement_tier == :community_leader
end

13.1.2 — Journey Stage Detection

Define journey stages that map to the Ideal User Journey. Each stage is determined by what the user has completed:

Stage Name Condition Journey Steps Covered
0 new_arrival Just signed up, wizard incomplete Step 1
1 profile_building Wizard complete, profile < 75% Step 2
2 exploring Profile >= 75%, < 2 communities Steps 3-4
3 connecting 2+ communities, < 3 connection requests sent Steps 5-7
4 engaged_member 3+ connection requests, no champion role Step 8
5 champion Has champion role Steps 9-10
6 active_champion Champion + has contributed (posts, news, events) Step 10+
7 community_leader Is a community leader Tier 3 
def journey_stage
  return :community_leader if community_leader?
  return :active_champion if has_champion_role? && has_contributions?
  return :champion if has_champion_role?
  return :engaged_member if sent_connection_requests_count >= 3
  return :connecting if cp_communities.count >= 2
  return :exploring if profile_completion_percentage >= 75
  return :profile_building if wizard_completed_at.present?
  :new_arrival
end

13.1.3 — Dashboard Section Visibility Map

Define which sections are visible at each journey stage:

Section new_arrival profile_building exploring connecting engaged_member champion active_champion community_leader
Welcome / Getting Started YES YES — — — — — —
Profile Completion Prompt YES YES YES* — — — — —
Community Discovery — YES YES YES* — — — —
Activity Feed — — YES YES YES YES YES YES
Career Resources — — — YES YES YES YES YES
Connections / Recommendations — — — YES YES YES YES YES
Champion Nudge — — — — YES — — —
Role Ideas (coaching + contextual) — — — — — YES YES YES
Community Health — — — — — — — YES
Events (sidebar) — — YES YES YES YES YES YES
Your Communities (sidebar) — — YES YES YES YES YES YES
District (sidebar) — — YES YES YES YES YES YES

* = shown in reduced/compact form after the user has progressed past that stage’s focus

Note: Progressive disclosure is additive. Sections appear as the user progresses; they don’t disappear. Once a section unlocks, it stays visible. The table above shows when a section first appears.

Sub-Phase 13.2: Progressive Dashboard Layout

Problem: The current dashboard renders all sections unconditionally, creating a wall of cards. The layout needs to adapt to the user’s journey stage and tier.

Goal: Restructure the dashboard view to render conditionally based on journey stage, replace the “feature inventory” with a narrative-driven layout.

13.2.1 — Restructure show.html.erb

The new home is built as Cp::HomeController with views in app/views/cp/home/. The existing Cp::DashboardController is untouched.

# app/controllers/cp/home_controller.rb
class Cp::HomeController < Cp::BaseController
  def show
    @engagement_tier = current_cp_champion.engagement_tier
    @journey_stage = current_cp_champion.journey_stage
    # Load only the data needed for this stage (via DashboardVisibility)
  end
end

<%# app/views/cp/home/show.html.erb %>
<%# Stage-specific primary content area %>
<% case @journey_stage %>
<% when :new_arrival, :profile_building %>
  <%= render "cp/home/stages/onboarding" %>
<% when :exploring %>
  <%= render "cp/home/stages/exploring" %>
<% when :connecting, :engaged_member %>
  <%= render "cp/home/stages/engaging" %>
<% when :champion, :active_champion %>
  <%= render "cp/home/stages/champion" %>
<% when :community_leader %>
  <%= render "cp/home/stages/community_leader" %>
<% end %>

13.2.2 — Hero Adaptation

The hero should reflect where the user is in their journey:

Stage Hero Content
new_arrival “Welcome home, Bruin!” + profile wizard CTA
profile_building “Let’s get you set up” + completion progress bar
exploring “Discover your communities” + community count
connecting+ Warm greeting + “What’s new” summary bar
champion+ Greeting + Champion badge + role name
community_leader Greeting + CL badge + led communities count

13.2.3 — Sidebar Adaptation

Sidebar sections appear progressively and reorder based on tier:

Tier 1 (Member) Sidebar Tier 2 (Champion) Sidebar Tier 3 (CL) Sidebar
1. Upcoming Events 1. Upcoming Events 1. Community Health
2. Your Communities 2. Your Communities 2. Upcoming Events
3. District 3. Your Impact 3. Your Communities
4. Profile Completion 4. District 4. Your Impact
5. Connections 5. Connections 5. Connections

13.2.4 — Visual Hierarchy: Card Tiers

Introduce 3 visual card treatments to break the “wall of same” problem:

Tier Style Used For
Primary Larger header, left-border accent in Belmont Blue, more padding Activity Feed, Getting Started, Champion Nudge
Standard Current card style with consistent bg-white + shadow Events, Communities, Connections
Compact No header bar, tighter padding, inline style Suggestions, Role Ideas, Impact stats

Sub-Phase 13.3: Activity Feed

Problem: Discussions, News, and Photo Albums use separate sections with identical layouts (Google News style: 1 featured + 3 compact). This creates visual redundancy and a “feature inventory” feel. Combined, they should feel like a living feed of what’s happening in the user’s world.

Goal: Replace three separate content sections with a single unified activity feed that surfaces the most relevant, recent, and engaging content.

13.3.1 — Feed Data Layer

Create a service that merges and ranks content:

# app/services/cp/activity_feed_service.rb
class Cp::ActivityFeedService
  def initialize(champion)
    @champion = champion
  end

  def items(limit: 7)
    # Merge discussions, news, photos from the champion's communities
    # Score by: recency + engagement (comments/likes) + unseen bonus
    # Return sorted, mixed-type collection
  end
end

Scoring factors:

13.3.2 — Feed View

+---------------------------------------------------+
|  What's Happening                                  |
|  ------------------------------------------------- |
|  [Featured item -- larger card with image/preview] |
|  ------------------------------------------------- |
|  Discussion title...              Nashville 2d     |
|  News headline...                 Music Biz 3d     |
|  Photo album name...               District 5d     |
|  Discussion title...                   CIS  6d     |
|  ------------------------------------------------- |
|  View All: Discussions - News - Photos             |
|                                                    |
|  + Start a Discussion                              |
+---------------------------------------------------+

13.3.3 — Lazy Loading for Below-Fold Content

The dashboard controller currently runs 14 queries. With stage-based rendering, many are already skipped. For remaining below-fold sections:

Sub-Phase 13.4: Tier 1 — Member Experience

Problem: New users land and see everything at once with no guidance. The dashboard should tell a story: here’s what to do first, then next, then next.

Goal: Build the Tier 1 (Member) dashboard experience that guides users through Steps 1-8 of the Ideal User Journey.

13.4.1 — Onboarding Stage: New Arrival + Profile Building (Steps 1-2)

For journey_stage :new_arrival or :profile_building, show a focused onboarding experience:

+---------------------------------------------------+
|  Welcome Home, Bruin!                              |
|                                                    |
|  We're glad you're here. Let's get your profile    |
|  set up so other alumni can find you.              |
|                                                    |
|  [============-------] 45% complete                |
|                                                    |
|  Next: Add your location                           |
|  [Continue Setting Up ->]                          |
+---------------------------------------------------+

13.4.2 — Exploring Stage: Community Discovery (Steps 3-4)

For journey_stage :exploring, the dashboard shifts focus to communities:

+---------------------------------------------------+
|  Discover Your Communities                         |
|                                                    |
|  Communities connect you with alumni who share      |
|  your journey -- where you live, what you studied, |
|  your industry, or activities you did as a         |
|  student. By joining, you can:                     |
|                                                    |
|  - (Re)connect with alumni who share your          |
|    experiences and interests                       |
|  - Join in discussions on relevant topics          |
|  - Read news that pertains to your world           |
|  - Find events related to your interests           |
|                                                    |
|  [Browse Communities ->]                           |
|                                                    |
|  -- Suggested for You --                           |
|  [District community]  [College community]         |
|  [Industry community]                              |
+---------------------------------------------------+

Plus: Activity Feed begins to appear (if the user has joined any communities), Upcoming Events in sidebar.

13.4.3 — Connecting Stage: Career Resources + Directory (Steps 5-7)

For journey_stage :connecting, the dashboard surfaces connections and career resources:

Sections visible:

13.4.4 — Language Updates (All Tier 1)

Current Updated Rationale
“Champions You Might Know” “Alumni You Might Know” Inclusive — they don’t need to be Champions
“Next Steps” Stage-specific headings More narrative, less task-list
“No discussions yet” “Conversations will appear as your communities grow” Hope-oriented
“No news posts yet” “Stories and updates will show up here” Forward-looking
“No upcoming events” “Events will appear here — check back soon!” Encouraging
“No connections yet” “Your first connection is waiting” Forward-looking
“Complete your profile” “Let’s get you set up” / “Continue setting up” More personal
“Find Alumni in Nashville” “Find Fellow Alumni in Nashville” Warmer

Sub-Phase 13.5: Tier 2 — Champion Experience

Status: ✅ Complete (February 2026)

What Was Implemented:

Spec Deviations:

Files Created: app/services/cp/contextual_prompt_generator.rb, test/services/cp/contextual_prompt_generator_test.rb, test/helpers/cp/champion_roles_helper_test.rb Files Modified: app/helpers/cp/champion_roles_helper.rb, app/views/cp/dashboard/_role_card_ideas.html.erb, app/views/cp/dashboard/_role_card.html.erb, app/views/cp/discussions/show.html.erb, app/views/cp/boards/show.html.erb, app/views/cp/boards/_comment.html.erb, app/views/cp/directory/_champion_card.html.erb, app/views/cp/profile/show.html.erb, app/mailers/cp/notification_mailer.rb, app/views/cp/notification_mailer/daily_digest.html.erb, app/views/cp/notification_mailer/weekly_digest.html.erb, app/controllers/cp/home_controller.rb, app/controllers/cp/dashboard_controller.rb Tests: 3784 runs, 0 failures, 0 errors

Problem: Champions who have opted in via the role quiz see the same dashboard as brand-new users. There’s no recognition, no role-aligned coaching, and no differentiation.

Goal: Build the Tier 2 dashboard experience that celebrates the Champion’s commitment and provides role-aligned coaching and contribution prompts.

13.5.1 — Champion Dashboard Layout

For journey_stage :champion or :active_champion:

Left column:

  1. Hero with Champion badge + role name
  2. Activity Feed (primary — with “New” badges)
  3. Role Ideas card (daily coaching + contextual prompts — evolved from existing RoleIdeaPackService; see 13.5.3)
  4. “Bruins You Might Know”

Right sidebar:

  1. Upcoming Events
  2. Your Communities (with activity badges)
  3. Your Impact (contribution counts)
  4. District
  5. Your Connections

13.5.2 — “Your Impact” Widget

A compact sidebar widget showing the Champion’s contributions:

+----------------------------------+
|  Your Impact                     |
|  +----+ +----+ +----+ +----+    |
|  |  3 | |  2 | |  1 | |  5 |    |
|  |conn| |comm| |news| |post|    |
|  +----+ +----+ +----+ +----+    |
+----------------------------------+

Counts: Connections made, Communities joined, News submitted, Board posts + comments

Note: Event RSVP tracking does not yet exist — do not include event attendance counts. Add counter later when functionality ships.

13.5.3 — Evolve Role Ideas: Coaching + Contextual Prompts

Key insight: The existing RoleIdeaPack system (115+ seed ideas, daily pack of 3, anti-repeat, admin CRUD, template variables, CTA deep-linking) already does 80% of what “Contribution Prompts” would need. Rather than building a separate Cp::ContributionPromptService, evolve the RoleIdeaPack system to also serve contextual, data-driven prompts alongside the existing static coaching ideas.

What exists today (Phase 11):

What needs to evolve:

Add a contextual prompt layer that generates dynamic prompts from live community data and mixes them into the daily pack:

Type Source Example
Static (existing) Pre-authored cp_role_ideas “Start a conversation in about something you’re passionate about”
Contextual (new) Generated from community data “A new Bruin just joined Nashville District — say hello!”
Contextual (new) Generated from community data “There’s a discussion in College of Music with no replies yet”
Contextual (new) Generated from community data “Music City Meetup is 5 days away — help spread the word”

Contextual prompt sources (role-aware):

Role Contextual Triggers
Connection Advisor New members in their communities (last 7 days); alumni in their district who aren’t connected
Digital Ambassador Quiet communities (no posts in 14+ days); photo albums with no photos
Community Builder Unanswered discussions (posts with 0 comments); communities they lead with < 3 discussions this month
Giving Advocate Upcoming events in their communities (next 14 days); events with low visibility

Implementation approach:

# Extend Cp::RoleIdeaPackService (or extract to a new Cp::ContextualPromptGenerator)
# to produce 0-2 contextual prompts per pack refresh, mixed with static ideas.
#
# Contextual prompts are NOT persisted as RoleIdea records — they're
# generated on the fly and injected into the pack display.
# The pack remains 3 items total: up to 2 contextual + remainder static.

13.5.3b — Role Ideas in Digest Emails

Role ideas are ideal add-on content for digest emails. They’re not important enough to trigger a digest on their own, but when a digest is already being sent (new discussions, events, community activity), role ideas can be appended for Champions.

Rules:

13.5.4 — Champion Recognition Signals

Sub-Phase 13.6: Tier 3 — Community Leader Experience

Status: ✅ Complete (February 2026)

What Was Implemented:

Spec Deviations:

Files Created: None (integrated into existing partials) Files Modified: app/views/cp/dashboard/_stages/community_leader.html.erb, app/controllers/cp/profile_controller.rb, app/models/cp/community_membership.rb Tests: 3784 runs, 0 failures, 0 errors

Problem: Community Leaders currently see the same dashboard as everyone else. They need tools to monitor community health, welcome new members, and bridge to the Alumni Engagement team.

Goal: Add CL-specific dashboard sections that support their leadership role.

13.6.1 — Community Health Widget

For community leaders, the top of the sidebar shows health metrics for their led communities:

+----------------------------------+
|  Your Communities                |
|  -- Nashville District --        |
|  12 members - 3 new this month   |
|  4 discussions - 1 event upcoming|
|  -- College of Music --          |
|  8 members - 1 new this month    |
|  2 discussions - 0 events        |
|  [Manage Communities ->]         |
+----------------------------------+

13.6.2 — New Member Welcoming

Surface new members who haven’t been welcomed yet:

13.6.3 — Community Leader Dashboard Stage

Sub-Phase 13.7: Champion Nudge Engine

Problem: There’s no mechanism to gently guide Tier 1 Members toward becoming Tier 2 Champions. The role quiz exists (Phase 11) but users only encounter it if they find the Role Card on a cluttered dashboard.

Goal: Build a contextual nudge system that recognizes when a Member performs “Champion-like” actions and suggests making it official.

13.7.1 — Champion Discovery Page

A dedicated page at /champion-info that tells the Champion story. This is the “Learn More” destination — it gives curious-but-not-ready users a place to understand the program without the commitment of starting the quiz.

Page structure:

  1. “What is an Alumni Champion?” — Frame it as recognition, not recruitment: Champions are alumni who choose to stay actively connected — not because it’s required, but because they want to. Every alum is already part of the community; Champions simply choose to show up more intentionally.

  2. “The Three Ways Alumni Engage” — Visual representation of the three tiers. Emphasis: most alumni are Tier 1 and that’s wonderful. The tiers aren’t a ladder — they’re concentric circles with most people in the outer ring by design.

  3. “What Changes When You Opt In?” — Concrete, low-pressure benefits:
    • Discover your natural role (Connection Advisor, Digital Ambassador, Community Builder, or Giving Advocate)
    • Get daily ideas tailored to how you already engage
    • Get recognized with a badge on your profile and in discussions
    • “It’s not more work — it’s recognizing the work you’re already doing.”
  4. CTA → Existing Champion Role quiz from Phase 11

Tone: Warm, zero-pressure, celebratory. This page should make someone feel seen, not sold to. The framing is “we notice you’re already doing this” not “here’s what we need you to do.”

13.7.2 — Nudge Trigger Definitions

Define actions that trigger a Champion nudge:

Action Nudge Message
Submit a news story “You’re sharing stories like a Champion! Want to make it official?”
Submit an event “Organizing events is a Champion move — take the 2-minute quiz?”
Comment on 3+ discussions “You’re sparking conversations — that’s what Champions do.”
Send 5+ connection requests “You’re building the network — Champions help others do the same.”
Complete 100% profile “Your profile is looking great — ready to go deeper?”

13.7.3 — Nudge Display

Nudges appear as a gentle inline card on the engaged_member stage dashboard:

+---------------------------------------------------+
|  ✦ You're sparking conversations —                 |
|     that's what Champions do.                      |
|                                                    |
|  Some alumni choose to go a step further — not     |
|  because it's expected, but because they want to.  |
|  It takes about 2 minutes to find out how you      |
|  already show up.                                  |
|                                                    |
|  [Find Your Role →]    [Learn More]    [Not Now]   |
+---------------------------------------------------+

Dual CTA pattern:

The secondary CTA is important — it gives the user a low-commitment path. They may not be ready to take a quiz, but they might be willing to read a page. The discovery page then funnels them to the quiz when they’re ready.

13.7.4 — Post-Action Inline Nudge

Beyond the dashboard, show a brief inline nudge immediately after performing a Champion-like action:

✅ Phase 13.7 Complete — Champion Nudge Engine + Champion Role Microsite:

Sub-Phase 13.8: Freshness, Signals & Milestones

Problem: Nothing signals what’s new since the last visit. Returning users see a static layout. There’s no recognition of progress or milestones.

Goal: Make the dashboard feel alive for returning users, and celebrate progress milestones.

13.8.1 — “What’s New” Summary Bar

Below the hero greeting for returning users (stages 3+):

  3 new discussions - 1 new event - 2 new photos since Tuesday

13.8.2 — Milestone Celebrations

Define milestone events and celebrate them:

Milestone Trigger Display
First Community Join first community Celebration banner
Profile Complete >= 75% profile completion Celebration banner
First Connection First accepted connection Celebration banner
First Post First board post Celebration banner
Champion Opt-In Complete role quiz Celebration banner + badge
1-Year Anniversary created_at anniversary Dashboard banner
10 Connections Reach 10 connections Achievement card
Community Leader Promoted to CL Dashboard banner

13.8.3 — Connections Sidebar Redesign

The sidebar card currently shows message threads but is titled “Connections”:

13.8.4 — Community Activity Badge Labels

The tiny colored badges in “Your Communities” are unlabeled:

Phase 12 Finding Integration

Phase 12 ID Finding Addressed In
L-01 Christ-centered identity through hospitality posture 13.4 (warm language, belonging-first), 13.2 (hero messaging)
L-05 Replace gatekeeping language 13.4.4 (language updates), 13.7 (nudge framing)
L-07 “User” -> “Champion/person” 13.4.4
L-12 “alumni network” -> “alumni community” 13.4.4
F-01 Weave champion roles into ongoing experience 13.5 (Tier 2 experience), 13.7 (nudge engine)
F-02 Rewrite empty states with warmth + CTAs 13.4.4, 13.4.1 (onboarding stage replaces empty states)
O-01 Identity grounding 13.4 (language), 13.1 (tier model aligns identity with action)

Testing Requirements

Unit Tests

Integration Tests

Visual QA

Definition of Success

Criteria Measurement
Progressive disclosure works New user sees <= 4 sections; no “wall of cards”
Journey narrative is clear User identifies the one next action within 3 seconds
Tier differentiation is visible Champion dashboard is noticeably different from Member dashboard
Champion opt-in increases Measurable increase in quiz starts after nudge engine ships
Freshness drives return visits “What’s New” summary visible to returning users
Language is warm and inclusive Zero instances of “qualify,” “earn,” “become” for Tier 1
Mobile-first Priority content visible within 1 scroll at every tier
Performance maintained Dashboard load time equal or better (fewer queries per stage + lazy loading)
Milestone recognition Users see at least 1 celebration in their first month

Rollout Notes

Root Route Switch (Completed)

Migrations & Services

Shared Code

Model methods added in 13.1 (engagement_tier, journey_stage) and services (ActivityFeedService, etc.) are available to both controllers. The old dashboard could optionally consume them too, but the spec doesn’t require it.

Open Questions

To be resolved during sub-phase planning interviews.

# Question Options Notes
1 Journey stage thresholds Hardcoded vs configurable Configurable allows tuning without deploys, but adds complexity
2 Nudge frequency 1/session vs 1/week Too frequent = annoying; too infrequent = invisible
3 Feed algorithm weights Recency-heavy vs engagement-heavy Needs tuning after launch — start recency-heavy, iterate
4 Champion badge design Icon badge vs text label vs profile ring UX decision — reference DESIGN-GUIDELINES.md
5 Career Resources section Dedicated card vs feed integration May warrant its own discovery moment vs just another feed item

Documentation Updates

Completed during Phase 13 wrap (February 26, 2026).