{
  "track_id": "manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER",
  "name": "Manual UX Validation — ASCII-Sketch Workflow",
  "initialized": "2026-06-08",
  "owner": "tier2-tech-lead",
  "priority": "medium",
  "status": "active (proposed 2026-06-08; awaiting Phase 1 user-answers)",
  "type": "workflow + first-target redesign",
  "scope": {
    "new_files": [
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/spec.md",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/plan.md",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/metadata.json",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/state.toml",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/index.md",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/decisions.md (Phase 1)",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/designs/discussion_hub_per_entry_v1.md (Phase 2)",
      "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608_PLACEHOLDER/next_targets.md (Phase 4)",
      "tests/test_render_discussion_entry_*.py (Phase 3, ~7 files for A1-A7)"
    ],
    "modified_files": [
      "src/gui_2.py:3770 render_discussion_entry (Phase 3 redesign)",
      "docs/reports/ascii_sketch_ux_workflow_20260608.md (Phase 4 docs refresh)",
      "conductor/tracks.md (Phase 4 status update)"
    ],
    "external_resources": [
      "ASCII-sketch workflow report: docs/reports/ascii_sketch_ux_workflow_20260608.md (340 lines; the workflow this track promotes)",
      "SSDL digest: docs/reports/computational_shapes_ssdl_digest_20260608.md (504 lines; the theoretical foundation for the internal refactoring decisions in Phase 3, per spec §2.6)"
    ]
  },
  "blocked_by": [],
  "blocks": [
    "discussion_hub_redesign_20260608_PLACEHOLDER (potential follow-up; promoted from next_targets.md after Phase 4)",
    "context_panel_redesign_20260608_PLACEHOLDER (potential follow-up)",
    "mma_spawn_modal_redesign_20260608_PLACEHOLDER (potential follow-up)"
  ],
  "estimated_phases": 4,
  "spec": "spec.md",
  "plan": "plan.md",
  "first_target": {
    "name": "Discussion Hub per-entry panel",
    "file_line": "src/gui_2.py:3770 render_discussion_entry",
    "operation_matrix": "docs/guide_discussions.md §Per-Entry Operations (A1-A7)",
    "rationale": "Most-edited surface; user has strong opinions (per nagent_review_20260608 3 rounds of user-corrections); 23-op matrix is the source of truth; ImGui layout maps cleanly to ASCII; SSDL defusing techniques can guide the internal refactoring"
  },
  "open_questions": [
    "Q1: Vocabulary preference (GUI ASCII vs box-drawing vs Markdown tables vs hybrid)",
    "Q2: Comparison policy (always vs proportional vs only-on-mismatch vs never)",
    "Q3: Storage location (track spec appendix vs conductor/designs/ vs docs/designs/ vs inline)",
    "Q4: Tooling (manual vs scaffold-renderer vs ASCII-vs-screenshot diff vs diffable text designs)",
    "Q5: Frequency (every change vs only new panels vs only on request vs on track boundary)"
  ],
  "open_questions_defaults": {
    "Q1": "the proposed GUI ASCII vocabulary (well-defined, copy-pasteable, works in any terminal)",
    "Q2": "only-on-mismatch (Tier-3 reports success or flags deltas; conductor decides whether to verify with MiniMax understand_image)",
    "Q3": "track's spec.md as an appendix (co-located is simplest; can be promoted later)",
    "Q4": "manual (no tooling for v1; revisit if the workflow gets used 3+ times and the manual steps become rote)",
    "Q5": "only-on-request (the user decides when the workflow earns its overhead)"
  },
  "ssdl_cross_reference": {
    "distinction": "GUI ASCII vocabulary (this workflow) is for panel sketches. SSDL vocabulary (computational shapes digest) is for code sketches. They are different vocabularies for different purposes; see spec §2.6 for the full distinction.",
    "use_cases": [
      "Phase 2 (design): use GUI ASCII for the visible panel",
      "Phase 3 (implementation): may produce SSDL sketches as documentation of internal refactoring decisions (e.g., when pushing a branch into a subsystem per the SSDL 'effective codepath' pattern)"
    ]
  },
  "verification_criteria": [
    "spec.md exists with §1-§9 (9 sections)",
    "plan.md exists with 4 phases and 21 tasks (TDD-style with WHERE/WHAT/HOW/SAFETY annotations)",
    "metadata.json exists with priority=medium, status=active, blocked_by=[], blocks=[3 follow-ups], 5 open questions + 5 defaults documented",
    "state.toml exists with phase tracking and task statuses",
    "Phase 1 deliverable: decisions.md exists with 5 answered questions",
    "Phase 2 deliverable: designs/discussion_hub_per_entry_v1.md exists with ASCII + interactions + states",
    "Phase 3 deliverable: src/gui_2.py:3770 modified to match the locked design",
    "Phase 3 deliverable: tests/test_render_discussion_entry_*.py exists with 7 test files (one per A-op) — all pass",
    "Phase 3 deliverable: MiniMax understand_image verification (if Q2 = always or proportional or on-mismatch) — deltas reported and either fixed or recorded in decisions.md",
    "Phase 4 deliverable: docs/reports/ascii_sketch_ux_workflow_20260608.md updated with the answered Q1-Q5",
    "Phase 4 deliverable: next_targets.md exists with 5-7 candidate panels for future workflow rounds",
    "Phase 4 deliverable: conductor/tracks.md updated to reflect track status",
    "All commits are atomic per-task (per conductor/workflow.md)",
    "All commits have git notes attached (per conductor/workflow.md)",
    "All Phase transitions have a Conductor - User Manual Verification checkpoint",
    "No code outside src/gui_2.py is modified (track is GUI-only)",
    "The 23-op matrix in docs/guide_discussions.md is the source of truth for the design contract",
    "The SSDL cross-reference in spec §2.6 is correct (GUI ASCII != SSDL; both are useful)"
  ],
  "links": {
    "report": "docs/reports/ascii_sketch_ux_workflow_20260608.md",
    "comparison_table": null,
    "decisions": "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608/decisions.md (Phase 1)",
    "design_contract": "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608/designs/discussion_hub_per_entry_v1.md (Phase 2)",
    "next_targets": "conductor/tracks/manual_ux_validation_20260608/next_targets.md (Phase 4)",
    "related_tracks": [
      "manual_ux_validation_20260302 (complementary general UX review track)",
      "nagent_review_20260608 (source of the user's editable-discussion corrections)",
      "chunkification_optimization_20260608_PLACEHOLDER (contingency track; referenced in spec §2.6 SSDL cross-reference)"
    ],
    "external": [
      "Ryan Fleury SSDL digest: docs/reports/computational_shapes_ssdl_digest_20260608.md",
      "Casey Muratori Big OOPs transcript: docs/transcripts/wo84LFzx5nI_big_oops_casemuratori.txt",
      "Andrew Reece Assuming as Much as Possible transcript: docs/transcripts/i-h95QIGchY_assuming_as_much_as_possible_andrewreece.txt"
    ]
  }
}
