Stakeholder Feedback & Solutions — v1

QuranFlow: Lejla's Feedback Documentation + Solution Space Exploration

Context

After reviewing the v6 mockup (qf-mockup-v2), Lejla (Product Manager) raised concerns about information density and the target audience's ability to engage with the redesigned screens. This document:

1. Captures Lejla's views verbatim and structured
2. Explores solution spaces for onboarding and design simplification
3. Does NOT implement changes -- this is a design exploration document

Part 1: Lejla's Views (From Feb 26 Transcript)

Core Concern: Information Density vs. Target Audience

Lejla explicitly states: "I personally love this design... But I'm telling you, you always have to think about who is this serving."

The redesign is excellent from a product knowledge perspective but may overwhelm students who have zero understanding of the program.

Key Observations

1. Students arrive with zero product knowledge

• Many signed up on a whim from the sales page, didn't read any emails
• Students don't know basic details: that the program is 15 weeks, that they have a coach, what a "submission" is, what a QRC is
• CS team spends the first 2-4 weeks explaining the program to students
• Some students didn't even know there are tabs in the current app

2. People don't read

• Multiple emails are sent explaining the program -- students don't read them
• A full onboarding guide is sent -- students don't read it
• This is a consistent, structural pattern, not occasional

3. Target audience characteristics

• Many are in their 40s, busy adults balancing families and jobs
• Estimated one-third of student body may have ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning differences
• They bought into a promise of simplicity ("I don't need to put much effort in, and I'll be learning well")
• Plug-and-play expectation: download app, log in, start learning

4. The current app's simplicity was valued

• Despite being "super outdated," students sent messages praising how simple it was
• "I really like the app because it's so super simple... I can just focus on what needs to be done"
• Lessons tab shows lessons. Submissions tab shows submissions. Home has two things on it.
• Very little text. Hard to NOT understand what you're looking at.

5. Every zone on the new screen requires "decoding"

• "Week 8 of 15" -- student must figure out: "Oh, I have 15 weeks total, I'm on week 8"
• Level 2 / Reading with Fluency -- "How does that relate to my situation?"
• Each information zone needs separate, intense focus to understand
• For someone with ADHD, every zone competes for attention

6. Onboarding skepticism

• People usually skip tutorial/onboarding screens
• A 10-15 screen onboarding process will not work for this audience
• Prefers a short video (30-60 seconds) explaining the program
• "People are very used to short format videos because of social media"
• The learning curve "has to be one degree -- nothing beyond that"

7. The "bare minimum" philosophy

• Help them do the bare minimum with bare minimum information
• They'll figure out the rest over 15 weeks
• Don't front-load everything -- just enough to get started

8. What she wants next

• Get the design in front of real users (teachers, students, someone unfamiliar with the program)
• Recorded calls where people interact with the screens and talk through what they see
• Someone who simulates a student with zero product knowledge
• Then iterate based on that feedback

Kamran's Counterpoints (From Same Discussion)

• The original audit identified confusion from MISSING information (no week indicator, no timezone, no submission history). You can't have both -- avoiding confusion requires clarification, and clarification requires information.
• There are trade-offs: simplicity in some places means potential confusion in others
• An ideal design intuitively conveys where you are, what you're at, what you need to do next
• The student needs to decide which needs take priority since there will be trade-offs
• Onboarding programs work -- popular education apps (Duolingo, Headway, Masterclass, Coursera) use 10-20 screen onboarding flows that have been tested on hundreds of thousands of users
• Some onboarding isn't teaching the app -- it's building confidence and reaffirming beliefs
• For higher-ticket items ($269), students are more willing to invest time in setup

The Fundamental Tension

The redesign solved 49 usability issues by adding information that was previously hidden or missing. Now the concern is that the added information creates its own cognitive load. This tension cannot be resolved by "temporarily hiding things and revealing them later" -- that's a band-aid that creates its own problems (surprise UI, state management complexity, two versions to test). If an element doesn't earn its space for a new user, the real question is: does it earn its space at all? Or is the design trying to show too much?

The expert designer's approach: design for the new user first. If the design works for a complete beginner, it will also work for an experienced student (they'll just move faster). Designing for experts and then simplifying for beginners is working backwards.

Part 2: Solution Space 1 -- Clarifying Onboarding

What Must Be Conveyed Before First App Use?

Only things the student cannot discover through use:

1. Their level (Level 2 -- they were placed based on assessment)
2. Their coach (Ust. Amina -- the human who will review their work)
3. Font preference (Mushaf vs. standard -- P0 fix, mandatory)
4. The weekly rhythm (watch lesson, record recitation, receive feedback -- this IS the program)

Everything else can be learned through use: how tabs work, what sessions are, how to navigate, etc.

Approach A: Minimal Setup-Only (Current Spec)

The existing Section 4.8 specifies 5 steps: Welcome > Level > Font > Coach > Semester Overview.

Strengths: Under 2 minutes. Each step delivers identity/context. Font forced (P0). Pre-semester Today screen continues the onboarding naturally.

Weaknesses: Step 5 (semester overview) is abstract bullet points. "Submit your recording for coach feedback" assumes students know what "recording" and "submission" mean. No explanation of session types. Does not address the "$269 and I know nothing" anxiety.

Approach B: 60-Second Video as Core

Replace the abstract Step 5 with a 45-60 second video narrated by a real coach showing actual app screens: "Every week, watch a short lesson, record yourself reciting, and your coach sends you feedback. Plus live sessions for extra practice."

Strengths: Directly implements Lejla's preference. Video is the most effective medium for an audience that won't read. Conveys the weekly rhythm in concrete, human terms. Can be updated without code changes.

Weaknesses: Requires video production. Single-view medium (can't refer back). If phone is muted or in public, student may skip. Loses the personal "You've been placed in Level 2" moment if it replaces Steps 2-4.

Approach C: Progressive Onboarding (No Wizard Beyond Font)

Eliminate the upfront wizard except font selection. Use the pre-semester Today screen as the welcome hub (coach card, level card, countdown, orientation video). Add one-time contextual banners when the student first visits each tab during Week 1.

Strengths: Zero upfront friction. Information appears at the moment of relevance. Pre-semester state already does most of the work. No video production needed.

Weaknesses: No ceremonious level/coach introduction. Contextual cards are easily dismissed and forgotten. Students who don't visit tabs during pre-semester miss context. Does not address the "$269 anxiety."

Approach D: Interactive First-Week Walkthrough

After Steps 1-4, replace Step 5 with an interactive sequence showing actual app screens with spotlight/dimming: "On Saturday your lesson appears here" > "Watch 2-3 short videos" > "Record your recitation" > "Your coach sends feedback" > "Join live sessions." Six taps, ~30 seconds.

Strengths: Student sees real app UI before using it. Follows the weekly rhythm sequence. Concrete, not abstract. Short enough that impatient students complete it.

Weaknesses: Requires building an overlay/spotlight system (non-trivial). Walkthroughs have mixed retention research. Shows Week 1 screens but student encounters pre-semester state first (temporal gap). Six screens is still more than "bare minimum."

Recommended Onboarding: Hybrid A+B with C Elements

Flow:

1. Welcome -- Student's name, "Let's get you set up"
2. Your Level -- Personal, 3-second confirmation ("You've been placed in Level 2")
3. Choose Your Font -- Mandatory, side-by-side comparison
4. Meet Your Coach -- Coach photo, name, bio ("will review your weekly recordings")
5. Your First Week (REVISED) -- 45-second video replacing abstract bullet points. Narrated by a real voice, showing actual app screens. End card: "Each week: watch, record, get feedback." Small text link below: "Read the details instead"
6. Notification Permission
7. Landing on Today pre-semester state

Plus progressive elements:

• Week 1 Guide card (Today screen, first visit): "Welcome to Week 1. Watch your lesson videos, then record your recitation. Your coach will send feedback within 48 hours." Dismissible. "See this again in Help Center."
• Learn tab first-visit banner: "Your weekly workspace -- videos, submission, and feedback all in one place." Dismissible.
• Session type explanations already specified in Schedule Amendment 8.

Why this hybrid:

• The video is the highest-leverage single change -- converts the most abstract step to the most concrete format
• Steps 2 and 4 preserve personal, ceremonious moments that a video can't personalize
• The Week 1 contextual card bridges the gap between onboarding and "what do I do right now"
• Total time: under 2 minutes. Step count: 6 (same as current spec)

Part 3: The Today Screen -- An Element-by-Element Audit

Before exploring simplification solutions, the honest question is: does every element on the Today screen earn its space? An expert designer would audit each zone and ask: "What action does this enable? What question does this answer? Would a student miss this if it weren't here?"

Current Today Screen Elements (Active State)

The Today screen currently has 7 distinct information zones (see mockups/qf-mockup-v2/src/screens/today.tsx):

Audit: Does Each Element Earn Its Space?

Zone 1: Week Header -- ESSENTIAL Answers "Where am I in the program?" This was a P0-level missing element in the old app. Students were disoriented because they had no sense of position. The 58pt treatment makes it the dominant visual anchor (passes squint test). Keep.

Zone 2: Level Subtitle -- KEEP, BUT QUESTION PLACEMENT "Level 2 — Reading with Fluency" provides context. But does it need to be a separate line on the Today screen? The student's level doesn't change during the semester. After Week 1, you never need to re-confirm your level. This could live solely in the Profile screen after initial onboarding. However, it IS part of orientation ("Where am I?"), so keeping it is defensible. The real question: does "Reading with Fluency" add value or just extra words?

Zone 3: Countdown -- QUESTIONABLE "3 days until Week 9 unlocks" -- what action does this enable? None. The student can't do anything about time passing. It's informational, not actionable. It adds pressure without adding value. The week already changes when it changes. An expert would ask: does this reduce confusion or increase anxiety?

Counter-argument: It sets expectations ("New content comes Saturday"). But this could be conveyed once in onboarding rather than permanently occupying screen real estate.

Zone 4: Progress Ring -- DOES NOT EARN ITS SPACE The progress ring shows 53%. But 53% of what? It's a composite of lesson progress + submission status, but the student doesn't know the formula. Meanwhile, the Status Triptych (Zone 6) shows the SAME information in explicit text: "2 of 3 watched," "Not submitted," "1 new feedback."

The progress ring is:

• Redundant with the triptych (same data, different format)
• Ambiguous (what counts toward 53%? Just videos? Submission too?)
• Demoralizing at 0% (a student who just started sees an empty circle)
• Not actionable (what does a student DO with a percentage?)
• An attention competitor (the 56px circle with bold percentage draws the eye away from the Primary Action Card, which is what actually matters)

What apps use progress rings well? Fitness apps (Apple Health, Fitbit) -- where the ring IS the primary interface and there's a clear, single metric (steps, calories, active minutes). In QuranFlow, the ring is a secondary element summarizing data that's already displayed elsewhere. Remove permanently.

Zone 5: Primary Action Card -- ESSENTIAL This answers "What should I do?" with a clear, context-dependent CTA. It's the most important element on the screen. The state machine (lesson not started -> lesson in progress -> ready to submit -> awaiting feedback -> feedback ready -> all done) is excellent. Keep.

Zone 6: Status Triptych -- THE CRITICAL QUESTION

The triptych shows three cards simultaneously: Lesson status, Submission status, Feedback status. This is valuable because:

• It shows information the Primary Action Card doesn't: the action card shows the NEXT step, but the triptych shows ALL THREE states simultaneously
• A student who submitted last week and has new feedback can see that even if this week's primary action is "Watch your lesson"

But the triptych is problematic because:

• It's 3 separate attention zones, each requiring parsing
• The labels use program jargon ("Lesson," "Submission," "Feedback")
• "Feedback: 1 new" requires knowing what feedback is and where it comes from
• For a new student, all three cards are variations of "I don't understand what this means"

The triptych is the element most worth redesigning, not hiding. See Solution Spaces below.

Zone 7: Session Cards -- KEEP, BUT LIMIT Session cards answer "When is my next session?" -- a question that was completely unanswerable in the old app (sessions were hidden in Google Calendar). Showing 3 is generous; showing 1-2 with "Full Schedule" link would reduce density without losing the answer. Keep, consider reducing to 2 max.

Audit Verdict

This audit alone takes the Today screen from 7 zones to 5, and makes 2 of those 5 simpler. That's a permanent improvement, not a temporary band-aid.

Part 4: Solution Spaces for Design Simplification

The following solution spaces go beyond "hide and reveal." They address whether the design itself should change permanently.

Solution Space A: Permanent Design Reduction

Philosophy: If an element doesn't earn its space for a new user, it probably doesn't earn its space for anyone. Remove it permanently.

Specific changes to the Today screen:

1. Remove the progress ring. The triptych already provides the data. The ring is visual decoration that competes for attention and communicates nothing the triptych doesn't already say.

2. Fold the countdown into the week header. Instead of a separate line "3 days until Week 9 unlocks," make it a subtle detail under the week number: "Week 8 of 15 · 3 days left." Or remove it entirely -- students don't need a countdown to a calendar date.

3. Reduce session cards to 2 maximum. The third card is almost always below the fold on smaller phones. Show the next 2 sessions with "Full Schedule" link.

4. Simplify the triptych labels permanently. Not as a temporary annotation, but as the real labels: "Your Lesson" / "Your Recording" / "Coach Feedback" instead of "Lesson" / "Submission" / "Feedback." If "Your Recording" is clearer than "Submission" for new users, it's also clearer for experienced users. There's no reason to use academic jargon.

Result: The Today screen goes from 7 zones to 5, with clearer labels. This works for ALL students, ALL weeks. No temporal logic, no two versions to test.

Strengths:

• Simplest to implement (remove code, rename labels)
• No state management, no conditional rendering
• Works for every student from Week 1 to Week 15
• Every removed element is genuinely unnecessary
• Aligns with the WWDC principle: "If you can't explain why it's there, remove it"

Weaknesses:

• Less "rich" dashboard for power users (some students may miss the progress ring... though it's hard to imagine what they'd miss about it)
• Fewer session cards means an extra tap to see the third session

Expert perspective: This is what most experienced designers would do first. Before adding onboarding or training wheels, reduce the surface area of what needs to be learned. The best onboarding is an app that doesn't need one.

Solution Space B: Better Empty States (Self-Explaining UI)

Philosophy: Instead of hiding elements or adding temporary annotations, design empty states so well that they teach the user what each element IS. The empty state becomes the explanation.

How this works on the Today screen:

When the Feedback status card shows "No new feedback," that's meaningless to someone who doesn't know what feedback is. But what if it said:

Coach Feedback After you submit a recording, Coach Amina will listen and send audio feedback.

That single empty state IS the onboarding for the feedback concept. The student learns:

• There is a concept called "feedback"
• It comes from their coach (by name)
• It's audio (not text)
• It happens AFTER they submit a recording

When the Submission status card shows "Not submitted," what if it said:

Your Recording Record yourself reciting this week's passage. Your coach will review it.

The student learns:

• "Submission" means a recording
• It's their voice reciting a passage
• Someone (coach) reviews it

When the Lesson card shows "0 of 2 watched," what if it said:

Your Lesson 2 short videos this week (8 min total). Start anytime.

The student learns:

• Lessons are videos
• They're short
• There's a specific count this week
• No time pressure ("start anytime")

Strengths:

• No temporal logic -- the same UI works from Day 1 to Day 105
• Empty states are a well-established iOS design pattern (Apple uses them extensively)
• Each section explains itself at exactly the moment the student first encounters it
• As the student progresses, the empty state is replaced by real data -- the explanation disappears naturally
• No dismissible cards to miss, no animations, no training wheels

Weaknesses:

• Empty state text is still text, and "people don't read." However, it's text in context (right where they're looking), not in an email (which they ignore)
• The status triptych cards are small -- fitting a 2-line explanation in a card that's currently 80pt wide may be a layout challenge
• Empty states only explain things that are EMPTY. A Week 1 student who has 2 sessions showing still doesn't know what "QRC" means

Expert perspective: This is the approach Apple champions in the HIG. The system teaches through its states, not through overlays or tutorials. It requires more thought per element but creates a design that feels effortless.

Solution Space C: Consolidation -- Fewer, Larger Zones

Philosophy: The problem isn't that individual elements are bad; it's that there are too many of them competing for attention. Merge related elements into fewer, larger zones that feel like ONE thing instead of SEVEN things.

How this works on the Today screen:

Before (current design):

[Week Header] ............ [Progress Ring]
[Level Subtitle]
[Countdown]

[Primary Action Card ....................]

[Lesson Card] [Submission Card] [Feedback Card]

[Session 1 ................................]
[Session 2 ................................]
[Session 3 ................................]

That's 7+ distinct visual zones.

After (consolidated):

[Week Header with level inline]
  "Week 8 of 15 · Level 2"

[Action + Status Hero Card .............]
  "Continue Your Lesson"
  "Idgham with Ghunnah · Video 2 of 3"
  ─────────────────────────────────
  Lesson: 2/3 · Recording: ○ · Feedback: 1 new

[Next Session ...........................]
  "Today at 6:00 AM EST · QRC"
  ─ Full Schedule →

That's 3 zones. The same information, but the status triptych is compressed into a single text row inside the action card, and sessions are reduced to the next one.

The key insight: The Apple Music "Now Playing" screen has album art, song title, artist name, playback controls, scrubber, volume, AirPlay, lyrics button, queue button, and share button. But it feels like ONE thing -- a now-playing card. QuranFlow's Today screen could feel like ONE thing -- a "this week" card -- if the status information is integrated into the primary action card rather than being a separate triptych.

Strengths:

• Dramatically reduces the number of attention zones (7 -> 3)
• Status info is still there but as secondary text within the action card, not as 3 competing cards
• The "squint test" becomes trivial -- there's one large card and one session card
• Works for all students, all weeks
• Feels calmer, less dashboard-y, more focused

Weaknesses:

• The triptych's tap targets disappear. Currently, tapping "Lesson" navigates to the Learn screen's lesson section, tapping "Submission" goes to submission, etc. A text row inside the action card doesn't have those shortcuts.
• Compressing "2 of 3 watched · Not submitted · 1 new feedback" into one line requires very careful typographic treatment. It could feel cramped.
• This is a significant redesign of the Today screen, not a tweak.

Expert perspective: Consolidation is the standard approach when a screen feels busy. Instead of removing data, you reduce the visual weight by grouping related information. Apple's Weather app redesigned from many separate cards to a flowing layout -- same data, much less visual noise.

Solution Space D: "What's Next" Design -- One Thing at a Time

Philosophy: The Today screen doesn't need to be a dashboard. What if it just answered ONE question: "What should I do next?" -- and that's it?

This is how apps like Headspace, Calm, and Duolingo work. You open the app, and there's ONE prominent action. Not a status overview. Not a triptych. Just: "Today's lesson is ready."

How this works:

Week 8 of 15

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│  Watch Your Lesson           │
│  Idgham with Ghunnah         │
│  2 short videos · 8 min      │
│                               │
│  [▶ Start Lesson]             │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Live now: Sisters' QRC
6:00 AM EST · [Join]

That's it. Two elements. The student sees their next step and today's session (if any). After they watch their lesson, the card changes to "Record Your Recitation." After they submit, it changes to "You're done this week! Coach Amina will review your recording."

Where does status information live? In the Learn tab. The Learn tab already has the full week view with lesson progress, submission section, and feedback section. The Today screen doesn't need to duplicate that information -- it just needs to point the student to the next step.

Strengths:

• Maximum simplicity. Impossible to be confused. One card, one action.
• Perfectly aligned with Lejla's "plug and play" philosophy and the "bare minimum" approach
• Students with ADHD see exactly one thing to focus on
• No jargon parsing needed -- the card uses natural language ("Watch Your Lesson," not "Lesson: 2 of 3")
• The old app was loved for its simplicity. This is even simpler.

Weaknesses:

• Loses the "at-a-glance status" that the redesign was built to provide. A student who wants to know "Did I get feedback?" has to tap into the Learn tab.
• Feels potentially "too empty" for students who have been in the program for 8 weeks and want a richer dashboard
• The original usability audit found that students were confused about their status. This design removes the status overview entirely, which could re-introduce confusion.
• May feel like a regression from the current sophisticated design

Expert perspective: This is the most opinionated approach. It's what Jony Ive would do -- remove until there's nothing left to remove. It works brilliantly for apps with a single daily action (meditate, exercise, study one lesson). QuranFlow is slightly more complex -- there are multiple weekly tasks (lesson, submission, live sessions). Whether "one thing at a time" works depends on whether students need to see the full picture or just the next step.

Solution Space E: Contextual Density -- The Same Screen, Different Depths

Philosophy: Don't change what's on the screen -- change how much of it you see at first glance. Use established iOS patterns (expandable sections, collapsed by default) to let the student choose their depth.

How this works:

The Today screen shows the same elements, but the status triptych and sessions are collapsed by default into compact headers that expand on tap:

Week 8 of 15 · Level 2

[Continue Your Lesson ..................]
  Idgham with Ghunnah
  [▶ Continue Lesson]

This Week   2/3 · ○ · 1 new          ⌄
  (tap to expand into triptych cards)

Today's Sessions   3 sessions          ⌄
  (tap to expand into session cards)

When collapsed, "This Week" is a single row: "2/3 · ○ · 1 new" with a disclosure chevron. Tap to see the full triptych cards. When collapsed, "Today's Sessions" is a single row: "3 sessions" with a chevron. Tap to see the full card list.

The student who wants a quick glance sees 3 things (week, action, summary). The student who wants details taps to expand.

Strengths:

• No information is removed -- everything is still accessible
• Default state is simple (3 zones); expanded state is rich (7 zones)
• iOS-native pattern (expandable sections in Settings, Mail, etc.)
• Students who want more detail can get it; students who don't aren't overwhelmed
• Works for all students, all weeks -- no temporal logic

Weaknesses:

• The compressed status row "2/3 · ○ · 1 new" is LESS clear than the full triptych, especially for new users. What does "○" mean? (It means "not submitted" -- but only if you know the icon convention.)
• Adding expand/collapse logic adds interaction complexity
• Collapsed sections might feel hidden -- the same "I didn't know there were tabs" problem, but now "I didn't know I could tap this"
• This is progressive disclosure, but it can feel like information hiding if the affordances aren't clear

Expert perspective: This is the "have your cake and eat it too" approach. It sounds ideal in theory, but in practice, collapsed sections suffer from discoverability problems. If students don't realize they can expand "This Week," they miss the triptych entirely. It works best when the collapsed state is self-sufficient (you don't NEED to expand to use the app) and the expanded state is a bonus.

Part 5: Synthesis -- What Would an Expert Designer Actually Do?

An expert design consultant looking at the QuranFlow Today screen would likely recommend a combination of Solution Spaces A and B, with elements of C:

Step 1: Remove what doesn't earn its space (Space A)

• Remove the progress ring permanently. It's redundant, ambiguous, and competes for attention. No student will miss it because the triptych (or its replacement) already tells the story.
• Remove or merge the countdown. "3 days until Week 9 unlocks" doesn't enable any action. If kept at all, it should be subtle inline text, not a dedicated line.
• Reduce session cards to 2 with "Full Schedule" link.

Step 2: Fix the labels (Space A)

• Rename permanently: "Submission" -> "Your Recording," "Feedback" -> "Coach Feedback," "Lesson" -> "Your Lesson"
• Rename permanently: "Today's Sessions" -> "Today's Live Sessions" (and optionally add "optional" context during Week 1 only, or permanently if sessions truly are optional)
• These are permanent label changes, not temporary annotations. If "Your Recording" is clearer for new users, it's also clearer for Week 15 users.

Step 3: Design self-explaining empty states (Space B)

• When Feedback has no content: "After you submit, Coach Amina will send audio feedback"
• When Recording is pending: "Record this week's passage to send to your coach"
• When no sessions today: "No live sessions today. Next: Tuesday 6 AM EST"
• Empty states teach the concept at the exact moment the student encounters it

Step 4: Consider triptych consolidation (Space C)

This is the most impactful but most aggressive change. Two options:

Option 1 (conservative): Keep the 3-card triptych but with better labels and empty states. This is the minimum change.

Option 2 (aggressive): Compress the triptych into a single compact status row inside or below the primary action card. "Lesson: 2/3 · Recording: ○ · Feedback: 1 new" -- one line instead of three cards. This dramatically reduces visual zones (from 5 to 3) but loses the tap-target shortcuts.

What this gives you

After Steps 1-3 (the conservative path), the Today screen has:

Week 8 of 15 · Level 2               [bell icon]

[Primary Action Card]
  Continue Your Lesson
  Idgham with Ghunnah · Video 2 of 3
  [▶ Continue Lesson]

This Week
  [Your Lesson: 2/3] [Your Recording: ○] [Coach Feedback: 1 new]

Today's Live Sessions               Full Schedule →
  [Session 1 card]
  [Session 2 card]

5 zones (down from 7). Clearer labels. No progress ring competing for attention. Self-explaining empty states. Works identically for Week 1 and Week 15.

Part 6: Open Questions

Design Questions (for team discussion)

1. Should the progress ring be removed permanently? The argument is strong (redundant, ambiguous, competes for attention). Is there a case for keeping it that hasn't been considered?

2. Should the status triptych remain as 3 cards or consolidate into a single row? The 3-card version has clear tap targets but creates 3 attention zones. The single row reduces visual weight but loses navigation shortcuts. Which matters more for this audience?

3. Should "Submission" be renamed to "Your Recording" permanently? Or is "Submission" a term students need to learn because the program uses it in communications?

4. Should the countdown timer be removed? It doesn't enable action, but it does set expectations for content unlocking. Is "expectation setting" worth a line of screen real estate?

5. How simplified should the Today screen be? The spectrum runs from Solution Space A (remove progress ring, fix labels -- conservative) to Solution Space D (one action card, nothing else -- radical). Where on this spectrum does the team want to land?

Questions for User Testing

6. Does "Week 1 of 15" make immediate sense without explanation?
7. Do students understand "Your Recording" better than "Submission"?
8. With the progress ring removed, do students feel they're missing information?
9. Can students find their feedback if it's not on the Today screen triptych? (i.e., if they have to go to the Learn tab)
10. Does the "one thing at a time" (Space D) approach feel too sparse, or do students prefer it?

Verification

This is a research/exploration document. No code changes. Verification:

• Lejla's views accurately captured from transcript
• Multiple solution spaces explored (onboarding: 4 approaches; simplification: 5 approaches)
• Each element on Today screen audited individually
• Recommendations distinguish between "remove permanently" and "hide temporarily"
• Expert designer perspective applied (design for new user first)
• Open questions identified for both team discussion and user testing