Originally this component was to some extent ‘place holding’ i.e. supporting the idea of discourse, and communications style setting – as central to an effective VP process – to be fleshed out – after the basic mechanics of entering Values, Prospects and Impact assessments and displaying them in a zoomable Info-graphic was proven…

However – it was clear from our first 2 hour team meeting that my outline vision needed to be clearer – at least defining a problem domain well enough for the teams to innoovate and build out… with an understanding of that vision and the general requirements…

I am not trying to spoon feed you here – this is just a quick and dirty pass…

So here is my vision – enhanced and sketched out by ChatGPT (who has become very familiar with my ideas over the last 12 months)…

After some generic pre-amble discussing f=with ChatGPT how to define three or four of the primary forms of discourse relevant to VP (Empathetic, Technical, Relationship building, and Creative innovation/ideation)… I said/asked:-

I’d like you to consider how in VP we have; Values – which are a good place for empathy buidling testimony, and Prospects which are a good place for White paper engineering discourse. We also have Impact assessments – where we need to ID stakeholders and make impact assessments. In these different contexts could I have a general Disourse object – where I am able to ‘Add New’ discourse threads which can then be be typed as e.g. ‘Personal testimony’ or ‘Factual discourse’? Where in this sort of schema would I be able to model and store relationship building between team members? I need a 4 stage dev plan with only 4 sprints that develops a Discourse Object that we can add types to. Allowing the user to describe the basic title and briefely describe the purpose of the new Discourse element… before , Then select a type, which would then open up a new panel/window for that type – with all the cues in that window (in words, pictures and texts relevant for that discourse type and communications pattern). Note also that I would like a third type of comms – idea generation – using Polis. I would like these modules to be available with minimal effort, using libraries or other external functional APIs – no recoding or re-invention on the part of the students. Can you think this through carefully and plan it out please?

Below is the response from ChatGPT – obviously it names and describes software technologies that you know more about than me – but if I weere working alone – I would try to implement this functionality by researching the strategy and available technologies described below (I already know there is a form of API for Polis for instance). whether there are better opportunities – I do not know but we need to put a few on teh table and then ask potential collaborators if they can improve on them…(IMO)..

Thought for 27s

Love this framing: Values = empathy/testimony; Prospects = white-paper/engineering; Impacts = stakeholder effects. Here’s a clean plan that lets students stand up a Discourse Object with three communication modes (no recoding between modes), integrates Polis for idea generation, and leaves space for relationship-building.

1) Core data model (MVP)

Objects

Value: value_id, title, description, tags.
Prospect: prospect_id, title, problem/solution, status.
ImpactAssessment: impact_id, prospect_id (FK), stakeholder_group, impact_statement, score(s), rationale, evidence_links.
Discourse (the new object):
- discourse_id (PK)
- type: {personal_testimony, factual_engineering, idea_generation}
- context_ref: {value_id | prospect_id | impact_id} (nullable but at least one required)
- title, intro, created_by, created_at
- embed: provider {discourse_forum | hypothesis | polis}, embed_config (JSON), canonical_url
- moderation_status {open, moderated, archived}
- metrics (replies, participants, reactions)
Team: team_id, name, purpose.
TeamMembership: user_id, team_id, role, join_date.
RelationshipEdge (optional but useful): from_user, to_user, relationship_type {kudos, mentor, reviewer, collaborator}, note, created_at.

Why this works

The Discourse record is just a thin wrapper: it points to whatever you embed (Polis, Discourse forum topic list or topic, Hypothes.is layer) and binds it to a Value/Prospect/Impact context. Students don’t recode when switching style—they select a Type, and the UI spawns the relevant embed with the right cues.

2) Three comms types (ready-made integrations)

Personal testimony (empathy space)

Editor: Tiptap (React) rich text + optional audio/video upload.
Annotation: Hypothes.is overlay for reflective replies, highlights, and @mentions. Quick embed script; can be enabled per page. Hypothesis+3Hypothesis+3Hypothesis+3
UX cues in the window: “Speak in first-person,” “Describe a moment,” “Reflect, don’t argue,” “I-statements,” “What value was at stake?”

Factual/engineering discourse (white-paper space)

Docs: Tiptap + track-changes/comments, or link out to Google Docs for low-friction.
Forum threads: embed Discourse topic lists or comments widget (read-only in page, click-through to reply) to separate critique from person. Discourse Meta+3Discourse Meta+3Discourse Meta+3
Tasks: simple Kanban (Syncfusion/DHTMLX/SmartUI—pick one with docs and no backend) for sprints/issues. ej2.syncfusion.com+2docs.dhtmlx.com+2
UX cues: “Critique the claim, cite sources, propose tests,” “Use acceptance criteria,” “Link evidence.”

Idea generation (deliberation/consensus discovery)

Polis embed (iframe/script) with seed statements tied to a Value or Prospect. Minimal code: host a Polis convo and embed. compdemocracy.org+2GitHub+2
UX cues: “Vote agree/ disagree/ pass,” “Add short statements,” “We look for clusters and bridges.”

3) Relationship-building (where it lives)

Team page (per Team): member cards with skills, values focus, time windows, “Ask me about…”
Lightweight edges: allow Kudos and Thanks (RelationshipEdge) on any Discourse thread; show a “collaboration heatmap” on the Team page.
Resonance: allow “I relate” reactions on testimonies (distinct from likes).
Pair-ups: a simple “Introduce me to someone who cares about X” button that auto-DMs a suggested match within the Team.

4) Four sprints (8–10 weeks total)

Sprint 1 — Discourse Object & shell (foundations)

Goal: Create the schema + a New Discourse wizard that binds context (Value/Prospect/Impact) and Type.

Build DB tables above; seed a few Values/Prospects.
New Discourse flow: pick Type → pick context → enter title/intro → auto-create an embed placeholder (provider + config JSON).
Render page with Type-specific cues (copy blocks) and a right-rail: participants, attachments, links.
Done when: You can create/view Discourse entries of each Type; cue text appears; no integrations yet.

Sprint 2 — Empathy testimony + annotation

Goal: Make Personal Testimony truly usable.

Integrate Tiptap editor with media. Tiptap+2Tiptap+2
Toggle to enable Hypothes.is embed on that page (script injection + group config); show inline highlights panel. Hypothesis+1
Add reactions: “I relate,” “I learned something,” “Thank you.”
Relationship edges: allow Kudos and store RelationshipEdge.
Done when: Students can post testimonies, annotate with Hypothes.is, and give kudos/resonance without code changes.

Sprint 3 — Engineering discourse + light project flow

Goal: Support white-paper + structured critique.

Add Discourse forum embed: show a topic list for a “Prospects” category inside the Discourse page; clicking opens the full thread in the forum (posting happens there to keep auth simple). Discourse Meta+1
Add Kanban component on the Prospect page (client-side data or simple REST). ej2.syncfusion.com+1
“Create engineering Discourse” → auto-create a matching topic in the forum (optional now; link manually if needed).
Done when: Each Prospect shows an embedded topic list + Kanban; students can discuss and move cards with no extra coding.

Sprint 4 — Idea generation & decisions

Goal: Plug in Polis and surface results.

“Create idea-generation Discourse” → enter Polis convo ID → page renders embedded Polis with instructions. compdemocracy.org+1
Results card: show participation count and cluster summary (link out to Polis report page for now).
Lightweight prioritisation widget (rank Prospects; store votes).
Done when: A Value or Prospect can spin up a Polis convo, people vote/add statements, and you can compare options with the ranker.

5) “No-recode” operating model

All three modes are configuration-driven. The Discourse record stores type and embed_config. Changing type or provider is data-only.
External services do the heavy lifting:
- Polis for clustering/bridge statements (embed). compdemocracy.org
- Discourse for threaded critiques (embed list/comments). Discourse Meta
- Hypothes.is for reflective annotation (drop-in script). Hypothesis
- Kanban for sprint tasks (drop-in React component). ej2.syncfusion.com
Cues + guardrails: Each mode page renders a short “How to communicate here” box (language patterns, examples, norms).

6) Minimal UI spec (what the student builds once)

Create Discourse modal: Type, Context, Title → writes Discourse row with default embed_config for that Type.
Discourse Page layout:
- Header: Title, Context chips (Value/Prospect/Impact), Type badge.
- Left column: the embed (Hypothes.is overlay / Discourse topic list / Polis).
- Right column: Cues; Participants; Attachments; “Give Kudos”; “Propose Pair-up”.
Team Page: member grid, relationships (kudos, mentor/reviewer links), recent Discourse activity.

7) Norms & cues (copy blocks to paste in)

Personal testimony cues: “Use first-person; describe a moment; what value was at stake; how did it affect others; what changed your view?”
Engineering cues: “State assumptions; cite evidence; propose a test; add acceptance criteria; respond to ideas, not people.”
Idea generation cues: “Short, clear statements (≤200 chars); avoid prescriptions; read others’ statements; add bridging ideas.”

If you want, I can generate:

the SQL for these tables,
a JSON schema for the Discourse object,
and a React stub for the “Create Discourse” modal + page with placeholder embeds.

I accepted ChatGPTs offer to produce these files and will make them available as required…

Glasgow Uni: Discourse Component – Outline design – Sprint01.