Originally (15Oct) this component (03) 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 emerged during 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 innovate and build out… with an understanding of how I currently see the design issues, the general requirements of potential solutions and an example of how to progress.

This is just a quick and dirty first pass – off the top of my head – there are better solutions out there.

So I sketched out to ChatGPT how I see things – (Chat GPT has become very familiar with my ideas over the last 12 months)…

After some generic pre-amble discussing 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 in orange is the response from ChatGPT

– obviously it names and describes software technologies that you know more about than me – but if I were working alone – I would try to implement this functionality by researching the suggested strategy and available technologies described below (I already know e.g. that 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)

1. 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?”

2. 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.”

3. Idea generation (deliberation/consensus discovery) could be associated with Values, Prospects or Impact Assesmsnts with different Cues applicable in these three cases

• 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.”…Note that these three (good) UX cues are relevant to ALL uses of Polis (so useful for new users to help understand what is being asked of them)…BUT
  • in a Value Dialogue – we particularly need the users to collaborate (using Polis ) to develop answers to questions like “What are the best ways for us to express these values in our (Dailiy lives, communities, countries, globally).
  • In a Prospect Dialogue s well as how best to evolve, develop and improve the project outcomes.
  • In an Impact DIalogue we may be able to use Polis to decide who the stakeholders are, and which values are affected.

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.”

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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.

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NB – I accepted ChatGPTs offer to produce these files and will make them available if required…