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DoCurious — Spec vs What Was Built
Honest accounting of what the V2 specs called for vs where the product is today.
The Story
We started with 23 spec documents covering the full DoCurious platform. As we built, we discovered what the product actually needed — which in many cases went significantly beyond the original specs.
What the specs defined: ~400 feature atoms across 10 core domains What we built: The spec features + 85 additional admin toolkit pages + a full documentation system
Spec-by-Spec Coverage
| Doc | Domain | Spec Scope | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core Platform & Accounts | Auth, roles, COPPA | ~85% | All auth flows built, COPPA compliance complete |
| 2 | Challenges & Track Records | Challenge CRUD, TRs, verification | ~75% | Core flows complete, portfolio export missing |
| 3 | Gifting & Invitations | Gifts, vendor marketplace | ~40% | Gift UI exists, redemption flow partial |
| 4 | Explore & Discovery | Search, filters, Dealer's Choice | ~50% | Basic explore works, map/calendar built, DC integrated |
| 5 | Communities & Social | 6 types, 3 feeds, moderation | ~60% | Community cards + goals built, 3-feed structure partial |
| 6 | School Administration | SA/Teacher/Student hierarchy | ~55% | Roster/classes/assignments exist, dashboards built |
| 7 | Reflection & SEL | Prompts, analytics | ~45% | Components wired, structured UI partial |
| 8 | Gamification | XP, levels, badges, streaks | ~70% | XP/levels/badges/streaks functional, journey map basic |
| 9 | Admin & Analytics | Admin panel, moderation, dashboards | ~20%* | See "Beyond Spec" below |
| 10 | Data Security & Privacy | Encryption, compliance | ~90% | All compliance gaps resolved |
| 11 | Notifications | 4 channels, frequency caps | ~65% | Preferences + grouped notifications work |
| 12 | Onboarding | Per-role flows, empty states | ~30% | Basic empty states, GuidedTour not integrated |
| 13 | Performance | Caching, media pipeline | ~10% | Mock API only, deferred to backend |
| 14 | Legal Policies | 7 policy pages | ~95% | All pages built including DPA, DMCA, Cookie |
| 15 | Reporting & Flagging | Reports, block, appeals | ~40% | ReportModal built, workflows partial |
| 16 | Internationalization | i18n, RTL | ~15% | Framework in place, ~6% string coverage |
| 17 | CI/CD & Deployment | Pipeline, feature flags | ~70% | Feature flags store/hook/admin built |
| 18 | Accessibility | WCAG 2.1 AA | ~30% | Reduced motion works, keyboard partial |
| 19 | Launch Plan | 6 rollout stages | ~5% | No launch infrastructure yet |
| 20 | Vendor Portal | Dashboard, CRUD, events | ~40% | Pages exist, many use mock data |
| -- | Screen Descriptions (Dashboards) | 5 dashboard specs | ~60% | General/SA/Parent done, Teacher/Student added |
| -- | Screen Descriptions (Features) | Explore/Detail/TR specs | ~70% | Detail + TR editor mostly complete |
*Doc 9 (Admin) shows 20% spec coverage, but we went far beyond the spec — see below.
Where We Went Beyond the Spec
The Admin Toolkit (65+ pages, NOT in original spec)
The original Doc 9 specified a basic admin panel with ~15 features. We built 65+ admin tools organized into 11 categories:
| Category | Pages Built | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics | 12 | Executive Dashboard, Product Analytics, Cohort Analysis, Funnel Builder, A/B Tests |
| Operations | 10 | Feature Flags, Compliance Monitor, Error Dashboard, Performance Profiler |
| Business | 11 | Investor Data Room, ROI Calculator, Trial Manager, Pricing Configurator |
| Content | 8 | Design Token Editor, Landing Page Builder, Email Templates, White Label |
| Engineering | 10 | API Playground, Chaos Mode, Schema Diff, Visual Regression, Mock Data Generator |
| Support | 5 | Support Quick Actions, Support History, Knowledge Base Builder |
| School | 5 | Multi-School Dashboard, Curriculum Alignment, Student Insights, Teacher Effectiveness |
| Marketing | 4 | SEO Dashboard, Social Proof Generator, Content Calendar, Competitive Intel |
Documentation System (NOT in any spec)
Built a full documentation ecosystem:
- VitePress knowledge base with 70+ pages (feature guides, role guides, dev guide)
- 55 Storybook stories (22 UI + 33 domain)
- TypeDoc API reference auto-generated from source
- Auto-generation scripts for route maps, permission matrices, store catalogs
Additional Features Beyond Spec
| Feature | Status | Spec Reference |
|---|---|---|
Demo Landing page (/demo) | Built | Not in spec |
| Submit user-created challenges | Built | Mentioned briefly in Doc 2 |
| Group challenges | Built | Not in spec |
| Map view for challenges | Built | Doc 4 mentioned, not detailed |
| Portfolio system with 7 templates | Built | Doc 2 mentioned 5 templates |
| Parent Communication Hub | Built | Not in spec |
| Curriculum Alignment Tool | Built | Not in spec |
| Assignment Builder | Built | Not in spec (SA flow in Doc 6) |
| Vendor Application page | Built | Not in spec |
| Revenue Dashboard for vendors | Built | Not in spec |
| Challenge Builder Pro | Built | Not in spec |
| Account appeal flow | Built | Doc 15 mentioned briefly |
Key Gaps Still Open
Must-Have Before Backend Integration
- Hierarchical challenge category taxonomy (spec has 6 categories with ~27 subcategories, we have 10 flat)
- Structured ReflectionPrompts in finalization flow (component exists, not wired)
Must-Have Before Launch
- Toast notification system (no in-app toast currently)
- Keyboard accessibility improvements
- i18n coverage beyond 6%
- Learning path prerequisites and branching
Nice-to-Have (Depth Improvements)
- Journey Map → interactive territory map (currently basic grid)
- Dealer's Choice → 4 cards (currently 3), penalties, practice mode
- Curated views → expand from 5 to ~30 across 6 families
- Portfolio → PDF export + 2 more templates
- School → CSV export for rosters and analytics
Resolved Spec Contradictions
These conflicts between spec documents have been decided:
| Conflict | Resolution |
|---|---|
| XP values (Doc 2 vs Doc 8) | 50/100/200 base by difficulty |
| Level names (Doc 8 variations) | 15 levels: Newcomer → Icon |
| Badge categories (Doc 8 inconsistencies) | 7 categories with 57 total badges |
| Streak unit | Weekly, 7-day rolling window |
| Gift expiration | 365 days |
| Difficulty labels | Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced / Expert |
| Reflection prompt types | 7 types defined |
| Notification priorities | low / medium / high / critical |
| Notification categories | 13 categories |
Still Open
| Conflict | Options |
|---|---|
| Challenge categories | 10 flat (current) vs 6 hierarchical with 27 subcategories (spec) |
| Community types | 8 defined (current) vs 6 core (spec) |
The Bottom Line
Spec coverage: ~60% of 400 feature atoms fully built, ~38% partial/placeholder
But the real story is scope expansion:
- Admin toolkit: 65+ pages vs spec's ~15
- Documentation: Full knowledge base, Storybook, TypeDoc (spec had zero)
- Compliance: All 10 items resolved (spec deferred many to "v2")
- Legal pages: 9 full policy pages (spec listed them, didn't detail them)
The prototype demonstrates the full product vision — not just what the specs described, but what a team needs to actually operate this platform.