jobtrackingapp/.gsd/REQUIREMENTS.md

Requirements

This file is the explicit capability and coverage contract for the project.

Use it to track what is actively in scope, what has been validated by completed work, what is intentionally deferred, and what is explicitly out of scope.

Guidelines:

• Keep requirements capability-oriented, not a giant feature wishlist.
• Requirements should be atomic, testable, and stated in plain language.
• Every Active requirement should be mapped to a slice, deferred, blocked with reason, or moved out of scope.
• Each requirement should have one accountable primary owner and may have supporting slices.
• Research may suggest requirements, but research does not silently make them binding.
• Validation means the requirement was actually proven by completed work and verification, not just discussed.

Active

R001 — External job import starts the workflow

• Class: primary-user-loop
• Status: active
• Description: The user finds a job outside the app, imports it into the app, and starts the application workflow from that imported role.
• Why it matters: The product is not a job board replacement; the import step is the real start of the user loop.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S01
• Supporting slices: M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: This is a hard product-shape requirement, not a convenience feature.

R002 — Gmail import feels smart enough to trust

• Class: integration
• Status: active
• Description: Gmail connection, message retrieval, and message/thread import must help the user pull real correspondence into the right job with materially less manual cleanup.
• Why it matters: Gmail import is one of the two clearest current weaknesses and a major trust surface for daily use.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S01
• Supporting slices: M001/S03, M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: Matching quality and import clarity matter more than merely exposing the API surface.

R003 — AI application drafts are materially useful

• Class: differentiator
• Status: active
• Description: Tailored CV and cover-letter drafts must feel specific, credible, and good enough that the user wants to start from them.
• Why it matters: Draft generation exists already, but the milestone bar is actual usefulness rather than feature presence.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S02
• Supporting slices: M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: “A really good AI draft” is an explicit milestone success bar from the discussion.

R004 — Follow-up and reply drafts use real context

• Class: primary-user-loop
• Status: active
• Description: The app must generate follow-up and reply drafts from the imported job, saved application material, and correspondence context tied to that job.
• Why it matters: Follow-through is part of the core value, not an optional afterthought.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S03
• Supporting slices: M001/S01, M001/S02, M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: The user stays in control of sending; the app provides strong drafts only.

R005 — Job table is the primary daily control surface

• Class: continuity
• Status: active
• Description: The first page should give the user a clear overview of jobs, status, readiness, and what needs attention.
• Why it matters: The user explicitly wants to start from the job table each day.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S04
• Supporting slices: M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: This should feel like “scan the field” before drilling into one job.

R006 — Follow-up/dashboard surfaces the right urgency

• Class: continuity
• Status: active
• Description: The dashboard and follow-up surfaces must clearly show next actions, neglected threads, and jobs that need attention now.
• Why it matters: Tracking is only valuable if it turns state into action.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S04
• Supporting slices: M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: The follow-up/dashboard view is the second navigation priority after the table.

R007 — Individual job workspace supports focused execution

• Class: core-capability
• Status: active
• Description: Each job needs a workspace where the user can update status, review/import correspondence, edit drafts, and prepare follow-ups.
• Why it matters: The user’s third step in the daily flow is to drop into a specific job and do focused work.
• Source: inferred
• Primary owning slice: M001/S03
• Supporting slices: M001/S02, M001/S04
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: This is where the product should feel connected instead of scattered.

R008 — Outbound actions remain manual and user-controlled

• Class: constraint
• Status: active
• Description: The app may draft application, reply, and follow-up content, but it must not auto-send emails or auto-apply to jobs.
• Why it matters: The user called auto-sending dangerous and explicitly does not want that behavior.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S03
• Supporting slices: M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: This is a durable trust constraint across all milestones.

R009 — Product is designed for an individual, not a team workflow

• Class: constraint
• Status: active
• Description: Core UX, data model emphasis, and roadmap decisions should optimize for one person managing their own search.
• Why it matters: Individual-first scope keeps product decisions sharp and prevents premature recruiter/CRM drift.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S04
• Supporting slices: M002/S01, M004/S01
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: Shared/team workflows are not the current product target.

R010 — Tracking continuity survives manual and imported updates

• Class: continuity
• Status: active
• Description: The app must preserve a coherent history across manual status changes, imported Gmail correspondence, reminders, and follow-up work.
• Why it matters: The product promise is to keep the thread of the job search intact over time.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: M001/S04
• Supporting slices: M001/S01, M001/S03, M001/S05
• Validation: mapped
• Notes: This is part of what makes the app a tracker and follow-up system, not just a draft generator.

Validated

None yet.

Deferred

R011 — Stronger tracking control-center analytics

• Class: operability
• Status: deferred
• Description: The app should later expand overview analytics, saved views, and clearer strategy readouts beyond the core daily loop.
• Why it matters: This can improve search strategy, but it is not the first trust gap to close.
• Source: inferred
• Primary owning slice: M002/S02
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: unmapped
• Notes: Deferred because Gmail import and draft quality are higher-value first fixes.

R012 — Broader inbox-aware assistance beyond initial Gmail improvements

• Class: integration
• Status: deferred
• Description: The product may later add richer message understanding, smarter thread handling, and broader inbox-aware assistance after the first Gmail milestone.
• Why it matters: This extends the correspondence workflow, but it depends on getting the initial import/matching loop right first.
• Source: inferred
• Primary owning slice: M003/S01
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: unmapped
• Notes: This is the natural next step after M001 proves the core Gmail path.

R013 — Richer AI coaching beyond the application/follow-up core

• Class: differentiator
• Status: deferred
• Description: The app may later add broader strategic coaching and more advanced guidance beyond application package and follow-up/reply drafting.
• Why it matters: There is room to deepen the assistant, but the current product bar is a stronger core workflow.
• Source: inferred
• Primary owning slice: M003/S02
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: unmapped
• Notes: Deferred to avoid scattering the first milestone.

Out of Scope

R014 — Auto-apply to jobs

• Class: anti-feature
• Status: out-of-scope
• Description: The app will not automatically submit applications to external job sites.
• Why it matters: This prevents product drift into risky, low-trust automation the user explicitly does not want.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: none
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: n/a
• Notes: The app starts after discovery/import, not at job search submission.

R015 — Auto-send outbound email or messages

• Class: anti-feature
• Status: out-of-scope
• Description: The app will not send replies, follow-ups, or other communication autonomously.
• Why it matters: Manual control over outbound communication is a hard trust requirement.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: none
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: n/a
• Notes: Drafting is allowed; autonomous sending is not.

R016 — Recruiter CRM or team collaboration workflows

• Class: out-of-scope
• Status: out-of-scope
• Description: The product will not optimize for shared pipelines, recruiter operations, or multi-user coaching workflows right now.
• Why it matters: This protects the individual-first product shape.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: none
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: n/a
• Notes: Multi-user admin surfaces may exist technically, but they are not the roadmap center.

R017 — In-app job discovery replacing job boards

• Class: out-of-scope
• Status: out-of-scope
• Description: The app will not try to replace external job boards as the main discovery surface.
• Why it matters: The user explicitly described a workflow that starts after finding the job elsewhere.
• Source: user
• Primary owning slice: none
• Supporting slices: none
• Validation: n/a
• Notes: Job import is the bridge from external discovery into the app.

Traceability

ID	Class	Status	Primary owner	Supporting	Proof
R001	primary-user-loop	active	M001/S01	M001/S05	mapped
R002	integration	active	M001/S01	M001/S03, M001/S05	mapped
R003	differentiator	active	M001/S02	M001/S05	mapped
R004	primary-user-loop	active	M001/S03	M001/S01, M001/S02, M001/S05	mapped
R005	continuity	active	M001/S04	M001/S05	mapped
R006	continuity	active	M001/S04	M001/S05	mapped
R007	core-capability	active	M001/S03	M001/S02, M001/S04	mapped
R008	constraint	active	M001/S03	M001/S05	mapped
R009	constraint	active	M001/S04	M002/S01, M004/S01	mapped
R010	continuity	active	M001/S04	M001/S01, M001/S03, M001/S05	mapped
R011	operability	deferred	M002/S02	none	unmapped
R012	integration	deferred	M003/S01	none	unmapped
R013	differentiator	deferred	M003/S02	none	unmapped
R014	anti-feature	out-of-scope	none	none	n/a
R015	anti-feature	out-of-scope	none	none	n/a
R016	out-of-scope	out-of-scope	none	none	n/a
R017	out-of-scope	out-of-scope	none	none	n/a

Coverage Summary

• Active requirements: 10
• Mapped to slices: 10
• Validated: 0
• Unmapped active requirements: 0