EVT 2026-02-18 - Stage A/B/D Goal Freedom, Contextual Nudge, and Adaptive Recommendation Baseline

Session scope

Lock the final V2 baseline for non-mandatory goal handling, contextual nudge behavior, adaptive recommendation contracts, and outside-in low-friction entry.

User-confirmed outcomes

1. Goal is fully optional across all flows, including paid flow.
2. No fixed weekly popup loop for unanswered goal.
3. Goal nudge becomes contextual only, with touchpoints:
   • Home,
   • Practice Management,
   • Profile.
4. Goal nudge frequency cap: maximum 1 nudge per day per account.
5. Recommendation strategy baseline:
   • habit-first priority,
   • dynamic set size (3 to 7),
   • one-line reason label per item,
   • adapt recommendation strategy after 3 consecutive ignores,
   • max 3 items from same skill in one recommendation set,
   • manual controls: skill, difficulty, duration,
   • manual controls persist in current session only,
   • refresh triggers: on submit + manual refresh.
6. Cold-start recommendation source for no-goal/no-history users:
   • trending exercises from recent 14 days,
   • easy-start bias.
7. Outside-in entry baseline:
   • pre-auth browsing allowed for program/course/exercise discovery,
   • auth gate at attempt start or first persist action,
   • signup minimum fields = auth identity + terms,
   • first landing after signup = Home empty-state.
8. Paid flow data policy:
   • checkout requires payment information only,
   • no mandatory goal/learning profile field in checkout.

Trace

• Promoted into: DEC-0040, DEC-0041, DEC-0042, DEC-0043
• Reflected in: STATE_Onboarding_Goals, STATE_Practice_Recommendation, STATE_Home_Router_Mode_Switching, STATE_Entry_Access_Foundation, STATE_Access_Profile_Subscription_Envelope
• Mapped for UX extraction in: UX_Extraction_Map