First-week activation ladder and non-blocking guidance policy

DEC-0079 - First-week activation ladder and non-blocking guidance policy

Context

Outside-in baseline is already defined, but the first 7 days after signup still lack a simple, explicit guidance model. New users can enter Home and see many options, yet fail to take enough early actions to form learning rhythm.

Decision

Define a lightweight first-week activation policy:

• Activation window:
  • apply only when account_age_days <= 7.
• Delivery surface:
  • Home inline activation card only,
  • no forced popup,
  • no hard gate or penalty.
• Activation ladder:
  1. complete first submitted exercise,
  2. complete second submitted exercise within 48 hours from first submission,
  3. reach at least 3 active study days in first 7 days.
• Completion/expiry:
  • hide activation card once step 3 is reached,
  • auto-expire card after day 7 if not completed,
  • after expiry, continue with normal recommendation baseline (no fail state).
• Course-aware arbitration:
  • if urgent course signal exists (next_class <= 48h or due_item <= 72h), activation card points to course continuation first.
• Measurement baseline:
  • activation_first_attempt_24h,
  • activation_second_attempt_48h,
  • activation_week1_active_days_ge3,
  • activation_card_cta_click_rate,
  • activation_week1_completion_rate.

Decision Value

• Reduces early decision friction for new users.
• Increases chance to establish study rhythm without adding coercive UX.
• Keeps implementation simple and scalable with deterministic rules.

Rationale

First-week behavior is a strong leading indicator for long-term habit retention. A compact action ladder gives clarity while preserving user freedom.

Implications

• Product/UX impact:
  • Home gains one temporary activation guidance layer for new users.
• Data/logic impact:
  • requires account-age-aware activation state and step-progress tracking.
• Operational impact:
  • no manual operations dependency; fully rule-based.

Alternatives considered

• Option A: keep current cold-start recommendation only.
• Option B: use mandatory onboarding tasks for first week.

Open follow-ups

• No blocker for baseline lock.