# Spec: Relationship Journal

> **Purpose:** Page-specific delta spec for the Relationship journal — the built-in journaling feature (page-journal pattern) for Relationships, not a child app. Shared journal behavior is defined in [`../../foundation/page-journal/spec.md`](../../foundation/page-journal/spec.md).
> **Status:** Slimmed 2026-06-12 after shared Page Journal spec was created; reframed 2026-06-25 off the child-app model — this is a built-in BrainDrive feature.

**Owner:** Dave W (product) / Dave J (build)
**Parent surface:** [`../spec.md`](../spec.md)
**Shared journal spec:** [`../../foundation/page-journal/spec.md`](../../foundation/page-journal/spec.md)
**Roadmap view:** [`operations/planning/relationships/roadmap.md`](../../../../../operations/planning/relationships/roadmap.md)
**Build handoff:** Dave J creates downstream requirements/build/test artifacts through the software-factory build workflow after prioritization accepts the work for build.

---

## What This Spec Owns

Relationship Journal inherits the shared Page Journal contract. This spec only defines what is unique to Relationships:

- private relationship events, reflections, follow-ups, commitments, and context changes;
- pattern reflection around recurring situations, boundary patterns, communication blockers, and owner-controlled next steps;
- privacy, agency, uncertainty, and professional-care boundaries;
- separation from CRM, dating, therapy, legal, mediation, crisis, surveillance, and outreach automation;
- Relationship-specific scenario and test coverage.

Relationship Journal is not the Relationships page itself. Relationships owns goals, current situations, boundaries, success criteria, and the plan. Relationship Journal owns owner-entered observations that keep the Relationships coach current after the initial interview/spec/plan session.

---

## Relationship-Specific Scope

An owner can use Relationship Journal to capture:

- relationship events, reflections, conversations, follow-ups, commitments, and context changes;
- sensitive owner-provided context about other people;
- follow-up gaps, communication blockers, boundary questions, and owner-controlled next steps;
- recurring patterns that may affect the Relationships plan;
- private notes that help the Relationships coach stay current.

Relationship Journal must not become:

- passive ingestion from email, SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, social media, dating apps, contacts, calendars, or CRM tools;
- a therapy, couples counseling, mediation, legal advice, crisis support, or professional-care replacement;
- a dating app, matchmaking network, outreach automation system, social graph, or CRM;
- a tool for mind-reading, diagnosing, manipulating, surveilling, or optimizing against another person's dignity;
- a birthday/anniversary tracker or relationship analytics dashboard in V.1.

---

## Relationship Starting Positions

| Starting Position | What Relationship Journal Must Recognize | Quality Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Quick relationship note | Owner wants to record what happened or what they felt. | Captures a concise dated entry with source/page context and no forced CRM fields. |
| Sensitive third-party context | Owner mentions private context about another person. | Stores only owner-provided context at useful detail, labels uncertainty, and avoids mind-reading. |
| Follow-up or commitment | Owner says something that may require action. | Stores reflection in the journal and captures concrete commitments in the entry's `Follow-up → Proposed task` field; routing to the to-do list arrives V.1.1. |
| Pattern / follow-up review | Owner asks what keeps happening, what the journal shows, or where they seem stuck. | Reviews recurring situations, follow-up gaps, boundary patterns, communication blockers, and owner-controlled next steps as hypotheses. |
| Parent-page implication | Journal content changes goals, boundaries, current state, or plan. | Asks before updating Relationships `spec.md` or `plan.md`. |
| Professional-care request | Owner asks for therapy, legal, crisis, mediation, or safety help. | Stays inside safe support/routing boundaries and uses careful boundary language. |

---

## User Stories

### RJ-1: Add A Relationship Journal Entry

```gherkin
Given the owner shares a relationship follow-up note
When BrainDrive identifies it as journal-worthy
Then BrainDrive writes a dated entry to Relationship `journal.md`
And preserves source conversation and Relationships page context
And stores owner-provided context without claiming certainty about other people
And confirms what was saved and where
```

### RJ-2: View Or Correct Relationship Journal Context

```gherkin
Given Relationship Journal entries exist
When the owner asks what they have logged or asks to correct a prior entry
Then BrainDrive reads the Relationship journal state
And summarizes or updates only the intended entry
And treats sensitive third-party context carefully
And does not invent conversations, feelings, commitments, or facts about other people
```

### RJ-3: Surface Relationship Patterns And Follow-Up Blocks

```gherkin
Given multiple Relationship Journal entries exist
When the owner asks what keeps happening or BrainDrive detects a relevant pattern during a follow-up session
Then BrainDrive reviews entries over time
And surfaces recurring situations, open follow-ups, boundary patterns, communication blockers, or owner-controlled next steps as hypotheses
And asks the owner whether the pattern feels true before updating Relationships `spec.md` or Relationships `plan.md`
```

### RJ-4: Preserve Privacy And Agency

```gherkin
Given the owner journals relationship context
When BrainDrive stores or summarizes it
Then it stores only owner-provided context
And avoids passive ingestion, surveillance, or manipulative recommendations
And keeps the owner's agency, boundaries, and the dignity of other people central
```

### RJ-5: Stay Inside Professional-Care Boundaries

```gherkin
Given the owner asks for therapy, legal, crisis, mediation, or safety support
When Relationship Journal responds
Then it does not present itself as professional care
And uses the approved boundary language when needed
And keeps any journal entry limited to owner-provided context and owner-controlled next steps
```

---

## Boundary Language

When professional-care boundary language is needed, use:

> I can help you reflect on what happened, notice patterns, prepare for conversations, and decide what you want to do next. I cannot replace therapy, legal advice, mediation, crisis support, or professional care. If this involves safety, abuse, legal risk, or urgent distress, consider contacting an appropriate professional or local emergency resource.

---

## Data And Routing Delta

| Artifact | Rule |
|---|---|
| `documents/relationships/journal/journal.md` | Owner-entered Relationship follow-up history using the shared journal format |
| Relationships `spec.md` | Current relationship goals, current situations, boundaries, assumptions, and success criteria |
| Relationships `plan.md` | Ordered relationship next steps, conversation plans, milestones, active plan, and plan status |
| To-do list (built-in feature, V.1.1) | Concrete commitments — in V.1 these stay in the journal entry's `Follow-up → Proposed task` field; routing to the to-do list arrives V.1.1 (see Page Journal spec §Journal ↔ To-Do List Handoff) |
| `me/profile.md` | Stable cross-project owner facts only after confirmation |
| Future external tools (V.1.1) | Hard-conversation prep, check-ins, people memory, reminders, or community planning arrive as future external tool calling (V.1.1, per D257), not as built-in apps |

---

## Test Focus

- Relationship Journal follows the shared Page Journal create/view/correct/pattern/adjustment flow.
- Relationships `spec.md` / `plan.md` updates are owner-approved and concise.
- Concrete commitments are captured in the entry's `Follow-up → Proposed task` field in V.1; routing to the to-do list is a V.1.1 test.
- Pattern reflection avoids mind-reading, blame, manipulation, shame, and certainty about another person.
- Privacy, agency, uncertainty, and professional-care boundaries hold.
- CRM, dating, passive ingestion, therapy, legal, mediation, crisis, outreach automation, and social graph scope does not enter V.1.

---

## Success Definition

Relationship Journal V.1 is done when:

1. The owner can return after the initial Relationships interview/spec/plan and BrainDrive can run a useful follow-up session.
2. The owner can create, view, and correct journal entries conversationally.
3. BrainDrive can review journal history to surface recurring situations, follow-up gaps, communication blockers, and owner-calibrated hypotheses.
4. Parent Relationships spec/plan updates are owner-approved and concise.
5. Concrete commitments are captured in the journal entry's `Follow-up → Proposed task` field (to-do list routing arrives V.1.1).
6. The journal follows the shared Page Journal spec and BrainDrive memory architecture.
7. Privacy, agency, uncertainty, and professional-care boundaries hold.
8. The harness can run and score the Relationship journal flow.

The work is not successful if Relationship Journal becomes a CRM, dating app, therapy substitute, passive-ingestion system, or if BrainDrive invents facts about another person, silently updates parent artifacts, overwrites owner entries, or reflects patterns in a blaming or manipulative way.

---

## Changelog

| Date | Change | Reason | Source | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | Deferred to-do list routing to V.1.1; in V.1 concrete commitments stay in the journal entry's follow-up field. | [[braindrive-repo]] D272 moved the to-do list to V.1.1; journaling ships first in V.1. | DW | Confirmed |
| 2026-06-25 | Reframed off the child-app model: this is a built-in BrainDrive feature, not a child app. | Propagation of D257/D265 | DW direction | Confirmed |
| 2026-06-12 | Slimmed spec to page-specific delta and moved repeated journal behavior to shared Page Journal spec. | Avoid repeating the same journal contract across every page-specific spec. | DW review | Draft |
| 2026-06-12 | Resolved Relationship Journal professional-care boundary copy. | Boundary language should be clear and careful without making normal relationship reflection feel alarmist. | DW review | Confirmed |
| 2026-06-12 | Added pattern reflection and coaching insight requirements. | Journal history should help BrainDrive surface useful recurring situations, blockers, and follow-up gaps as owner-calibrated hypotheses without mind-reading others. | DW review | Confirmed |
| 2026-06-11 | Created Relationship Journal child-app spec for Phase 2 V.1. | V.1 spec coverage review. | DW review | Confirmed |

## Approval

- [x] Reviewed by: Dave W
- [x] Date: 2026-06-30
- [x] Ready for Planning: [x]