Planning

Product Roadmap: Sakha App

Structure: Themes & Stages | Focus: Volunteer-Led MVP

The roadmap is structured around Initiatives/Themes that deliver user value, prioritized by the current stage of the project lifecycle: Discovery/Now, Next, and Later.

Core Principles for this Volunteer-Based Roadmap:

Focus on Themes, not Dates: Timelines are estimates (circa) and depend on volunteer bandwidth.
Prioritize MVP/Sustainability: The immediate focus is delivering a functional app and ensuring the project can sustain itself operationally.
Iterate and Communicate: Be transparent with the non-profit organization and volunteers about progress and potential delays.

The "Sakha" Roadmap (Themes & Stages)

Stage/Timeline	Theme/Initiative	Key Features/Epics (Volunteer Tasks)	Status & Dependencies
Discovery/ Now (Q1/Q2, circa 2022)	MVP Launch: Core Functionality	A. Content Engine: Backend setup for managing prayers/audio. B. Learn & Listen: Basic audio player, synced text view. C. Simple Auth: Email/Social login for tracking. D. Android Beta: First release on the Play Store.	In Progress Dependency: Consistent UI/UX design volunteer availability.
Next (Q3/Q4, circa 2022)	User Engagement & Routine Building	A. Daily Reminder System: Push notifications for Today's Practice. B. Gamification (Streaks): Visual tracking of consecutive practice days. C. Curated Playlists: The "Today's Practice" feature from PRD. D. iOS MVP: (if resources allow).	Planned Dependency: Successful launch and user feedback from the Android MVP.
Later (Post-MVP, Ongoing)	Community & Advanced Learning	A. Progression Modules: Unlocking advanced content/rituals (vratas). B. Community Sharing: Ability to share prayer progress on social media (optional). C. Community Feature: A basic feed for community updates from the Mutt/temples. D. Sustainability Model: Turning on donation prompts or optional subscriptions.	Backlog Dependency: Funding needs identified, community buy-in, and reliable long-term volunteer commitment.

Managing the Volunteer Aspect

When communicating this roadmap to your team, emphasize the following points regarding volunteer management:

1. Define "Done" Clearly

Every "Key Feature/Epic" listed above must have a highly detailed set of requirements (from the PRD) and acceptance criteria before a volunteer starts working on it. Vague tasks lead to frustration and incomplete work.

2. Break Epics into Small, Manageable Tasks

An "Epic" like "Basic audio player" should be broken down into small, 4-8 hour tasks that a volunteer can pick up and complete within a weekend (e.g., "Set up audio playback library", "Create Play/Pause button UI", "Implement duration slider").

3. Use Agile Project Management Tools

Utilize free tools like GitHub Projects, Trello, or Jira (Free Tier) to manage a Kanban board. This makes the backlog transparent, so volunteers can see available tasks and self-select based on their skills and availability.

4. Prioritize Relentlessly

Because resources are scarce, you must be ruthless about prioritizing the items in the "Now" column. Any new request (feature creep) goes straight to "Later" or the backlog until it is properly evaluated. This keeps the immediate workload manageable for your team.