Placement Audit (Current Surfaces)¶

Date: 2026-02-28
Framework: Feature Placement PR Checklist and League/Lab/Dimensions Brief

Scope¶

Audited: - Global IA + product framing - / (current topology home) - /team/[slug] - /lab - /arena (current simulation page)

Not audited in depth: - API reliability/performance - visual polish/accessibility - backend data quality

Hard-Gate + Score Matrix¶

Legend: - Gates G1..G7 map to checklist hard gates in order. - P = pass, F = fail. - Score is rubric score out of 14.

Surface	Intended station	G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	G7	Score
Global IA + branding (`nav`, header, metadata)	cross-cutting	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	1/14
Home `/` (Signal Topology)	`League`	F	F	P	P	P	F	P	10/14
Team `/team/[slug]`	`League`	F	P	P	P	P	F	P	10/14
Lab `/lab`	`Lab`	P	F	P	F	P	F	P	11/14
Arena `/arena` (future `Dimensions`)	`Dimensions`	F	F	P	F	P	F	P	8/14

Findings (Ordered by Severity)¶

1) Taxonomy is still old; IA contract is not implemented¶

Severity: High

Navigation still exposes Topology / Lab / Arena instead of League / Lab / Dimensions in navigation.ts.
Header brand and logic are still NWSL Observatory + isTopology in ObservatoryBar.tsx and ObservatoryBar.tsx.
Site metadata still uses old framing in layout.tsx.
Page metadata still uses Signal Topology and Simulation Arena in page.tsx and arena/page.tsx.

Impact: - Fails G1 (primary station explicit) across most surfaces. - Users cannot reliably infer the new knowledge framework from navigation.

2) Dimensions is positioned as simulation, but the engine is still Monte Carlo heuristics (not transformer/state model)¶

Severity: High

Engine declares itself as Monte Carlo in simEngine.ts.
Core generation uses Poisson sampling with handcrafted factors in simEngine.ts and simEngine.ts.

Impact: - Mismatch with intended Dimensions positioning (alternate-state model / transformer-driven futures). - Risks user trust if narrative implies a more advanced generative engine than implemented.

3) Dimensions uncertainty contract is incomplete¶

Severity: High

Controls expose parameters (runs, tempo, volatility, signalInfluence) in SimulationSetup.tsx, but assumptions are not surfaced as a formal model card/caveat block.
Output shows distributions in SimulationPlayback.tsx, but only includes a seeded determinism note in SimulationPlayback.tsx.

Impact: - Fails G4 for Dimensions (probabilistic output is present, but calibration/assumptions are opaque).

4) Lab has uneven explainability between team and player contexts¶

Severity: Medium

Team context gets confidence/caveat panels via interpretation in LeagueScatter.tsx.
Player context switches to canvas mode in ScatterLab.tsx with no equivalent uncertainty/explanation layer in ScatterCanvas.tsx.

Impact: - Partial fail on G4 in Lab; confidence semantics depend on tab, not model behavior.

5) League overlay contains placeholder semantics¶

Severity: Medium

Legend labels are placeholders (Something, Possibly, Anything) in TopologyOverlay.tsx.

Impact: - Increases L_league ambiguity term. - Weakens trust on the canonical “state” page.

6) Team page CTAs use old station names¶

Severity: Medium

CTA labels still say Simulate in Arena and Back to Topology in TeamProfile.tsx.

Impact: - Cross-station transitions exist, but language is inconsistent with target framework.

7) Sitemap route contract is stale and mismatched to actual app routes¶

Severity: Medium

Sitemap lists /standings, /teams, /matches, /signals, /analytics and /teams/{slug} in sitemap.ts, while the app currently routes to /, /lab, /arena, /team/[slug].

Impact: - Discovery/SEO dead links. - Adds product confusion and monitoring noise.

Strengths to Keep¶

Lab already has strong control surfaces and reproducible state via useLabUrlSync in ScatterLab.tsx.
League page interaction is appropriately read/compare oriented in SignalTerrain.tsx.
Arena already presents probabilistic distributions (not single-point outcomes) in SimulationPlayback.tsx.

Recommended Fix Sequence¶

IA rename + route normalization
Implement League / Lab / Dimensions.
Add /dimensions route and redirect /arena.
Update metadata, CTAs, and header copy.
Station contracts in UI
Add concise station explainer blocks at top of each page.
Add formal uncertainty/model card for Lab and Dimensions.
Dimensions engine honesty
Short term: clearly label current engine as Monte Carlo scenario model.
Medium term: introduce transformer/state-transition model and versioned model disclosure.
League clarity cleanup
Replace placeholder legend semantics and tie labels to actual pattern ontology.
Routing/discovery cleanup
Align sitemap to real routes and canonical URL structure.