Gap analysis — the app surfaces vs production-quality (2026-06-15)

Target: A finished, production-quality consumer app that markets itself — every BASIS surface at its good_when bar (Cam-stamped good).

Constraint gap: G2

1 kill 3 minor 9 serious · 13 total

Gaps

id	gap	target	current	severity	effort	evidence
G1	Dialog views: pickers render EMPTY cards (live bug)	populated, labeled, searchable cards; matches the design language	built, but a live empty-cards bug	kill	M	BASIS "live bug: empty cards"; dialogs lane (active)
G2	Create not `good` — the produce spine	a user reaches a downloadable on-brand reel in ONE guided pass; no dead ends, no naked enums	built · UNRATED; engine-client seam + enum gaps	serious	M	surface-doctor: built/unrated; build-master
G3	Templates wall is data-thin	every template a real preview, applies cleanly into Create, wall populated	built · data-thin	serious	M	BASIS "data-thin"; build-master
G4	Home is a funnel hole (UNASSIGNED)	on sign-in, the user knows the next move + one tap reaches the produce spine	spec'd · staged (no real hub)	serious	M	BASIS spec'd·staged; no owner
G5	Creators: consistency + DNA casting card not surfaced	consistent renders + the locked DNA casting card on the creator page	built · consistency WIP · unrated	serious	M	BASIS; Cam (other terminal, active)
G6	Products: can't bind a product INTO a scene (UNASSIGNED)	add a product, render a scene that visibly features it (renderScene productId)	built · partial (P0)	serious	M	BASIS partial(P0); no owner
G7	The Agent: assist/remix/cost-confirm not surfaced	wand-fill any field + remix a template + never spend a credit without a confirm	spec'd · seam built	serious	L	BASIS; design-lead (active)
G8	Template Studio: no SEE/EDIT/TUNE surface (UNASSIGNED)	edit a single scene cheaply in the image domain + save the fix back to the template	spec'd	serious	L	BASIS spec'd; no owner
G9	Landing/SEO not production-quality	production SSR'd for crawlers + pSEO routes render real content	spec'd · drafted (hero just shipped full-bleed)	serious	M	BASIS; seo-web (active)
G10	Library doesn't show all artifact types (UNASSIGNED)	every generated artifact appears, re-opens, re-usable as an input	built · unrated	serious	M	surface-doctor built/unrated; no owner
G11	Pricing: page vs lib/pricing.ts parity unproven	accurate, matches lib/pricing.ts, shown price == derived charge	built · partial · unrated	minor	S	surface-doctor built/unrated
G12	Free tools are a static launcher	each listed tool runs end-to-end for a logged-out user	spec'd · static launcher	minor	M	BASIS static-launcher
G13	Brand kit not applied everywhere	K1 icon + W2 wordmark + tokens shipped to apps/web + used everywhere	spec'd · deferred	minor	S	BASIS deferred

Close order — leverage-sequenced (feeds triage)

G1 — kill the Dialog-views empty-cards bug; it breaks the picker step INSIDE the produce flow (dialogs lane is on it). The flow can't be good while a core control is broken.
G2 (the constraint) — drive Create to good (the produce spine IS the product; once a user gets a downloadable on-brand reel in one pass, the core value is proven). Needs G1 + G3.
ASSIGN the unowned leverage: G4 Home (the funnel hole every signed-in user hits) · G6 Products-bind (a core differentiator) · G8 Template Studio (the composer, Cam's long-standing pain). These won't close without an owner — triage's first job.
Feed the spine: G3 Templates (populate + previews).
Let active owners drive to good: G5 Creators, G7 The Agent, G9 Landing.

Parked (mondo / not-now)

G10 Library — real but downstream of the produce loop; assign after the spine is good.
G11 Pricing — a parity check (cheap); do it when touching the cost model.
G12 Free tools, G13 Brand kit — top-of-funnel + polish; after the core loop is good.

rendered from docs/reviews/2026-06-15-gap-app-surfaces.md · re-run `pnpm gap-report` after editing the markdown (source of truth)