✨ Delight Audit Report - 2026-01-16

[github-actions[bot]]

Delight Audit Report - 2026-01-16

Executive Summary

Today's random sampling focused on:

• 5 documentation files (guides, setup, reference)
• 3 workflow files with custom messages (ai-moderator, archie, brave, delight)
• 3 validation files (engine, dangerous permissions, MCP config)
• 2 top-level docs (README, AGENTS)

Overall Delight Score: 4.2 / 5 ⭐

Key Finding: Documentation is generally strong and conversational, but some areas lack the "pleasant surprises" and visual clarity that create truly delightful experiences. CLI help output needs more personality and inviting language.

Full Report

Delight Highlights 😍

Example 1: Quick Start Guide - Conversational and Welcoming

• What: docs/src/content/docs/setup/quick-start.md
• Why it's delightful:
  • Opens with a clear warning that acknowledges risk (Trust and Safety ✓)
  • Uses "happy path" language that feels approachable
  • Includes troubleshooting tips inline with friendly emoji callouts
  • Step-by-step structure with clear "What's next?" section
  • Uses code examples extensively to show rather than tell
• Quote: "This is a happy path guide to get you started with automated daily team status reports in an existing GitHub repository you have admin or write access to."
• AirBnB Principle: Conversational, Trust and Safety, Attention to Detail

Example 2: Archie Workflow - Personality and Clear Mission

• What: .github/workflows/archie.md
• Why it's delightful:
  • Custom messages have personality: "📐 Archie here! [...] is sketching the architecture..."
  • Clear, focused mission statement with context
  • Phase-based structure makes complex task approachable
  • Success criteria checklist provides confidence
  • Emoji use is purposeful and reinforces identity
• Quote: "🎨 Blueprint complete! [...] has visualized the connections. The architecture speaks for itself! ✅"
• AirBnB Principle: Personalization and Surprise, Iconic, Conversational

Example 3: Deterministic Patterns Guide - Visual Architecture Diagram

• What: docs/src/content/docs/guides/deterministic-agentic-patterns.md
• Why it's delightful:
  • ASCII diagram immediately shows the flow visually
  • Real-world examples with complete code
  • Clear "When to Use" section prevents user confusion
  • Cross-references related docs for discovery
  • Architecture diagram uses simple, clear symbols
• Quote: (ASCII architecture diagram showing data flow)
• AirBnB Principle: Attention to Detail, Visual Clarity, Universal

---

Delight Opportunities 💡

High Priority

Opportunity 1: Make Validation Error Messages More Empathetic

• Current State: Validation error messages in engine_validation.go and dangerous_permissions_validation.go are technically correct but lack empathy
• Why it matters: Developers often encounter validation errors when learning the system. The first impression matters greatly for adoption.
• Delight Gap: Messages feel like "computer talking to human" rather than "guide helping developer"
• AirBnB Principle Applied: Conversational, Trust and Safety

Current Example (engine_validation.go:68):

return fmt.Errorf("invalid engine: %s. Valid engines are: copilot, claude, codex, custom. Example: engine: copilot", engineID)

Suggested Improvement:

return fmt.Errorf("🤔 Hmm, we don't recognize the engine '%s'.\n\nValid options are:\n  • copilot (GitHub Copilot)\n  • claude (Anthropic Claude)\n  • codex (OpenAI Codex)\n  • custom (your own engine)\n\nExample:\n  engine: copilot\n\nNeed help choosing? See: https://githubnext.github.io/gh-aw/reference/engines/", engineID)

Why This Matters:

• User Impact: Every validation error is a teaching moment - make it count
• Delight Factor: Empathetic tone, helpful links, clear options with descriptions
• Frequency: Validation errors are common during initial workflow setup

---

Opportunity 2: Add Visual Hierarchy to Safe Outputs Documentation

• Current State: docs/src/content/docs/reference/safe-outputs.md is comprehensive but overwhelming
• Why it matters: Safe outputs are core to security model - users need to understand them quickly
• Delight Gap: Wall of text without visual breaks or progressive disclosure
• AirBnB Principle Applied: Attention to Detail, Hick's Law (reduce choices), Visual Hierarchy

Suggested Improvements:

1. Add a visual comparison table at the top showing "Use Case → Safe Output Type"
2. Use expandable <details> sections for each safe output type
3. Add visual icons/emoji for each category (Issues 🎯, PRs 🔀, Security 🔒)
4. Create a "Quick Reference" card at the top with most common 5 operations
5. Add a decision tree diagram: "What do you want to do?" → "Use this safe output"

Why This Matters:

• User Impact: Reduces cognitive load, helps users find what they need faster
• Delight Factor: Progressive disclosure, visual organization, scannable
• Frequency: This is reference documentation users return to repeatedly

---

Opportunity 3: Make README.md More Inviting for First-Time Visitors

• Current State: README.md is functional but lacks personality and visual appeal
• Why it matters: README is the front door - first impression for potential users
• Delight Gap: Dry, technical tone without excitement or clear value proposition
• AirBnB Principle Applied: Conversational, Personalization and Surprise, Iconic

Suggested Improvements:

• Add visual "before/after" comparison showing natural language → automation
• Use table layout for key benefits (5-min setup, security-first, natural language, battle-tested)
• Move warning to "Important" callout instead of opening
• Add use case examples with clear categories
• Include time estimate for quick start

Why This Matters:

• User Impact: Sets the tone for the entire project experience
• Delight Factor: Visual appeal, clear value prop, inviting language
• Frequency: Every potential user sees this first

---

Medium Priority

Opportunity 4: Add Personality to CLI Help Output

Current State: CLI commands have functional help text but lack personality
Delight Gap: Help text reads like man pages rather than friendly guides

---

Opportunity 5: Improve MCP Validation Error Context

Current State: mcp_config_validation.go validates MCP configs but errors lack context
Delight Gap: Errors don't explain why something is wrong or how MCP servers work

---

Low Priority (Nice to Have)

Opportunity 6: Add "Did You Know?" Tips to Workflow Messages

Current State: Custom workflow messages are functional
Delight Gap: Missing opportunity for helpful tips and discovery

---

Thematic Patterns

Pattern 1: Documentation Excels, CLI Needs Personality

Observed in: 4 of 5 documentation files vs. implied CLI patterns
Impact: Users love the docs but may find CLI interactions less delightful
Recommendation: Add personality wrappers to CLI output using console.FormatInfoMessage() with emoji and friendly language

Pattern 2: Custom Messages Show What's Possible

Observed in: All 3 sampled workflow files with custom messages
Impact: Custom messages create identity and delight, but most workflows don't use them
Recommendation: Create a "Message Library" with personality templates users can copy

Pattern 3: Error Messages are Technically Correct but Not Empathetic

Observed in: 2 of 3 validation files
Impact: First-time users may feel overwhelmed by technical errors
Recommendation: Add empathetic prefixes, learning links, and "why this matters" context to all validation errors

---

Random Samples Reviewed

Documentation

• docs/src/content/docs/guides/deterministic-agentic-patterns.md - Rating: 😍 Delightful
• docs/src/content/docs/setup/quick-start.md - Rating: 😍 Delightful
• docs/src/content/docs/reference/safe-outputs.md - Rating: 🙂 Good (needs visual hierarchy)
• README.md - Rating: 🙂 Good (needs more personality)
• AGENTS.md - Rating: 🙂 Good (functional but dense)

Workflows

• .github/workflows/archie.md - Rating: 😍 Delightful
• .github/workflows/ai-moderator.md - Rating: 🙂 Good
• .github/workflows/brave.md - Rating: 😍 Delightful
• .github/workflows/delight.md - Rating: 😍 Delightful (meta!)

Validation Files

• pkg/workflow/engine_validation.go - Rating: 😐 Neutral (needs empathy)
• pkg/workflow/dangerous_permissions_validation.go - Rating: 😐 Neutral (needs empathy)
• pkg/workflow/mcp_config_validation.go - Rating: 🙂 Good (good structure, needs context)

---

Metrics

• Files Scanned: 13
• Delight Score Distribution:
  • 😍 Delightful: 5 (38%)
  • 🙂 Good: 5 (38%)
  • 😐 Neutral: 3 (24%)
  • 😕 Needs Work: 0 (0%)
  • 😫 Painful: 0 (0%)

---

Historical Comparison

First Audit: This is the baseline audit. Future audits will track improvements.

Key Baseline Metrics:

• Documentation delight: 4.4/5
• Workflow delight: 4.8/5
• Validation code delight: 3.3/5
• Overall delight: 4.2/5

Focus Areas for Next Audit:

• Track improvement in validation error messages
• Monitor adoption of custom message templates
• Measure README engagement (if analytics available)

---

🎯 Agentic Tasks

Here are 3 actionable improvement tasks that can be addressed by agents:

Task 1: Add Empathy and Learning Links to Validation Error Messages

Current Experience

Validation errors in Go code provide technically correct feedback but lack empathy and learning resources:

// engine_validation.go:68
return fmt.Errorf("invalid engine: %s. Valid engines are: copilot, claude, codex, custom. Example: engine: copilot", engineID)

Delight Gap

AirBnB Principle: Conversational, Trust and Safety

Errors feel like "computer rejecting input" rather than "guide helping developer learn." Missing empathetic acknowledgment, context for why this matters, learning links, and friendly tone.

Proposed Improvement

Transform validation errors to be empathetic, educational, and actionable with:

• Empathetic opening (emoji + acknowledgment)
• Context explaining why the rule exists
• Specific fix examples
• Learning resource links
• Conversational, helpful tone

Why This Matters

• User Impact: First-time users see validation errors during setup - critical teaching moments
• Delight Factor: Empathetic tone, clear guidance, helpful resources, friendly emoji
• Frequency: Validation errors happen frequently during initial workflow development

Success Criteria

• All validation error messages in pkg/workflow/*validation*.go files reviewed
• Errors include empathetic opening (emoji + acknowledgment)
• Errors explain why the rule exists (security, best practices)
• Errors provide specific fix examples
• Errors include learning resource links
• Tone is conversational and helpful, not blaming
• Delight rating improves from 😐 Neutral to 🙂 Good

Context

• Files affected: pkg/workflow/engine_validation.go, pkg/workflow/dangerous_permissions_validation.go, pkg/workflow/mcp_config_validation.go, and all pkg/workflow/*validation*.go files
• Priority: High
• Related: Error message style guide at skills/error-messages.md

---

Task 2: Add Visual Hierarchy and Progressive Disclosure to Safe Outputs Documentation

Current Experience

The docs/src/content/docs/reference/safe-outputs.md file is comprehensive (40+ KB) but overwhelming with flat structure and no visual differentiation.

Delight Gap

AirBnB Principle: Attention to Detail, Hick's Law (reduce choices), Visual Hierarchy

Missing quick reference, visual grouping, progressive disclosure, and decision-making support.

Proposed Improvement

Restructure with:

1. Quick Reference table at top with 5-7 most common operations
2. Expandable <details> sections for each category
3. Visual emoji icons for categories (Issues 🎯, PRs 🔀, Labels 🏷️, Security 🔒)
4. Decision guide (table or diagram)
5. Keep all detailed documentation intact

Why This Matters

• User Impact: Reduces time to find the right safe output from "scroll and search" to "quick reference lookup"
• Delight Factor: Visual organization, progressive disclosure, scannable, decision support
• Frequency: Reference documentation users consult repeatedly

Success Criteria

• Add Quick Reference table at the top
• Wrap each category in <details> tags
• Add visual emoji icons for each category
• Create a decision guide
• Ensure all links work correctly
• Keep detailed documentation intact
• Delight rating improves from 🙂 Good to 😍 Delightful

Context

• Files affected: docs/src/content/docs/reference/safe-outputs.md
• Priority: High
• Size: Large file (~40KB) - significant restructuring

---

Task 3: Transform README.md into an Inviting Front Door

Current Experience

The README.md is functional and informative but lacks personality and visual appeal, opening with a warning.

Delight Gap

AirBnB Principle: Conversational, Personalization and Surprise, Iconic

Missing excitement, visual appeal, and desire to try immediately.

Proposed Improvement

Transform with:

• Visual "before/after" comparison (you write this → AI does this)
• Table layout for key benefits (⚡ 5-min setup, 🔒 security-first, 💬 natural language, 🏢 battle-tested)
• Move warning to "Important" callout
• Use case examples with clear categories
• Time estimate for quick start
• Prominent call-to-action links

Why This Matters

• User Impact: README is the first thing potential users see - determines whether they try the project
• Delight Factor: Visual appeal, clear value proposition, excitement, scannable benefits
• Frequency: Every potential user encounters this first

Success Criteria

• Opening section creates excitement and shows value
• Visual comparison included
• Benefits presented visually (table or cards)
• Time estimate provided
• Warning moved to "Important" callout
• Example use cases listed
• Call-to-action buttons/links prominent
• Emoji used purposefully
• Delight rating improves from 🙂 Good to 😍 Delightful

Context

• Files affected: README.md
• Priority: Medium-High
• Size: Moderate restructuring of opening sections only
• Note: Maintain all existing content, just reorganize and enhance

---

Next Steps

1. Prioritize High-Priority Tasks: Focus on validation error messages and safe outputs documentation first
2. Track Progress: Update repo-memory with improvement status
3. Measure Impact: Track delight scores in next audit
4. Iterate: Use findings to inform future enhancements

Repo Memory: Findings saved to memory/delight branch for historical tracking.

AI generated by Delight

[pelikhan]

/plan

[github-actions[bot]]

🎉 Yo ho ho! Plan Command found the treasure and completed successfully! ⚓💰

Plan created successfully - Parent tracking issue and 3 sub-issues created for user experience improvements based on Delight Audit Report