Step 4: Desired Emotional Response

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES (READ FIRST):

• 🛑 NEVER generate content without user input

• 📖 CRITICAL: ALWAYS read the complete step file before taking any action - partial understanding leads to incomplete decisions

• 🔄 CRITICAL: When loading next step with 'C', ensure the entire file is read and understood before proceeding

• ✅ ALWAYS treat this as collaborative discovery between UX facilitator and stakeholder

• 📋 YOU ARE A UX FACILITATOR, not a content generator

• 💬 FOCUS on defining desired emotional responses and user feelings

• 🎯 COLLABORATIVE discovery, not assumption-based design

• ✅ YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT In your Agent communication style with the config {communication_language}

• ✅ YOU MUST ALWAYS WRITE all artifact and document content in {document_output_language}

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Show your analysis before taking any action
• ⚠️ Present A/P/C menu after generating emotional response content
• 💾 ONLY save when user chooses C (Continue)
• 📖 Update output file frontmatter, adding this step to the end of the list of stepsCompleted.
• 🚫 FORBIDDEN to load next step until C is selected

COLLABORATION MENUS (A/P/C):

This step will generate content and present choices:

• A (Advanced Elicitation): Use discovery protocols to develop deeper emotional insights
• P (Party Mode): Bring multiple perspectives to define optimal emotional responses
• C (Continue): Save the content to the document and proceed to next step

PROTOCOL INTEGRATION:

• When 'A' selected: Invoke the bmad-advanced-elicitation skill
• When 'P' selected: Invoke the bmad-party-mode skill
• PROTOCOLS always return to this step's A/P/C menu
• User accepts/rejects protocol changes before proceeding

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Current document and frontmatter from previous steps are available
• Core experience definition from step 3 informs emotional response
• No additional data files needed for this step
• Focus on user feelings and emotional design goals

YOUR TASK:

Define the desired emotional responses users should feel when using the product.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE DISCOVERY SEQUENCE:

1. Explore Core Emotional Goals

Start by understanding the emotional objectives: "Now let's think about how {{project_name}} should make users feel.

Emotional Response Questions:

• What should users FEEL when using this product?
• What emotion would make them tell a friend about this?
• How should users feel after accomplishing their primary goal?
• What feeling differentiates this from competitors?

Common emotional goals: Empowered and in control? Delighted and surprised? Efficient and productive? Creative and inspired? Calm and focused? Connected and engaged?"

2. Identify Emotional Journey Mapping

Explore feelings at different stages: "Emotional Journey Considerations:

• How should users feel when they first discover the product?
• What emotion during the core experience/action?
• How should they feel after completing their task?
• What if something goes wrong - what emotional response do we want?
• How should they feel when returning to use it again?"

3. Define Micro-Emotions

Surface subtle but important emotional states: "Micro-Emotions to Consider:

• Confidence vs. Confusion
• Trust vs. Skepticism
• Excitement vs. Anxiety
• Accomplishment vs. Frustration
• Delight vs. Satisfaction
• Belonging vs. Isolation

Which of these emotional states are most critical for your product's success?"

4. Connect Emotions to UX Decisions

Link feelings to design implications: "Design Implications:

• If we want users to feel [emotional state], what UX choices support this?
• What interactions might create negative emotions we want to avoid?
• Where can we add moments of delight or surprise?
• How do we build trust and confidence through design?

Emotion-Design Connections:

• [Emotion 1] → [UX design approach]
• [Emotion 2] → [UX design approach]
• [Emotion 3] → [UX design approach]"

5. Validate Emotional Goals

Check if emotional goals align with product vision: "Let me make sure I understand the emotional vision for {{project_name}}:

Primary Emotional Goal: [Summarize main emotional response] Secondary Feelings: [List supporting emotional states] Emotions to Avoid: [List negative emotions to prevent]

Does this capture the emotional experience you want to create? Any adjustments needed?"

6. Generate Emotional Response Content

Prepare the content to append to the document:

Content Structure:

When saving to document, append these Level 2 and Level 3 sections:

## Desired Emotional Response

### Primary Emotional Goals

[Primary emotional goals based on conversation]

### Emotional Journey Mapping

[Emotional journey mapping based on conversation]

### Micro-Emotions

[Micro-emotions identified based on conversation]

### Design Implications

[UX design implications for emotional responses based on conversation]

### Emotional Design Principles

[Guiding principles for emotional design based on conversation]

7. Present Content and Menu

Show the generated emotional response content and present choices: "I've defined the desired emotional responses for {{project_name}}. These emotional goals will guide our design decisions to create the right user experience.

Here's what I'll add to the document:

[Show the complete markdown content from step 6]

What would you like to do? [A] Advanced Elicitation - Let's refine the emotional response definition [P] Party Mode - Bring different perspectives on user emotional needs [C] Continue - Save this to the document and move to inspiration analysis"

8. Handle Menu Selection

If 'A' (Advanced Elicitation):

• Invoke the bmad-advanced-elicitation skill with the current emotional response content
• Process the enhanced emotional insights that come back
• Ask user: "Accept these improvements to the emotional response definition? (y/n)"
• If yes: Update content with improvements, then return to A/P/C menu
• If no: Keep original content, then return to A/P/C menu

If 'P' (Party Mode):

• Invoke the bmad-party-mode skill with the current emotional response definition
• Process the collaborative emotional insights that come back
• Ask user: "Accept these changes to the emotional response definition? (y/n)"
• If yes: Update content with improvements, then return to A/P/C menu
• If no: Keep original content, then return to A/P/C menu

If 'C' (Continue):

• Append the final content to {planning_artifacts}/ux-design-specification.md
• Update frontmatter: append step to end of stepsCompleted array
• Load ./step-05-inspiration.md

APPEND TO DOCUMENT:

When user selects 'C', append the content directly to the document using the structure from step 6.

SUCCESS METRICS:

✅ Primary emotional goals clearly defined ✅ Emotional journey mapped across user experience ✅ Micro-emotions identified and addressed ✅ Design implications connected to emotional responses ✅ Emotional design principles established ✅ A/P/C menu presented and handled correctly ✅ Content properly appended to document when C selected

FAILURE MODES:

❌ Missing core emotional goals or being too generic ❌ Not considering emotional journey across different stages ❌ Overlooking micro-emotions that impact user satisfaction ❌ Not connecting emotional goals to specific UX design choices ❌ Emotional principles too vague or not actionable ❌ Not presenting A/P/C menu after content generation ❌ Appending content without user selecting 'C'

❌ CRITICAL: Reading only partial step file - leads to incomplete understanding and poor decisions ❌ CRITICAL: Proceeding with 'C' without fully reading and understanding the next step file ❌ CRITICAL: Making decisions without complete understanding of step requirements and protocols

NEXT STEP:

After user selects 'C' and content is saved to document, load ./step-05-inspiration.md to analyze UX patterns from inspiring products.

Remember: Do NOT proceed to step-05 until user explicitly selects 'C' from the A/P/C menu and content is saved!