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Changemaker Lite V2 Roadmap

This roadmap outlines the development journey of Changemaker Lite V2, including completed phases, current work, and future plans.

Overview

V2 is a complete rebuild of Changemaker Lite, transitioning from two separate Express apps to a unified modern TypeScript stack. The rebuild began in January 2025 and Phase 14 completed in February 2026.

Current Status: ✅ Phase 1-14 Complete | 🚧 Phase 15 In Progress

Completed Phases (1-14)

Phase 1: Foundation ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January 2025

Deliverables: - Initialized api/ with TypeScript, Express, Prisma - Created comprehensive Prisma schema (30+ models) - Set up environment configuration (Zod validation) - Implemented middleware (error handling, validation, rate limiting) - Built utility modules (logger, metrics) - Initialized admin/ with Vite + React + Ant Design - Created Docker Compose orchestration - Wrote .env.example with 100+ variables - Backed up V1 to docker-compose.v1.yml

Key Achievements: - Clean-room architecture established - Type-safe foundation with TypeScript - Scalable project structure

Phase 2: Auth + User Management ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January 2025

Deliverables: - Express Request type augmentation - Zod auth schemas - JWT auth service (login, register, refresh, logout) - Auth middleware (JWT verification) - RBAC middleware (role-based access) - User CRUD service + routes - Integration tested (Postman)

Key Achievements: - JWT refresh token rotation (atomic transaction) - 5 user roles (SUPER_ADMIN, INFLUENCE_ADMIN, MAP_ADMIN, USER, TEMP) - Secure bcrypt password hashing - User enumeration prevention (401 for invalid credentials)

Phase 3: Admin GUI Foundation ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January 2025

Deliverables: - Zustand auth store with token management - Login page with form validation - Protected route wrapper - AppLayout with sidebar navigation - UsersPage with CRUD operations - Axios client with 401 refresh interceptor (callback pattern)

Key Achievements: - Automatic token refresh (seamless UX) - Role-based sidebar navigation - Responsive Ant Design components

Phase 4: Influence — Campaigns ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January 2025

Deliverables: - Campaign Zod schemas - Campaign service (CRUD, slug generation, toggle highlighting) - Campaign admin routes - CampaignsPage (table, filters, CRUD modals) - Feature flag integration

Key Achievements: - Unique slug generation - Highlighted campaign toggle - Response wall enable/disable per campaign

Phase 5: Influence — Representatives + Postal Codes ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January 2025

Deliverables: - Postal code validation schemas (Canadian format) - Postal code cache service (Prisma) - Represent API client (typed, rate-limited 55/min) - Representative service (cache-first lookup, fire-and-forget writes) - Representative admin routes (list, stats, detail, delete) - RepresentativesPage (lookup, stats cards, table, detail modal)

Key Achievements: - Redis cache (60min TTL, ~20ms lookup) - In-memory rate limiter (Represent API limit) - Cache stats dashboard (total, by level, by party)

Phase 6: Influence — Email Sending ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January 2025

Deliverables: - BullMQ email queue setup - Email worker (SMTP via nodemailer) - Campaign email service (compose, queue, track) - Campaign email routes (send, track mailto, list, stats) - Email queue admin routes (stats, pause, resume, clean) - EmailQueuePage (monitoring, controls) - CampaignEmailsDrawer (stats + list from CampaignsPage)

Key Achievements: - Async email processing (BullMQ) - Email test mode (MailHog) - Rate limiting (30 req/hour per IP) - Job retry with exponential backoff

Phase 7: Influence — Response Wall + Public Campaign View ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: January-February 2025

Deliverables: - Response service (submit, moderate, verify) - Response routes (3 routers: campaign-public, response-public, admin) - Email verification (HTML templates, verify/report endpoints) - ResponsesPage (filters, approve/reject/delete, detail drawer) - ResponseWallPage (sort, filter, submit modal, upvote) - Upvoting system (IP + user dedup, optimistic UI) - CampaignPage (postal code lookup, email sending) - CampaignsListPage (hero, featured, grid) - PublicLayout (dark theme for public pages)

Key Achievements: - Moderation workflow (PENDING → APPROVED/REJECTED) - Upvote deduplication (IP address + user ID) - Public campaign discovery

Phase 8: Map — Locations ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2025

Deliverables: - Multi-provider geocoding service (Nominatim, ArcGIS, Photon, Mapbox, Google, OpenCage) - Location service (CRUD, geocoding, stats, bulk operations) - Location routes (admin + public) - MapSettings service + routes (singleton config) - LocationsPage (table, stats, CRUD, geocode button, CSV import/export) - MapSettingsPage (center/zoom, walk sheet config) - Public MapPage (Leaflet, circle markers, color-coded, multi-unit grouping, cut overlays, geolocate, fullscreen) - MapLegend component - MapControls (click-to-add, move, geolocate, fullscreen) - CutDrawingMode (polygon drawing with close detection) - CutOverlays + CutOverlayControls

Key Achievements: - 6 geocoding providers with automatic fallback - Geocoding quality tracking (provider, timestamp, quality score) - CSV import with flexible column mapping - Admin map enhancements (click-to-add, drag-to-move) - Point-in-polygon spatial queries (ray-casting algorithm)

Phase 9: Map — Shifts ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2025

Deliverables: - Shift service (CRUD, signup management) - Shift routes (admin + public) - ShiftsPage (CRUD, signups drawer, email all signups) - Public ShiftsPage (calendar view, signup cards, signup modal) - Temp user creation (30-day expiry) - Confirmation emails

Key Achievements: - Cut assignment (link shift to territory) - Signup status tracking (PENDING, CONFIRMED, CANCELLED, COMPLETED, NO_SHOW) - Public signup flow with temp user auto-creation - Email all shift signups (broadcast feature)

Phase 10: Walk Sheets & QR Codes ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2025

Deliverables: - QR code generation endpoint (GET /api/qr, public, no auth) - WalkSheetPage (printable form with QR codes, browser print) - CutExportPage (printable location report with stats + table) - Sidebar navigation + route wiring

Key Achievements: - QR codes encode location data (address, coordinates, notes) - Print-optimized CSS (page breaks, hide buttons) - Cut-specific walk sheets (filter by cut)

Phase 11: Listmonk Integration ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2025

Deliverables: - Listmonk API client (typed HTTP, basic auth, native fetch) - Sync service (campaign participants, locations, users → subscriber lists) - Admin routes (status, stats, sync triggers, test connection, reinitialize) - ListmonkPage (status dashboard, sync buttons, list stats) - Opt-in sync flag (LISTMONK_SYNC_ENABLED)

Key Achievements: - Newsletter integration (advocacy campaigns → subscriber lists) - Automatic list creation/sync - Proton Mail SMTP configuration (listmonk-init auto-configures)

Phase 12: Landing Page Builder ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2025

Deliverables: - Landing page service (CRUD, slug generation, MkDocs export) - Page block service (seed blocks, CRUD, library API) - GrapesJS editor integration (custom blocks, Ctrl+S save, error boundary) - LandingPagesPage (table, search, settings modal) - PageEditorPage (full-screen GrapesJS, desktop-only, forwardRef) - Public LandingPage renderer (/p/:slug) - MkDocs export (Jinja2 Material override template, themed + standalone modes) - DocsPage (management, status cards, export table)

Key Achievements: - Visual page builder (drag-and-drop) - Custom block library (Hero, Features, CTA, Testimonials, etc.) - MkDocs integration (static site generation) - Jinja2 template export for Material theme

Phase 13: Volunteer Canvassing System ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2025

Deliverables: - Prisma models (CanvassSession, CanvassVisit, TrackingSession, TrackPoint) - Canvass API (volunteer routes: start/end session, record visits, walking route) - Canvass API (admin routes: dashboard stats, activity feed, cut progress, leaderboard) - Walking route algorithm (nearest-neighbor with haversine distance) - GPS tracking routes (volunteer + admin) - Abandoned session cleanup (startup + hourly, ACTIVE > 12h → ABANDONED) - Old tracking data cleanup (30-day retention, daily) - Stale tracking session cleanup (no data for 2h, hourly) - VolunteerLayout (top-nav, dark theme, mobile hamburger) - VolunteerMapPage (full-screen Leaflet, GPS, markers, route, bottom sheet visit recording) - VolunteerShiftsPage (assigned shifts, view only) - MyActivityPage (visit history, outcome breakdown) - MyRoutesPage (past session routes) - CanvassDashboardPage (stats, activity feed, cut progress, leaderboard) - ShiftsPage cutId dropdown (link shifts to cuts) - Role-aware login redirect (ADMIN_ROLES → /app, USER/TEMP → /volunteer)

Key Achievements: - Complete field canvassing workflow - Real-time GPS tracking with trail visualization - Optimized walking routes (nearest-neighbor algorithm) - Visit outcome tracking (8 outcomes: CONTACT_MADE, NOT_HOME, REFUSED, etc.) - Volunteer leaderboard (by visits, filterable by period) - Rate limiting (30 visits/min per IP)

Phase 14: Monitoring + DevOps ✅ COMPLETE

Timeline: February 2026

Pangolin Tunnel: - Pangolin Integration API client (typescript) - Admin pangolin routes (status, config, sites, resources, setup, sync, delete) - PangolinPage (setup wizard + resource dashboard) - Newt container in docker-compose.yml - Env vars (PANGOLIN_API_URL, API_KEY, ORG_ID, SITE_ID, ENDPOINT, NEWT_ID, NEWT_SECRET) - Retired Cloudflare scripts → scripts/legacy/

Prometheus Metrics: - 12 domain-specific cm_* metrics (emails, auth, canvass, services, etc.) - Instrumented modules (email-queue, auth, campaigns, responses, canvass, shifts, services) - HTTP request metrics (duration, count, errors)

Monitoring Configs: - Prometheus V2 API scrape job (removed V1 influence-app) - Alert rules (rewritten for V2 metric names) - Alertmanager Gotify webhook (commented, ready to enable) - Grafana dashboards (3 dashboards: system-health, application-overview, api-performance)

Docker Healthchecks: - 7 services with healthchecks (API, admin, nginx, NocoDB, n8n, Gitea, Listmonk)

Backup: - scripts/backup.sh (V2 PostgreSQL + Listmonk + uploads archive) - Manifest with timestamps, sizes, SHA256 checksums - Configurable retention (default 30 days) - Optional S3 upload (--s3 flag)

Key Achievements: - Self-hosted tunnel alternative (Pangolin replaces Cloudflare) - Comprehensive observability (Prometheus + Grafana) - Production-ready monitoring stack - Automated backup procedures

Current Phase (15)

Phase 15: Testing + Polish 🚧 IN PROGRESS

Timeline: February-March 2026

Goals: - Comprehensive testing (unit, integration, E2E) - Performance optimization - Security hardening - Documentation polish - Bug fixes

Planned Deliverables:

Testing: - [ ] API integration tests (Jest/Vitest) - Auth flow tests (login, refresh, logout) - Campaign CRUD tests - Location CRUD + geocoding tests - Canvass workflow tests - [ ] Admin E2E tests (Playwright/Cypress) - Login flow - Campaign creation flow - Location management flow - Canvass session flow - [ ] Test coverage reports (>80% target) - [ ] Load testing (k6 or Artillery) - API endpoint stress tests - Database query performance - Email queue throughput

Performance: - [ ] Database query optimization - Review Prisma queries for N+1 issues - Add missing indexes - Optimize spatial queries - [ ] Frontend bundle size reduction - Code splitting - Lazy loading - Tree shaking optimization - [ ] Redis cache tuning - Cache hit rate analysis - TTL optimization - Memory usage monitoring - [ ] Image optimization - WebP conversion - Lazy loading - Responsive images

Security: - [ ] Dependency audit (npm audit, Snyk) - [ ] OWASP Top 10 review - [ ] Security headers verification - [ ] Rate limiting verification - [ ] Input validation audit - [ ] SQL injection prevention check - [ ] XSS protection verification

Documentation: - [ ] API reference completion (all endpoints documented) - [ ] User guide polish (screenshots, videos) - [ ] Developer docs review (architecture, database) - [ ] Migration guide testing (V1→V2 procedure verification) - [ ] Troubleshooting guide expansion (common issues)

Bug Fixes: - [ ] Review and fix open GitHub issues - [ ] Fix reported bugs (priority: critical > high > medium > low) - [ ] Address edge cases - [ ] Improve error messages

Polish: - [ ] UI/UX refinements (spacing, alignment, colors) - [ ] Accessibility improvements (keyboard nav, screen reader) - [ ] Mobile responsiveness fixes - [ ] Loading states improvements - [ ] Error state improvements

Progress: 20% (security audit complete, NAR import complete, media upload complete)

Future Roadmap (Phase 16+)

Phase 16: Multi-Tenancy (Planned)

Goal: Support multiple organizations on single instance

Features: - [ ] Tenant isolation (database row-level security) - [ ] Subdomain routing (org1.cmlite.org, org2.cmlite.org) - [ ] Tenant-specific settings - [ ] Billing integration (optional) - [ ] Admin cross-tenant management - [ ] Tenant signup flow

Technical Challenges: - Database schema changes (add tenantId to all tables) - Prisma middleware for automatic tenant filtering - JWT token tenant claim - File upload isolation (per-tenant directories)

Timeline: 2-3 months (tentative Q2 2026)

Phase 17: Mobile Apps (Planned)

Goal: Native iOS and Android apps for volunteers

Features: - [ ] React Native app (iOS + Android) - [ ] Volunteer canvassing optimized for mobile - [ ] Offline mode (sync when online) - [ ] Push notifications (shift reminders, campaign updates) - [ ] Location services integration - [ ] QR code scanning (walk sheets) - [ ] Photo upload (location photos)

Technical Stack: - React Native + Expo - AsyncStorage for offline data - React Query for sync - Expo Notifications - Expo Camera

Timeline: 3-4 months (tentative Q3 2026)

Phase 18: Advanced Analytics (Planned)

Goal: Campaign performance and volunteer metrics

Features: - [ ] Campaign analytics dashboard - Email open rates - Response submission trends - Geographic distribution - [ ] Volunteer analytics - Canvassing efficiency metrics - Top volunteers leaderboard - Activity heatmaps - [ ] Location analytics - Support level trends over time - Geocoding quality reports - Coverage maps - [ ] Export to BI tools (Metabase, Superset)

Technical Stack: - Prisma aggregations - Chart.js or Recharts - CSV/Excel export - Optional: Metabase integration

Timeline: 2 months (tentative Q4 2026)

Phase 19: AI Integration (Exploratory)

Goal: AI-powered features for campaign optimization

Potential Features: - [ ] Campaign email drafting (GPT-4 integration) - [ ] Response sentiment analysis - [ ] Canvassing route optimization (ML algorithm) - [ ] Volunteer assignment suggestions - [ ] Predictive support level classification - [ ] Automated data quality checks

Technical Considerations: - OpenAI API integration (cost considerations) - Privacy concerns (user data in AI models) - Ethical AI usage guidelines - Opt-in for AI features

Timeline: TBD (community feedback needed)

Phase 20: Additional Integrations (Planned)

Goal: Connect to other campaign tools

Potential Integrations: - [ ] Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram posting - [ ] SMS campaigns: Twilio integration for text banking - [ ] Phone banking: VoIP integration for call tracking - [ ] Donation tracking: ActBlue, Stripe integration - [ ] Event management: Rally, town hall scheduling - [ ] Voter files: VAN/Votebuilder import - [ ] Peer-to-peer texting: Spoke, Relay integration

Timeline: Ongoing (community-driven priorities)

Feature Requests

Have an idea for a new feature? We'd love to hear it!

How to Request

  1. Search existing requests: Check Discussions
  2. Create new discussion: Start a discussion
  3. Provide details:
  4. Problem: What problem does this solve?
  5. Use case: Who would use this feature?
  6. Implementation ideas: How might it work?
  7. Alternatives: What workarounds exist today?

Prioritization Process

Features are prioritized based on:

  1. Impact: How many users benefit?
  2. Effort: How complex to implement?
  3. Strategic fit: Aligns with mission?
  4. Community votes: Upvote discussions
  5. Funding: Sponsored development

High-priority features: - Requested by many users - Low implementation effort - Core to mission (campaign advocacy, volunteer management)

Low-priority features: - Niche use cases - High complexity - Available via integrations

Community Voting

Upvote feature requests in GitHub Discussions:

  1. Go to Ideas category
  2. Click 👍 on discussions you want
  3. Comment with your use case

Most-upvoted features are considered for roadmap.

Contribution Opportunities

Want to contribute to the roadmap?

Code Contributions

  • Phase 15 (Testing): Write integration tests, E2E tests
  • Phase 15 (Performance): Optimize queries, reduce bundle size
  • Phase 15 (Documentation): Improve guides, add tutorials

→ Find Issues

Design Contributions

  • UI/UX mockups: Design future features
  • User research: Interview campaign organizers
  • Accessibility audit: Test with screen readers

Documentation Contributions

  • User guides: Write how-to guides
  • Video tutorials: Create walkthrough videos
  • Translations: Translate docs to other languages

Sponsorship

Support development of specific features:

  • Individual sponsors: $10/month (GitHub Sponsors)
  • Organization sponsors: $500+/month (custom features, priority support)
  • One-time donations: Sponsor specific features

→ Sponsor on GitHub

Release Schedule

Version Numbering

Changemaker Lite uses Semantic Versioning:

  • Major (1.0.0): Breaking changes
  • Minor (1.1.0): New features (backward compatible)
  • Patch (1.1.1): Bug fixes

Current version: 2.0.0-beta.1 (Phase 15 in progress)

Release Cycle

Major releases: 6-12 months (major new features, breaking changes)

Minor releases: 1-2 months (new features, no breaking changes)

Patch releases: 1-2 weeks (bug fixes, security patches)

Upcoming Releases

v2.0.0 (stable release): - Target: March 2026 - Requires: Phase 15 complete (testing, polish) - Breaking changes from beta: TBD

v2.1.0: - Target: May 2026 - Features: TBD based on community feedback

v2.2.0: - Target: July 2026 - Features: Possibly multi-tenancy (Phase 16)

Long-Term Vision

Mission: Provide free, self-hosted tools for grassroots political campaigns.

5-Year Vision (2026-2031):

  1. Year 1 (2026): V2 stable, 100+ organizations using Changemaker Lite
  2. Year 2 (2027): Multi-tenancy, mobile apps, 500+ organizations
  3. Year 3 (2028): Advanced analytics, AI features, 1000+ organizations
  4. Year 4 (2029): Ecosystem of integrations, international campaigns
  5. Year 5 (2030): Changemaker Lite as standard platform for grassroots advocacy

Success Metrics: - Number of organizations using platform - Number of campaigns run - Number of volunteers coordinated - Number of emails sent to representatives - Community contributions (PRs, issues, discussions)

Breaking Changes Policy

Commitment

We strive to minimize breaking changes in V2 minor releases. When breaking changes are necessary:

  1. Advance notice: Announced 2 releases prior (e.g., deprecation in v2.1.0, removal in v2.3.0)
  2. Migration guide: Detailed upgrade guide provided
  3. Deprecation warnings: Console warnings in code
  4. Major version bumps: Breaking changes only in major releases (v2→v3)

Deprecation Process

  1. Deprecate: Mark feature as deprecated (console warnings)
  2. Announce: Publish deprecation notice in release notes
  3. Wait: Keep deprecated feature for 2 releases minimum
  4. Remove: Remove in next major version

Example: - v2.1.0: Deprecate /api/old-endpoint (with warnings) - v2.2.0: Still supported, warnings continue - v2.3.0: Still supported, migration guide published - v3.0.0: Removed (breaking change)

Feedback

Have feedback on the roadmap?

  • Discuss features: GitHub Discussions
  • Report priorities: Email roadmap@cmlite.org
  • Vote on features: Upvote discussions

Together, we're building the future of grassroots political campaigns! 🚀