Epic: Investigation UI views (web frontend)backlog_item

journalismwebinvestigationepicfrontend
1 min read · Edit on Pyrite

Overview

The journalist persona works primarily through the web UI and Claude Desktop/Cowork MCP sessions — not the terminal. The investigation workflow demands visual tools for timeline navigation, relationship mapping, evidence tracking, and narrative construction. The current SvelteKit app needs investigation-specific views.

User Context

The primary user is an investigative journalist who:

  • Creates investigations and iteratively builds them through cycles of research → build → verify → restructure
  • Needs to see the big picture (timeline, network) while drilling into specifics (entity profiles, evidence chains)
  • Returns to investigations after days/weeks away and needs fast context rebuild
  • Works across multiple KBs simultaneously (investigation KB, shared reference KB, prior investigations)
  • Uses Claude Desktop/Cowork as the primary agent interface alongside the web UI
  • Subtasks

    1. Timeline visualization — interactive timeline of events, filterable and zoomable 2. Network graph — entity relationship map with ownership/funding/membership edges 3. Investigation dashboard — investigation status, claims coverage, evidence gaps, activity feed 4. Entity profile view — everything known about a person/org in one place 5. Source management panel — source reliability, URL status, evidence chains

    Design Principles

  • Context rebuilding is cheap — every view answers "where was I?" quickly
  • Everything is provisional — UI must support status changes, re-linking, restructuring without feeling destructive
  • Cross-KB awareness — views should surface relevant entities from other KBs
  • Conversation-ready — views should complement MCP interactions (agent creates entry → UI reflects it immediately)
  • Success Criteria

  • Journalist can navigate an investigation visually without using the terminal
  • Timeline view handles 4,000+ events with responsive filtering
  • Network graph shows ownership/funding chains through shell company layers
  • Dashboard surfaces unverified claims and evidence gaps at a glance
  • Entity profile aggregates all linked events, connections, claims, and sources