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Pastor prepares Sunday sermon using SermonWise Pro

Persona​

A mid-week pastor with a Pro subscription who has used SermonWise before. It's Tuesday morning, 5 days until Sunday. Scripture is assigned; they open SermonWise to cut 2 hours off prep time and get real illustrations instead of fabricated examples. Moderate-to-high tech comfort now — they trust the workflow.

Entry points​

  • Dashboard bookmark: sermonwise.ai/app
  • Email CTA: Previous week's outline email includes "+ New Sermon" button
  • Search bar: "Sermonwise.ai" in browser
  • Lectionary calendar: RCL reminder email with "Prep this week's sermon" link
  • Sunday morning panic: Pastor opens SermonWise at 6am (real, worst-case entry point)

Click-through flow​

Steps​

  1. Open dashboard and check usage — Dashboard shows stat cards: Time Saved, Sermons, Materials, Traditions (1/17), Usage Remaining 15/15 (green badge). Sermon list shows past outline. Clicks "+ New Sermon." Dashboard reads user_subscriptions to verify plan='sermon_pro'.

  2. Sermon Wizard Step 1: Scripture input — Large text input: "Scripture passage" (e.g., "Romans 8:28-39"). Optional theme field. RCL lectionary suggestions for current week if calendar integration is live. "Next" disabled until scripture is entered.

  3. Sermon Wizard Step 2: Theological tradition — 17 tradition cards (Reformed, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Methodist, etc.). User's default tradition pre-selected (gold). Can change for this specific sermon. Wizard stores selection in session; no DB write yet.

  4. Sermon Wizard Step 3: Preaching method — AI-recommended methods with fit scores (e.g., "Expository 95%", "Topical 60%", "Narrative 40%"). Recommendation generated via lightweight Haiku prompt. If this call times out, all methods display with equal scores — wizard is not blocked.

  5. Sermon Wizard Step 4: Style, audience, and generate — Three dropdowns: Style (Expository, Topical, Narrative, Devotional), Audience (8 options: "Mixed ages," "Primarily adults 50+," "Young families," etc.), Voice/tone (Warm + pastoral, scholarly, conversational). Usage remaining badge shows current balance. "Generate Sermon Outline" button.

  6. Sermon outline generation (10–15 seconds) — POST /api/sermons/generate with all wizard inputs. Pro tier: Haiku 4.5 with caching="ephemeral". RAG retrieval queries unified_rag_content for illustrations matching scripture + tradition + audience. HEAR protocol principles in system prompt (no spiritual harm, pastorally responsible output). Usage decrements from 15 to 14. Outline saved to sermon_outlines with plan='sermon_pro'.

  7. Generated outline display and customization — Sections: Title, Scripture reference, Key points (3–5), Outline structure, RAG illustrations (tagged with source and permission level), Application, Closing thoughts. Buttons: Copy (clipboard), Export to Word (.docx download), Save to library (auto-saved). Derivative section: "Small Group Guide," "Children's Sermon," "Social Media Posts."

  8. Dashboard updated — Navigate back to /sermons/app. Stats updated: Sermons +1, Time Saved +2h, Usage Remaining 14/15. If satisfied, proceed to delivery — copy to notes, export to Word, or print. If not, click "Regenerate" (burns another outline from monthly budget; confirmation dialog: "This will use another outline. Continue?").

Acceptance spec​

Canonical: knowledge/acceptance/sermonwise-pro.md (Touchpoints 10–20: generation and usage experience).

Key verified features: lectionary suggestions (T10), 17 traditions pre-selected (T11), AI-recommended preaching methods with fit scores (T12), usage badge + premium model (T13), full outline with RAG illustrations + export (T14–T15), dashboard stats update (T18), generate button disabled at 0 remaining (T19).

Success criteria​

  1. Usage remaining badge visible immediately on dashboard load.
  2. Scripture + tradition + method + style in under 2 minutes.
  3. Outline generates in 10–15 seconds with real illustrations (not hallucinated).
  4. Copy text or Export to Word works in one click.
  5. Usage updates to 14/15 after generation.
  6. Full flow from "+ New Sermon" to downloaded file takes under 5 minutes.

Known failure modes​

  • Scripture validation fails on unusual references. "Psalm 23" (no chapter:verse) may not be recognized. Support book-only queries via fuzzy matching or fall back gracefully.

  • Regenerate costs another outline. Confirmation dialog is required: "This uses another outline (14 remaining). Continue?"

  • RAG illustrations empty. If no rows match scripture + tradition + audience, show "No illustrations found" with suggestion to supply their own. Do not block the wizard or display an error state.

  • Export to Word large file. File may exceed 5–10MB if illustrations are verbose. Keep under 2MB by truncating RAG content summaries.

  • Usage reset boundary confusion. Reset happens on calendar month's 1st. UI should show next reset date clearly if usage is at 0.