# Progress Log — Career Constellation Clinical Pathway Overhaul
# Branch: ralph/constellation-overhaul
# Started: 2026-02-16

## Codebase Patterns
- CareerConstellation.tsx is a D3 force-directed graph rendered in an SVG with React overlay buttons for accessibility
- D3 simulation uses forceSimulation with charge, link, x, y, and collide forces
- Module-level window.matchMedia reads for prefersReducedMotion and supportsCoarsePointer
- DashboardLayout manages constellation state: highlightedNodeId, pinnedNodeId via callbacks
- Work experience data in src/data/consultations.ts, skills in src/data/skills.ts, constellation-specific data in src/data/constellation.ts
- CSS layout: .pathway-columns is a grid that switches from 1fr (mobile) to minmax(0,1.15fr) minmax(0,1.5fr) at desktop breakpoint
- .pathway-graph-sticky has position: sticky; top: 12px; min-height: 100% for the graph column
- containerHeight prop drives graph height on desktop; on mobile (viewport < 1024px) uses MOBILE_FALLBACK_HEIGHT (360px)
- Use window.innerWidth for breakpoint checks, not container.clientWidth — the SVG container overflows on mobile
- Design tokens in index.css :root — use var(--accent), var(--border-light), var(--text-tertiary), etc.
- Use the d3-viz skill for all D3 rendering stories
- yScale domain reversal automatically flows through all timeline elements (guides, dots, labels, role positions, simulation forces) — no per-element changes needed
- Always use CSS custom properties (var(--border), var(--surface), var(--text-tertiary), etc.) for colours in D3 — never hardcode hex values
- SVG shadows: use <filter> with <feDropShadow> in <defs>, apply to <g> groups via .attr('filter', 'url(#filter-id)'), clear with .attr('filter', null)
- Role nodes are already pill-shaped rects (ROLE_WIDTH=104, ROLE_HEIGHT=32, ROLE_RX=16) with orgColor badge styling — check before re-implementing

## 2026-02-16 - US-001
- Reversed yScale domain from [minYear, maxYear] to [maxYear, minYear] so 2025 appears at top
- Updated buildScreenReaderDescription() to mention reverse-chronological order
- Files changed: src/components/CareerConstellation.tsx
- **Learnings for future iterations:**
  - The yScale is the single source of truth for vertical positioning — reversing its domain is a one-line change that cascades to all D3 elements using it
  - Year guide lines, year dots, year labels, role initial positions, and simulation forceY all reference yScale — no individual element updates needed
  - buildScreenReaderDescription() is defined at module level (line ~63), not inside the component
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## 2026-02-16 - US-002
- Removed fixed DESKTOP_HEIGHT/TABLET_HEIGHT/MOBILE_HEIGHT constants, replaced with MIN_HEIGHT (400) and MOBILE_FALLBACK_HEIGHT (360)
- Added containerHeight prop to CareerConstellation — DashboardLayout measures .chronology-stream via ResizeObserver and passes height
- getHeight() now takes containerHeight param: on mobile uses fallback, on desktop uses measured height with MIN_HEIGHT floor
- Used window.innerWidth for mobile breakpoint detection (container.clientWidth is unreliable due to SVG overflow)
- Files changed: src/components/CareerConstellation.tsx, src/components/DashboardLayout.tsx, src/index.css
- **Learnings for future iterations:**
  - The CareerConstellation container div overflows on mobile — its clientWidth reports desktop-sized values even at 375px viewport. Always use window.innerWidth for responsive breakpoint checks in this component.
  - ResizeObserver on .chronology-stream fires when cards expand/collapse, triggering height update in the graph — this is the key mechanism for dynamic sync.
  - The dimensions useEffect depends on [containerHeight] so it re-runs when the measured height changes, updating the D3 scales.
  - CSS grid column ratio was adjusted to minmax(0,1.15fr) minmax(0,1.5fr) to give the graph more horizontal space.
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## 2026-02-16 - US-003
- Removed radial gradient background, replaced with clean var(--surface) fill
- Added 1px solid var(--border-light) border to the container div
- Refined timeline vertical rule to 1px stroke using var(--border) colour
- Replaced year dots (circles) with horizontal tick marks (6-8px lines extending right from timeline)
- Updated year labels fill to var(--text-tertiary)
- Made horizontal guide lines subtle: stroke-opacity 0.25, stroke-dasharray '3 4', using var(--border-light)
- Removed the entire SVG legend group (replacement HTML legend comes in US-008)
- Files changed: src/components/CareerConstellation.tsx
- **Learnings for future iterations:**
  - All colours should use CSS custom property values (var(--border), var(--surface), etc.) rather than hardcoded hex values — the design system tokens are defined in index.css :root
  - The legend was ~47 lines of D3 code; removing it is a significant net reduction. The HTML replacement in US-008 will be simpler React JSX
  - Year ticks as horizontal lines are positioned with x1=timelineX, x2=timelineX+width — they extend right from the timeline axis, not centred on it
  - The container div border + borderRadius + overflow:hidden creates a clean framed look for the SVG without needing an SVG-level border
---

## 2026-02-16 - US-004
- Added SVG filter defs for drop shadows: shadow-sm-filter (subtle, for hover/connected) and shadow-md-filter (stronger, for active/pinned)
- Updated applyGraphHighlight to apply shadow filters on role node `<g>` elements during highlight states
- Resting state: no filter; connected role: shadow-sm; active/pinned role: shadow-md with stroke-opacity 1 and stroke-width 1.5
- Note: most of US-004 (pill shape, orgColor styling, connector lines, focus rings, collision detection) was already implemented in prior iterations
- Files changed: src/components/CareerConstellation.tsx, Ralph/prd.json
- **Learnings for future iterations:**
  - SVG drop shadows use `<filter>` with `<feDropShadow>` — apply to the parent `<g>` group, not the individual shape, for proper rendering
  - Filter bounds need generous overflow (x/y -20%, width/height 140%+) to avoid clipping the shadow
  - When clearing a filter, use `.attr('filter', null)` — not empty string
  - The role node pill rendering (rect with rx/ry, orgColor fill at 0.12, border at 0.4) was built incrementally across US-003 and US-004 — check existing code before implementing to avoid duplication
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