Software Functional Specification
Campaign Application
Version 1.0
February 8, 2025
1.0 Overview
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Registering as a PN
1.3 Campaign App Design
1.4 Home Page
1.5 Creation Page
1.6 Leaderboard
1.7 Communication
1.8 Potential Nominee Profiles
Important Information for Potential Nominees
Personal information given to the nominating committee during the verification process cannot be changed by PNs after their campaign has begun unless approval from the nominating committee is given. This is not the case for any campaign information given after verification.
Most designs for profile branding and PSAs will be created on programs which will exist outside of the app. The creation page will serve as a platform where such creations are uploaded to the cloud. It will not feature any editing resources.
2.0 Functional Specifications
2.1 Introduction
If a constituent desires to do more than just participate in the process as a voter and run for office, the app accommodates their needs. Specifically, it gives these Potential Nominees (PNs) tools to help them design PSAs, campaign messages, and communicate with the local party committee, who will be helping them throughout the process.
Written below is a comprehensive description of what this part of the app looks like, functions, and how the local committee plays a part in running it smoothly. It should also be said that, for the sake of the nominating committee’s time, potential nominees are required to submit applications by a certain date.
2.2 Registering As a Potential Nominee:
2.2.1 Signatures
Before the verification of personal information on the part of the local nominating committee can begin, potential nominees must submit a form with 100 signatures from constituents who would be willing to support their campaign in the event that they pass through the verification process. This step is required for the purpose of making sure that potential nominees are serious about their campaigns. It will also give them an opportunity to begin building a base for their campaign by finding those who will make up their core group of supporters. Only after a list of 100 signatures (PDF form will be provided on the AMSP website) has been sent to the local nominating committee can the intake and verification of personal information begin.
2.2.2 Verification Process
A potential nominee seeking to run for office with the AMSP should go to the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the profile section. After selecting “Run for Office,” potential nominees will be met with a form or a “declaration of intent to run” asking them to provide the following details:
Personal Information:
Name/Address/DOB
Social Security Number
Picture of valid ID
Resume
Tax returns
Verified criminal history
2.2.3 Being Approved
After filling out the form, potential nominees will be delivered the results of the verification process in a timely manner. The committee can deny a potential nominee if they find that any of the information that they have provided is incorrect.
2.2.4 Post Approval
After being approved by the nominating committee, using the app, the potential nominees will fill out a detailed questionnaire which will allow them to illustrate the beliefs on which they want their campaign to focus.
Campaign Information:
Reasons for running for Congress (short description)
A multiple choice questionnaire modeled after the ISideWith questionnaire when all questions are fully shown (this will factor into the creation of issue organizers for each profile)
Top 3 political issues (short description of why they see those as issues)
Their solutions to those issues (short description)
Finally, after having completed both steps, potential nominees will be ready to run and will be given access to the part of the app reserved for them. Detailed below are the functions which are uniquely available to the potential nominees.
2.3 Campaign App Design
2.3.1 Introduction
There are a few key differences between the constituent and potential nominee app modules. Rather than attempting to get constituents to engage with various campaigns, this part of the app is focused on helping potential nominees to engage with voters.
2.4 Home Page
The potential nominee’s Home page is their hub of campaign information. While potential nominees are greeted with the same AMSP logo and links that will greet constituents, what they see when they scroll down is very different.
Rather than videos explaining the nomination process, potential nominees are met with a collection of notifications from campaign team members and the local committee. When tapping on these notifications, potential nominees are taken to the “Communication” section, which will serve as their hub of communication with the local nominating committee and national AMSP.
Like the constituent homepage, it features a search bar at the top of the page, allowing potential nominees to search through specific opposition campaigns and their public content using specific answers to the ISideWith quiz (same feature given to constituents) .
2.5 Creation Page
The “Creation” page allows potential nominees to customize all of their public content. This includes both PSAs as well as the syntax and design of the potential nominee’s profile.
There is also a section that allows potential nominees to see metrics dealing with constituent engagements. The layout is described below.
2.5.1 What Potential Nominees See Before Scrolling
When moving to the Creation page, potential nominees are met with an editable copy of their profile as it would be seen by a constituent. On this section of the page, potential nominees can scroll through their profile and change the various descriptions in whatever way they deem necessary.
Potential nominees will not, however, be able to change the basic Information section of their profile, as such information can only be changed by the local committee. If potential nominees do want to make a change to this section, they only need to contact the local committee and request the change. It should be noted that the local committee can take down or change any other part of a PN’s profile when they see fit.
2.5.2 Profile and PSA Sub-Sections
At the top of the screen, similar to that of the Leaderboard on the constituent version of the app, is a menu showing two buttons: “Profile” and “PSAs.” While potential nominees are always taken directly to the Profile sub-section upon their move to the Creation Page, this menu also allows them to upload and publish PSAs, which will be viewed through the For You page.
The PSA sub-section, however, is much more complicated than its Profile counterpart. When viewing it, potential nominees are met with a list of their published and unpublished videos. Each video has enough space that the title, number of views, and “published” or “unpublished” status can be viewed with a naked eye, while still giving enough space for at least three other videos on the list to be seen on the screen without scrolling.
At the top of the list is a small dropdown menu which allows potential nominees to customize the order of their videos. Next to this menu is a small button marked with the words “Add Video,” which will allow potential nominees to add and upload videos to the app. When clicking on a video, potential nominees are met with the video itself and a few simple metrics (number of views, number of profile clicks).
2.5.3 Metric Sub-Section Description
This is separate from the “metrics” sub-section of the creation page, which is described below. At the bottom of this video page is a large “edit” button, which takes potential nominees to the specific editing subscription that they have chosen to use.
Finally, next to the dropdown menu and the “Add Video” button is another dropdown menu allowing potential nominees to access the metrics of their profile and videos. There are three types of metrics that a potential nominee can access: Profile Metrics, PSA Metrics and Endorsement Metrics. It is important to note that, while scrolling through their metrics, potential nominees have the opportunity to press a large “back” button. This “back” button is visible in every sub-section of the app to allow users to easily find their way back to the main pages if necessary. The different metrics are expanded upon below.
2.5.4 Profile Metrics
Both of the metric pages are formatted in a simple ordered list, with descriptions being large enough so that 2 may take up the screen without scrolling. At the top right of each of these pages is a dropdown menu which allows potential nominees to organize their metrics. The simplest of these metrics deals with how many people have accessed a potential nominee’s profile over time. Another emphasizes the number of new or relatively new viewers that have visited over time. If potential nominees want to see more specific metrics, we also include a provision which will allow them to see how many clicks each part of their site has received over the last week. This allows them to see exactly which issues or parts of their pitch are resonating most with constituents.
2.5.5 PSA Metrics
Considering the large role that PSAs will have in the potential nominee selection process as a result of the “For You” page, it is also important to allow potential nominees to see which videos are receiving the most engagement. To do this, the app uses general metrics, which will allow potential nominees to do this include “total views” and an option to see how many views a video has received over time (same design as the profile metrics).
2.5.6 Endorsement Metrics
Finally, the PN has access to a variety of metrics based on the demographic information of those who endorsed them. Metrics include a pie chart showing the percentage breakdown of endorsements based on age group (18-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 75+) and a colored map showing the percentage breakdown of which parts of the district (separated by virtual polling location) endorsements have come from.
Other metrics show how long, on average, it took for a PN to be endorsed after a constituent has registered as compared to the average between all PNs, as well as a percentage breakdown of where constituents chose to endorse a PN, with the possibilities being through a particular PSA on the For You page or through the profile.
It is important to mention, however, that specific addresses and names are not attached to this information. Rather, this is a very general representation of which groups a particular PN has resonated with, allowing them to shift and improve their campaign strategies.
2.6 Leaderboard
The Leaderboard page looks exactly the same for potential nominees as it does for constituents. The Trending Leaderboard prompts potential nominees to experiment with their PSA and profile creation strategies in the same way that it promotes constituent engagement with different profiles.
While it may be tempting to give more information about the algorithm used to make the Trending Leaderboard with potential nominees, doing so would promote a static interpretation of what makes an engaging profile or PSA.
As for the Endorsement Leaderboard, there is no reason to change its structure. Doing so would only be a detriment to the simplicity of the endorsement process.
2.7 Communication
2.7.1 Communication Section Purpose
As mentioned above, the Profile section serves as the potential nominee’s hub of communications with the local nominating committee as well as AMSP staff. Potential nominees are free to contact AMSP staff and members of the nominating committee about their grievances or questions about the process. It is important to include this feature so that potential nominees may feel supported by AMSP staff as they begin their journeys toward becoming the party’s nominee.
That being said, potential nominees are not allowed to contact other potential nominees. They may only do so outside of the app. There are no security reasons related to this decision, rather, it is in the best interest of the app’s functionality. After all, allowing potential nominees to contact each other would create significantly more traffic that may be difficult to handle on an app that already offers a significant amount of services. Therefore, the primary purpose of the Communication page will be communication with the nominating committee and AMSP staff. The specific design will be outlined below.
2.7.2 What the Potential Nominees Will See
The Communication section of the potential nominee version of the app is relatively simple. Potential nominees will be greeted with a large button in the top left corner of the screen which will read “New Conversation.” Slightly below this button, and in the middle of the screen, is a list of the potential nominee’s past conversations.
Each conversation shows the name of the party member being contacted in a font that is easily read and the date when the member was last contacted in smaller font to the side. The sections for each conversation are large enough that fonts for each of these features are legible but that no less than four conversations are visible without scrolling.
At the top of the screen, there is a search button, which will allow potential nominees to search through their conversations based on keywords within the conversation or based on the names of those with whom they have had the conversation.
Messages which are unread are always shown at the top of the screen in bold font, while those that have been read are organized by last message (newest to oldest). If a potential nominee has no past conversations, they are greeted only by the New Conversation button and a blank screen.
When a potential nominee taps on the New Conversation button, a small search bar appears, allowing the potential nominee to search the name of an AMSP staff member or a person on their local nominating committee. Upon selecting the name from a list of matches within the AMSP, the potential nominee is taken to the conversation screen.
At the top right corner of a communication chain, there is a dropdown menu which allows potential nominees to delete conversations from their inbox as necessary.
2.8 Potential Nominee Profiles
2.8.1 Introduction
Potential Nominee profiles allow constituents to access a number of different forms of information about their chosen potential nominees. The specific aspects of the profile design attempt to strike a balance between detail and simplicity, allowing constituents to access more detailed information about a potential nominee if they need to, while keeping the profile simple and easy to understand. For the purpose of clarity, the profile description has been separated into different sections, with detailed templates accompanying each description.
2.8.2 Upper Section
Those entering the profile page of a potential nominee are greeted with three things: the candidate’s picture on the left side of the screen, their name on the right, shown in large font, and the potential nominee’s standings on trending and endorsement leaderboards, which are shown slightly below both of the aforementioned elements in a smaller font.
These three elements should take up roughly the entirety of the page without forcing users to scroll. Candidates will have the ability to incorporate logos, branding or links to profiles on other social media sites between this section and the rest of the profile if they wish.
2.8.3 Lower Section
Scrolling down will result in constituents seeing three buttons with the following names: Issues, Bio and PSAs. Each button takes constituents to different parts of the profile, with a purple arrow pointing to the chosen label which page the constituent is looking at. These buttons are big enough that they take up roughly ¼ of the screen when fully shown.
If a constituent were to scroll down without pressing any of the buttons, they would be met with the potential nominee’s “Issues” page. The descriptions for the information shown in each page are below.
2.8.4 Issues Page - Issue Organizer
After selecting the Issues page, the constituent will be met with the potential nominee’s issue organizer which will compile all of a potential nominee’s answers to the full ISideWith questionnaire, giving constituents a detailed picture of a candidate's beliefs on whichever issue they select.
After selecting a particular issue from the dropdown list above and to the left of the issue organizer, constituents are met with a short line segment populated with small purple dots. This line segment is designed to replicate the left/right through which different policy beliefs tend to be compared. The dots represent answers to individual questions, with their standing on the line representing their standing on the political spectrum. Users can see which questions and responses dots represent by hovering over the dots, which brings up a semi-transparent bubble showing the specific question and answer as reflection in the PN’s ISideWith questionnaire. Constituents can select up to three issues to be shown on the issue organizer, example shown below.
Directly above this line segment is a small dropdown window which allows constituents to select which issue is shown on the line segment. All issues included in the full ISideWith questionnaire given to potential nominees are available for selection in the issue organizer.
2.8.5 Prioritized Issues
The section below houses the PN’s prioritized issues. Constituents who scroll to this subsection first see the question “Why did you decide to run for Congress?” (not included in the model) the answer to which constituents can view by clicking on the question itself, after which the PN’s answer will appear in a smaller font below the question.
Below this is the nominee’s top three issues (selected by the nominee), the labels for which reflect the line segments of the Issue Organizer. However, instead of multiple dots representing different sections, it only includes one dot representing the collection of the PNs views on an issue. Clicking on the line segment shows the PN’s answers to two particular questions on this issue, including “What makes the issue important?” “What would I do to fix this issue?” Below each question label, potential nominees may give paragraph long (750 character maximum) responses.
The intention is for these responses to be long enough that they give the constituent a more comprehensive idea of how a potential nominee sees an issue without becoming so long that the constituent loses interest. If necessary, a constituent may have all three of these “sub-windows” open at the same time. The app gives PNs prewritten labels of the issues and asks them to pick them from a list during the campaign information registration. Dot placement on the line segment will be based on the answers to their ISideWith questionnaire. If a constituent wants to know more about a potential nominee’s take on a particular issue, they must only tap on the label of the particular issue in which they have interest.
Bio
The Bio page is similar to a resume, giving constituents access to a potential nominee’s basic background information.
There are five labels in this section which should work in roughly the same fashion as those described in the Issues section above. The specific labels and the information that they represent are described below.
Basic Information:
Full Name
Birth City
Home City
Family
Birth Date
Religion
Work Experience
Education
Religious, Civic or Community Memberships
Additional Information (potential nominees may include anything they’d like in this section)
2.8.6 PSAs
This final section incorporates all of the PSAs that potential nominees have published thus far in the process. For each PSA, constituents see a picture or “thumbnail” that represents the PSA, with a short title on or below.
Lists can be viewed in rows of three. Constituents are also be able to organize PSAs by Newest to Oldest, Oldest to Newest and Most Relevant through the use of a dropdown menu which is below the guiding buttons but above the list of videos on the right side of the screen.