Gap Analysis
Gap Analysis - User Needs & Requirements
Status: ✅ Analysis Complete
Purpose: Identify missing features by comparing against global research and best practices
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1. Analysis Framework
1.1 Importance Formula
Importance = f(risk, impact, strategy)
- Risk: What are the consequences if we don't have this feature?
- Impact: How many users affected? How severe?
- Strategy: How well does this align with FactHarbor's mission and strategic goals?
Importance Levels:
- VERY HIGH: Critical to mission, high risk if missing, affects majority of users
- HIGH: Important for success, significant impact, strong strategic alignment
- MEDIUM: Valuable but not critical, moderate impact
- LOW: Nice-to-have, limited impact
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1.2 Urgency Formula
Urgency = f(fail fast and learn, legal, promises made)
- Fail fast and learn: Do we need to validate assumptions quickly?
- Legal: Are there legal requirements or external deadlines?
- Promises made: Have we committed this to stakeholders, funders, or partners?
Urgency Levels:
- HIGH: External deadlines, legal requirements, or critical testing needed
- MEDIUM: Strategic opportunity, growing trends, competitive pressure
- LOW: No external pressure, can add anytime
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1.3 Context Matters
Important principle: Importance and urgency change based on milestone context.
- POC: Only basic features urgent
- Beta: More features become urgent for user testing
- Release: Legal/compliance becomes critical
Priorities are not absolute - they're contextual.
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2. Gap Categories
We identified 18 gaps across 8 categories:
Category 1: Accessibility & Inclusivity
- Gap 1.1: WCAG 2.1 Compliance
- Gap 1.2: Multilingual Support
Category 2: Platform Integration & Distribution
- Gap 2.1: Browser Extensions
- Gap 2.2: Embeddable Widgets
- Gap 2.3: ClaimReview Schema
Category 3: Media Verification
- Gap 3.1: Image/Video/Audio Verification
Category 4: Mobile & Offline Access
- Gap 4.1: Mobile Apps / PWA
- Gap 4.2: Offline Access
Category 5: Education & Media Literacy
- Gap 5.1: Educational Resources
- Gap 5.2: Media Literacy Integration
Category 6: Collaboration & Community
- Gap 6.1: Professional Collaboration Tools
- Gap 6.2: Community Discussion
Category 7: Export & Sharing
- Gap 7.1: Export Capabilities
- Gap 7.2: Social Sharing Optimization
Category 8: Advanced Features & Analytics
- Gap 8.1: User Analytics
- Gap 8.2: Personalization
- Gap 8.3: Media Archiving
- Gap 8.4: Advanced Search
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3. Critical Gaps
3.1 Gap: WCAG 2.1 Accessibility Compliance
Status: ❌ Not addressed in current requirements
Importance: VERY HIGH
Urgency: HIGH (legal requirement)
Why Important:
- Risk: CRITICAL
- Legal liability (European Accessibility Act enforced June 28, 2025)
- Lawsuits, fines up to $250,000 (Accessible Canada Act)
- Cannot operate in EU market without compliance
- Retrofitting is 100x more expensive than building in from start
- Impact: 15-20% of population (1+ billion people) excluded without accessibility
- Affects blind, low-vision, deaf, motor impairments, cognitive disabilities
- "86% of companies report improved customer satisfaction after implementing accessibility" (Forrester)
- Strategy: CRITICAL ALIGNMENT
- Mission: "empower users to make informed judgments" - cannot empower if inaccessible
- Vision: "a world where decisions are grounded in evidence" - for ALL people
- Inclusivity is core to nonprofit mission
Why Urgent:
- Legal: VERY HIGH
- European Accessibility Act (EAA) enforced June 28, 2025
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - ongoing requirement in US
- Accessible Canada Act - penalties up to $250,000
- Cannot launch in EU without compliance
- Fail fast: Not applicable (accessibility is proven requirement, not experimental)
- Promises: Depends on public mission statements and funding commitments
Missing Requirements:
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance
- Screen reader compatibility (ARIA labels, semantic HTML)
- Keyboard navigation (no mouse required)
- Color-blind friendly design (not relying solely on color)
- Adjustable text size and contrast
- Captions/transcripts for video content
- Alternative text for images and visualizations
Recommended New Requirements:
- NFR6: Accessibility - Platform must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards
- NFR7: Assistive Technology Support - Compatible with screen readers, voice navigation, keyboard-only usage
- FR14: Accessibility Settings - User-configurable contrast, text size, reduced motion options
When to Address: Must be built into platform from start (retrofitting prohibitively expensive)
Research Evidence:
- "72% of organizations have digital accessibility policy, 85% see it as competitive advantage" (Level Access 2024)
- European Accessibility Act (EAA) enforcement begins June 28, 2025
- "Accessible websites see 20% increase in traffic and engagement" (W3C WAI)
- "86% of companies report improved customer satisfaction after implementing accessibility" (Forrester)
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3.2 Gap: Educational Resources & Onboarding
Status: ❌ Not addressed in current requirements
Importance: VERY HIGH
Urgency: HIGH (critical for adoption)
Why Important:
- Risk: CRITICAL
- Platform fails if users cannot understand Evidence Models
- Misinterpretation of scenarios/verdicts undermines mission
- High abandonment rate without onboarding (industry standard: 75% drop-off without onboarding)
- Wasted investment if no one can use the platform
- Impact: Affects 100% of new users
- "Fact-checking organizations increasingly provide media literacy education" (Mesquita et al. 2024)
- Determines whether platform succeeds or fails
- Strategy: CRITICAL ALIGNMENT
- Mission: "help people make sense of complex, contested information"
- Vision: Requires users to understand methodology
- Cannot achieve transparency without explaining concepts
Why Urgent:
- Fail fast: VERY HIGH
- Must validate that Evidence Models are comprehensible to users
- Need to test if onboarding actually works
- Quick iteration needed based on user confusion
- Test with beta users before full launch
- Legal: None
- Promises: HIGH if public statements include "user-friendly" or "accessible to all"
Missing Requirements:
- Onboarding tutorial (interactive walkthrough)
- Video tutorials explaining concepts
- FAQ section
- Glossary (scenarios, confidence scores, verdicts, assumptions)
- Example analyses with explanations
- "How to read a FactHarbor analysis" guide
- Best practices documentation
Recommended New Requirements:
- UN-23: Learn How to Fact-Check - Educational resources for understanding methodology
- FR26: Onboarding Tutorial - Interactive first-time user walkthrough
- FR27: Educational Resources Hub - Guides, videos, FAQs, glossary
- FR28: Curriculum Materials - Resources for educators to use FactHarbor in classrooms
When to Address: Basic onboarding at launch (POC needs 1-page explainer, Beta needs comprehensive resources)
Research Evidence:
- "Critical media literacy fosters resilience against misinformation" (McDougall 2019)
- Teen Fact-Checking Networks operating globally (MediaWise 2024)
- "Fact-checking organizations increasingly provide media literacy education" (Mesquita et al. 2024)
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4. High Importance Gaps
4.1 Gap: Browser Extensions
Status: ❌ Not addressed
Importance: HIGH
Urgency: MEDIUM
Why Important:
- Risk: MEDIUM - Competitive disadvantage, reduced adoption
- Impact: MEDIUM-HIGH - Significantly improves UX for active fact-checkers
- Strategy: HIGH ALIGNMENT - Meet users where misinformation spreads (in their browsers)
Why Urgent:
- Fail fast: MEDIUM - Should validate that users actually want browser extensions
- Legal: None
- Promises: LOW unless explicitly promised to early adopters
Missing Requirements:
- Chrome/Firefox/Safari browser extensions
- Right-click context menu for selected text
- Inline highlighting of claims on any webpage
- Quick verdict tooltips without leaving page
- Save/bookmark fact-checks
Recommended:
- UN-18: In-Context Fact-Checking - Browser extension for real-time verification
- FR17: Browser Extensions - Chrome, Firefox, Safari with context menu
- FR18: Cross-Site Highlighting - Highlight and analyze claims on any website
When to Address: Test web platform first, then build extension MVP if user demand validated
Research Evidence:
- "3-click verification: Select → Right-click → Verify" is standard UX pattern
- Extensions like UnCovered, Pino, InVID/WeVerify widely adopted
- NewsGuard browser extension demonstrates market acceptance
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4.2 Gap: Media Verification (Images/Videos/Audio)
Status: ❌ Not addressed
Importance: VERY HIGH
Urgency: MEDIUM
Why Important:
- Risk: HIGH - Cannot address major category of misinformation (visual/audio)
- Impact: VERY HIGH - Visual misinformation is primary vector
- Strategy: CRITICAL ALIGNMENT - Mission incomplete without multimedia fact-checking
Why Urgent:
- Fail fast: VERY HIGH - Should test approach quickly (partner vs. build?)
- Legal: None
- Promises: MEDIUM (depends on mission statements)
Missing Requirements:
- Reverse image search integration
- Video frame extraction and analysis
- Audio deepfake detection
- EXIF metadata extraction
- Synthetic media detection (AI-generated content)
Recommended:
- UN-20: Media Verification - Image, video, audio fact-checking
- FR22: Image Verification - Reverse search, EXIF, synthetic detection
- FR23: Video Verification - Frame analysis, metadata, deepfake detection
- FR24: Audio Verification - Voice deepfakes, audio forensics
When to Address: Pilot with existing tools (InVID, TinEye) before building in-house
Research Evidence:
- "Most deception relies on decontextualization" of images (Cazzamatta 2025)
- "Deepfakes targeting political figures raise concerns" (Corsi et al. 2024)
- InVID/WeVerify used by professional fact-checkers (AFP 2024)
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4.3 Gap: Multilingual Support
Status: ❌ Not addressed
Importance: HIGH
Urgency: MEDIUM
Why Important:
- Risk: HIGH - Mission limited to English speakers (20% of world)
- Impact: VERY HIGH - Excludes 80% of world population
- Strategy: CRITICAL ALIGNMENT - Vision of "a world where decisions are grounded in evidence" - not just English-speaking world
Why Urgent:
- Fail fast: MEDIUM - Test which languages users need, validate translation quality early
- Legal: None
- Promises: MEDIUM-HIGH if mission statement emphasizes "global" or "world"
Missing Requirements:
- Interface available in multiple languages
- Content translation/analysis in non-English languages
- Right-to-left (RTL) language support (Arabic, Hebrew)
- Locale-specific formatting (dates, numbers, currencies)
- Character encoding for non-Latin scripts
Recommended:
- FR15: Multilingual Interface - UI in 10+ languages
- FR16: Multilingual Content Analysis - AKEL analyzes claims in multiple languages
- NFR8: Internationalization (i18n) - RTL support, character encodings, locale formatting
When to Address: Plan early, prove English platform first, start with 2-3 strategic languages
Research Evidence:
- 443 fact-checking projects operate in 70+ languages globally (Duke 2025)
- "LLMs better at fact-checking in low-resource languages than expected" (ACL 2024)
- "Multilingual capabilities essential for global inclusivity" (O3 World 2024)
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4.4 Gap: Mobile Apps / PWA
Status: ❌ Not addressed
Importance: HIGH
Urgency: LOW
Why Important:
- Risk: MEDIUM - Reduced engagement, poor mobile experience
- Impact: HIGH - 90%+ users access news on mobile
- Strategy: MEDIUM - Better UX but not core to methodology
Why Urgent:
- Fail fast: MEDIUM - Test if mobile users behave differently, PWA first
- Legal: None
- Promises: LOW unless specified in grants/partnerships
Missing Requirements:
- iOS/Android native apps
- Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities
- Camera submission for visual claims
- Push notifications
- Offline mode
Recommended:
- UN-21: Mobile-Native Experience - Native apps for iOS/Android
- FR25: Native Mobile Apps - Full mobile capabilities
- NFR9: Progressive Web App - Installable, offline, push notifications
When to Address: Responsive web first, PWA to test mobile patterns, native apps if validated
Research Evidence:
- "Mobile apps with accessibility features experience 30% higher engagement" (MMA 2024)
- 90%+ of adults access news via mobile devices (Pew 2024)
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4.5 Gap: ClaimReview Schema
Status: ❌ Not addressed
Importance: HIGH
Urgency: LOW
Why Important:
- Risk: LOW-MEDIUM - Reduced discoverability (won't appear in Google search)
- Impact: MEDIUM-HIGH - Affects all users via SEO
- Strategy: MEDIUM - Distribution mechanism, not core methodology
Why Urgent:
- Fail fast: LOW - Already proven by 200,000+ fact-checks globally
- Legal: None
- Promises: None
Missing Requirements:
- ClaimReview structured data markup
- Submit to Google Fact Check Explorer
- MediaReview for multimedia content
Recommended:
- FR20: ClaimReview Schema - Structured data markup
- FR21: Search Engine Integration - Submit to fact-check indexes
When to Address: Add anytime after content library exists (can be retroactive)
Research Evidence:
- 200,000+ fact-checks use ClaimReview globally (Duke 2024)
- Enables appearance in Google/Bing search results
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5. Medium Importance Gaps
5.1 Gap: Embeddable Widgets
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: JavaScript widgets for publishers to embed fact-checks
When: Only if publishers commit to using it
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5.2 Gap: Export Capabilities
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: PDF export, print optimization, CSV/JSON data export
When: Based on user requests
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5.3 Gap: Professional Collaboration Tools
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: Organization workspaces, claim assignment, internal discussion
When: Only if organizations commit
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5.4 Gap: Social Sharing Optimization
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: Open Graph tags, Twitter Cards, short URLs, WhatsApp optimization
When: Iterative improvement based on usage
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5.5 Gap: Media Archiving
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: Automatic archiving of sources, Wayback Machine integration, media preservation
When: After launch, retroactive archiving is fine
Research Evidence:
- "Images/videos often disappear after fact-checking" (MediaVault 2024)
- IFCN DisinfoArchiving uses WACZ format (InVID 2024-2025)
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6. Lower Priority Gaps
6.1 Gap: User Analytics
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: Privacy-respecting usage analytics, feedback systems
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6.2 Gap: Personalization
Importance: LOW
Urgency: N/A
Strategic Decision Needed: How much personalization without creating filter bubbles?
Recommendation: Limited only (language, accessibility preferences) - NO content filtering
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6.3 Gap: Community Discussion
Importance: LOW
Urgency: N/A
Strategic Decision Needed: Should FactHarbor allow public comments or remain evidence-focused?
Question to resolve: Evidence platform vs. community platform?
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6.4 Gap: Advanced Search
Importance: MEDIUM
Urgency: LOW
Missing: Elasticsearch, faceted search, advanced filters
When: Only when PostgreSQL search becomes bottleneck
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6.5 Gap: Offline Access
Importance: LOW
Urgency: LOW
Missing: Offline mode, service workers, cached content
When: If user research shows demand
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7. Existing Requirements Reference
Before proposing new requirements, here's what already exists in the FactHarbor Specification:
7.1 Existing Functional Requirements (FR1-FR13)
From Specification/Requirements.WebHome:
- FR1: Claim Intake - Users submit claims via form or API
- FR2: Claim Normalization - Standardize to clear assertion format
- FR3: Claim Classification - Domain, type, risk score, complexity
- FR4: Scenario Generation - AKEL analyzes claim and generates scenarios
- FR5: Evidence Linking - Automated evidence discovery and relevance scoring
- FR6: Scenario Comparison - Side-by-side comparison interface
- FR7: Automated Verdicts - AKEL generates verdict based on evidence
- FR8: Time Evolution - Claims update as new evidence emerges
- FR9: Publication Workflow - Simple automated flow (no multi-stage approval)
- FR10: Moderation - Focus on abuse, not routine quality
- FR11: Audit Trail - All edits logged, version history public
From User Needs Document (UN-17):
- FR12: Two-Panel Summary View - Analysis + Article side-by-side
- FR13: In-Article Claim Highlighting - Visual claim markers in original text
Total Existing: FR1-FR13 (13 functional requirements)
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7.2 Existing Non-Functional Requirements (NFR1-NFR5)
From Specification/Requirements.WebHome:
- NFR1: Performance - Processing <30s, search <2s, page load <3s, 99% uptime
- NFR2: Scalability - Handle 10K claims initially, scale to 1M+, 100K+ concurrent users
- NFR3: Transparency - All algorithms open source, all data exportable, all decisions documented
- NFR4: Security & Privacy - Follow privacy policy, secure authentication, data encryption, regular audits
- NFR5: Maintainability - Modular architecture, automated testing, CI/CD, comprehensive documentation
Total Existing: NFR1-NFR5 (5 non-functional requirements)
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7.3 Requirement Numbering Summary
Existing Requirements:
- Functional: FR1 through FR13
- Non-Functional: NFR1 through NFR5
Proposed New Requirements (from Gap Analysis):
- Functional: FR14 through FR43 (30 new)
- Non-Functional: NFR6 through NFR10 (5 new)
Total After Gap Analysis:
- Functional: FR1-FR43 (43 total)
- Non-Functional: NFR1-NFR10 (10 total)
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Based on gap analysis, we recommend adding:
8 New User Needs (UN-18 through UN-25):
- UN-18: In-Context Fact-Checking (browser extension)
- UN-19: Publisher Integration (embed widgets)
- UN-20: Media Verification (images/videos/audio)
- UN-21: Mobile-Native Experience (native apps)
- UN-22: Offline Access (PWA)
- UN-23: Learn How to Fact-Check (education)
- UN-24: Professional Collaboration (team tools)
- UN-25: Export & Save (PDF, CSV)
30 New Functional Requirements (FR14-FR43):
- FR14: Accessibility Settings
- FR15-16: Multilingual (Interface, Content Analysis)
- FR17-18: Browser Extensions, Cross-Site Highlighting
- FR19-20: Embeddable Widget, ClaimReview Schema
- FR21: Search Engine Integration
- FR22-24: Media Verification (Image, Video, Audio)
- FR25: Native Mobile Apps
- FR26-30: Education (Onboarding, Resources, Curriculum, Critical Thinking, Pre-bunking)
- FR31-33: Professional Collaboration (Workspaces, Assignment, Discussion)
- FR34-36: Export (PDF, Print, Data)
- FR37-39: Social Sharing (Open Graph, Short URLs, Multi-Channel)
- FR40: User Feedback System
- FR41-43: Archiving (Automatic, Archive.org, Media Preservation)
5 New Non-Functional Requirements (NFR6-NFR10):
- NFR6: Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA)
- NFR7: Assistive Technology Support
- NFR8: Internationalization (i18n)
- NFR9: Progressive Web App (PWA)
- NFR10: Privacy-Respecting Analytics
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11. Priority Matrix
Priority based on Importance + Urgency:
CRITICAL (Must Address):
- Accessibility (WCAG) - Legal + High Impact
2. Educational Resources - Adoption Critical
HIGH (Strategic Priority):
3. Browser Extensions - User Expectation
4. Media Verification - Mission Critical
5. Multilingual - Global Strategy
MEDIUM (Plan For):
6. Mobile Apps/PWA - User Convenience
7. ClaimReview Schema - Discoverability
8. Export Capabilities - Professional Users
9. Embeddable Widgets - Publisher Adoption
10. Professional Collaboration - Organizational Users
LOW (Consider Later):
- Social Sharing Optimization
12. Media Archiving
13. User Analytics
14. Advanced Search
15. Offline Access
16. Personalization
17. Community Discussion
- Social Sharing Optimization
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11. Key Strategic Questions
Question 1: Accessibility Investment
How comprehensive at launch?
- Required: WCAG 2.1 AA minimum, keyboard navigation, screen readers
- Enhanced: Voice navigation, haptic feedback (can add later)
Question 2: Multilingual Priorities
Which languages first?
- Recommend: English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic (major markets + diversity)
- Consider: Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Hindi, Russian
Question 3: Media Verification Approach
Build vs. partner?
- Recommend: Partner initially (InVID, TinEye, existing tools)
- Build: If demand proven and resources available
Question 4: Community Model
Evidence-focused vs. discussion-enabled?
- Option A: No public discussion (maintain authority model)
- Option B: Limited discussion (Contributor+ only)
- Option C: Open discussion (requires moderation resources)
Question 5: Mobile Strategy
Native apps vs. PWA?
- Recommend: PWA first (cross-platform, lower cost)
- Consider: Native apps if mobile usage dominant
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11. Research Sources
Academic Research (2024-2025):
- AI-Generated Misinformation (Cazzamatta & Sarısakaloğlu 2025)
- Show Me the Work: Fact-Checkers' Requirements for Explainable AI (CHI 2025)
- Multilingual Fact-Checking using LLMs (ACL 2024)
- Beyond Verification: Media Literacy Education (Mesquita et al. 2024)
Industry Reports:
- Duke Reporters' Lab Census 2024-2025 (443 projects, 70+ languages)
- Poynter/IFCN State of Fact-Checkers Report
- Level Access: State of Digital Accessibility Report 2023-2024
- Pew Research Center: News consumption patterns
Standards & Compliance:
- WCAG 2.1 (W3C)
- European Accessibility Act (EAA) - June 28, 2025
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Accessible Canada Act
- ClaimReview/MediaReview specifications (Schema.org)
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11. Related Pages
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Document Status: ✅ Analysis Complete - Ready for Strategic Planning