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NepWalk MVP — Requirements (v3)

Written 21 Sep 2026 in the product-definition session (decision A7), from the founder's answers. Supersedes scope.md where they differ (see §7). Long-term picture: ../../vision.md. Launch target: ~Wed 7 Oct 2026.

1. The one-page story

For everyone who travels in Nepal — solo travellers, families and groups (B11). The MVP starts with groups, first church and mission groups, built by the NepWalk team. NepWalk handles everything inside Nepal — hotels, vehicles, domestic flights, guides, meals and experiences. International flights stay with the traveller (P23).

The problem. Planning a Nepal trip means stitching together blogs, forums, WhatsApp threads and an agent's PDF. Nobody can see the trip as it will actually be lived: where you'll be at 11:00, how you get to the next place, where you sleep tonight, and why a place matters. (Problem-and-Solution #2, scattered information, rated 10/10.)

What NepWalk does. The NepWalk team builds the group's trip from a proven itinerary — a Paila (पाइला, footstep; working name) — and the leader gets a beautiful day-by-day plan on their phone: every stop with its photo, time, story and tip, the travel between stops, tonight's hotel, and the culture that makes Nepal Nepal. One link, shared with the whole group.

Why it matters. Leaders stop being the group's travel desk. Travellers arrive knowing what's coming. NepWalk's verified vendors sit behind the plan — and the vendor commission that pays for NepWalk comes from bookings made from it.

Proof (MVP): the December church group's leader opens the link on a phone and finds the plan beautiful and easy — without a call to Prakash.

2. Who uses the MVP

22 Sep 2026 (B12): every paid trip is delivered by a licensed agency that NepWalk assigns. In the MVP the "NepWalk team" side below is what that agency uses; the assigned agency is the trip's organisation (Trip.orgId). The church trip runs through the partner agency as agency #1. Nothing in M1–M15 changes for the 7 Oct launch.

Who Does Sees
NepWalk team (Prakash) Builds and adjusts the trip from a Paila, marks bookings confirmed Everything, plus helper warnings
Group leader Opens the shared link, shares it with the group, asks for changes (outside the app) The trip and a one-line confirmation status
Traveller (group member) Follows the plan The trip, view-only

Later, not MVP: agencies building trips for whole teams; groups with no leader, where the assigned guide acts as leader; vendors in their own back office (see vision).

3. Must-haves — each with its business reason

# Must-have Why it earns its place
M1 Day plan, Visitacity pattern: day tabs; one card per stop with photo, time, duration, short story and one tip; the travel between stops (how, how long); tonight's stay inside each day This is the product the leader sees — the demo that makes mentors and vendors understand NepWalk
M2 Culture woven in: each place's story and "why it matters", a Nepali word of the day, festivals falling on the trip dates; cultural experiences as stops (dance-dinner restaurant, cooking class) for groups that want them NepWalk's difference from a generic planner; makes the plan worth sharing
M3 Place page: photo + credit, story, tip, duration, pin on a map Depth behind every card; the start of NepWalk's place data
M4 Trip overview: days, bases, map The whole trip at a glance — what a leader forwards to their group
M5 Share link (view-only, revocable). The one-line booking status ("2 bookings still being confirmed", tap to see which) is shown to the team and the leader only — never to travellers (P28) Leader shares without accounts; travellers see a calm plan, not bookings
M6 Installable (PWA), mobile-first Feels like an app on the home screen without an app store
M7 A trip in 3 clicks (P24): type "5 days in Kathmandu and Pokhara" → pick a popular Paila → tune days, people, preferences and which services to include (hotels, vehicle, domestic flights, guide, meals & culture) → Create. Every service slot and its size is set automatically; details like arrival times come later. Also: start from scratch The founder's core promise — everything set in a few clicks, easy as a cake
M8 Three Pailas: Kathmandu 3 days · Kathmandu + Pokhara 7 days · Kathmandu + Pokhara + Chitwan 10 days — shown by popularity and the group's preferences Enough to cover the church trip and show range; each one reusable
M9 Place library (~30 places and experiences, Kathmandu / Pokhara / Chitwan): type, lat/long, base (Thamel → Kathmandu → Kathmandu Valley), aliases (KTM = Kathmandu), story, tip, typical duration, photo + credit Real place data powers travel times, maps and (later) AI matching; stops "KTM ≠ Kathmandu" false alarms
M10 The leader's basics: dates, arrival and departure flights, group size (enrolled / expected max / lock date), room mix, interests (culture, spiritual, nature, trekking), pace (relaxed / full), budget level What the team needs to shape the trip right; already partly built (build day 3–4)
M11 Helper warnings for the team: a night with no stay (R1), a base change with no travel (R2), travel time between stops from lat/long Catches the mistakes that cost a 10 pm phone call; R1/R2 already built and tested
M12 Mark bookings confirmed (team) → feeds M5 The leader's peace of mind, with bookings still done by WhatsApp
M13 Maps (P25): a map on each day (numbered stops + tonight's hotel, from real coordinates, open in Google Maps) and a whole-trip map Travellers see where they're going, on the day
M14 Edit anything (P26): add a stop from the library, edit its time and title, remove it with undo Pailas are starting points, never fixed packages
M15 Choose vendors (P27): each included service shows its vendor with "Choose"; the team picks from NepWalk's verified list (admin-maintained: name, area, capacity, licence / green-plate check) The admin decides who serves the group; the start of the verified-vendor promise

4. The journeys

NepWalk team — from request to shared plan:

  1. The leader messages on WhatsApp.
  2. The team creates a trip from the closest Paila.
  3. Enters the leader's basics (M10).
  4. Adjusts days and stops; adds cultural experiences if the group wants them.
  5. Clears the helper warnings (M11).
  6. Books vendors on WhatsApp (outside the app) and marks each confirmed (M12).
  7. Sends the leader the share link.

Leader and traveller — from link to trip:

  1. Opens the link on a phone — no account needed.
  2. Sees the trip overview: days, bases, map (M4).
  3. Taps into a day: stops, travel between them, tonight's hotel (M1).
  4. Taps a place for its story and tip (M3).
  5. Sees "All set ✓" (M5), installs NepWalk to the home screen (M6).
  6. Forwards the link to the group.

5. Screens for the prototype (Tue 22 Sep)

Traveller/leader: trip overview (with trip map) · day plan (with day map) · place page · confirmation status · share sheet. Team: trips list · 3-click new trip (find a Paila → tune → ready) · trip editor (add, edit, remove stops) · trip setup drawer · place library.

Built and signed off as a clickable prototype on 21 Sep 2026: https://claude.ai/artifact/JgrzyeGCQ9ZQWtQBPQVEsy

Filled with the real church-trip shape (29 Dec arrival, New Year in Pokhara), following the Visitacity pattern. Founder signs off before building resumes.

6. Out of the MVP (deliberately)

Prices and price breakdowns · payments (the partner agency invoices) · vendor vendor portal and self-registration · vendor ratings and reviews · automatic vendor ranking (slots and sizes are automatic, the team attaches the vendor — P24) · international flights and visas (P23) · booking tracker · WhatsApp drafts · commission ledger · AI itinerary generation (October) · location tracking (later, opt-in only) · agency accounts · offline mode.

Money is still real, outside the app: the church trip's bookings and commission are tracked in a sheet, so the first NPR by 31 Dec target is unaffected.

Positioning (B9): NepWalk does not market price or commission transparency. Its promise is clear plans, checked vendors chosen for service quality (never for the commission they pay), and a team a WhatsApp message away.

7. What changes from scope.md

scope.md Now
F1 builder Kept, rebuilt around Pailas and the day plan (M1, M7)
F2 rules R1–R10 R1, R2 kept as helper warnings (M11); R3–R10 wait until bookings return
F3 questions panel Out for now
F4 vendor directory Out
F5 place list (~15) Grown to ~30 with real place data (M9)
F6 services / F7 WhatsApp drafts / F8 commission Out; bookings on WhatsApp, money in a sheet
F9 traveller day view Becomes the hero (M1–M6)
F10 AI assist October, as planned
F11 inquiry form Kept (no code)

8. Open

  • Name: "Paila" is the working name for a ready-made itinerary — founder to confirm.
  • Who writes the place stories and tips: founder, or drafted and founder-checked.
  • Photo sources and credits (open item O6).