Development Review
Artifact info
Title:

User Architecture and Membership System Development

Engagement:

Holomovement App Ecosystem

Client:

Holomovement

Meeting Date:
January 26, 2026
Next Meeting Date:
February 16, 2026
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People
Michael Shaun Conaway
Mariko Pitts
James Redenbaugh
Hera Rose
Artifact Image
Meeting Summary

Development Progress and Project Management

James Redenbaugh introduced a new Kanban board in Airtable [tag="airtable"] to track all initiatives across four stages: Active, Coordinating, Done, and Idea (05:09). The board provides visibility into what's being worked on, what's scheduled, what's completed, and what's still in the conversation stage. A timeline view accompanies the Kanban board to help the team track deadlines and plan development sprints more effectively.

The membership authentication system [tag="webflow"] is approximately 90% complete on the backend (09:00). The primary goal for this week is to deliver a working version on the Holomovement site that the team can test, allowing everyone to create accounts, log in, and start editing profile data. The front end is minimal at this stage, consisting mainly of login pages until profile pages are developed.

[technology="Custom Membership System"]

The about page redesign is nearly complete, with Iván and Melina tag-teaming the final design elements (12:26). Once the design reaches 100% approval, development should take no more than one or two days to implement on the live site.

User and Group Architecture Framework 📄

The team dedicated substantial discussion to establishing a foundational framework for how users, individuals, and groups are categorized within the system (10:08). James created a comprehensive document outlining the philosophical and technical considerations for this architecture.

Individual, Holon, and Alliance Structure

The core user model establishes that everyone enters the system as an Individual (27:33). This individual-first approach ensures that the platform's primary impact centers on connecting people rather than organizations. After creating their individual profile, users can then join or create Holons (project-based groups) and affiliate with Alliances (mission-aligned organizations).

Holons are project-oriented with specific outcomes and impact goals (24:45). As Michael Shaun Conaway articulated, if the Engine for Good only funds Holons, then funding goes toward conscious impact and specific outcomes rather than general organizational operations. This distinction makes Holons fundamentally different from traditional nonprofit or corporate structures.

Alliances represent mission-aligned organizations that share values with the Holomovement but may not have active projects within the system (25:00). Examples include Choose Love Movement, Iris Cocreative [tag="iris"], and other established entities. Users can self-declare affiliation with Alliances, similar to how LinkedIn [tag="linkedin"] allows employees to add themselves to company profiles without formal approval.

Three-Administrator Holon Model

To ensure security and continuity, all Holons require three administrators (34:39). This requirement creates a safety net where if one administrator becomes inactive, two others maintain access to manage the Holon profile. The system will implement this through a multi-step process: one person drafts the Holon and identifies two other administrators by email, those two individuals receive confirmation emails, and once they confirm their participation (and create individual profiles if needed), the Holon profile goes live (38:29).

Mariko Pitt emphasized that the founding three administrators should have full editing access, with the ability to elevate additional members to administrative status later (34:39). This approach balances accessibility with security, preventing scenarios where a single administrator's departure leaves a Holon profile unmanageable.

Team as Test Group

In a significant strategic decision, the team agreed to use themselves as the first test group (30:42). Core team members will create their own individual profiles, register their businesses as Alliances, and form Holons based on their actual project work. This approach provides several advantages: it validates the system architecture with real-world use cases, demonstrates transparency by showing how the Holomovement operates internally, and dissolves the inside-versus-outside dynamic that often exists in community platforms.

Michael Shaun Conaway noted this feels "revolutionary" because it eliminates the distinction between platform operators and platform users (30:47). The team will create a sandbox database initially with just the four core members to test the system before expanding to the broader team and eventually migrating existing user data.

Matching System and Taxonomy Strategy

Matching Hierarchy

The team established a clear hierarchy for matching priorities (40:54):

  1. Individual to Individual
  2. Individual to Holon
  3. Holon to Individual
  4. Holon to Holon

Michael Shaun Conaway explained that Alliance-to-Alliance connections happen primarily through leadership conversations rather than software, making the individual and Holon connections the critical focus for development. The software should enable individuals to discover each other, find Holons to join, attract members to their Holons, and facilitate Holon collaboration.

[technology="Intelligent Matching Algorithms"]

Taxonomy Approach

The team proposed a hybrid taxonomy strategy combining fixed high-level categories with AI-generated flexible sub-tags (48:58). James referenced two precedents: the Evolved World categories (Spiritual Activism, Culture and Art, Ecology, Environment and Regenerative Practices) and the Flourish Project's motivations framework.

The system will feature seven to nine fixed high-level categories, each with its own icon and visual identity (49:58). These provide newcomers with a clear "lay of the land" and help users quickly understand the territory of work happening within the Holomovement. The icons create scannable visual references that become familiar over time.

Michael Shaun Conaway suggested exploring whether an AI agent [tag="claude"] could automatically generate and organize categories based on how people describe their Holons, rather than requiring the team to define everything upfront (47:00). This automated approach would be both flexible and adaptive, allowing categories to evolve naturally as the community grows. Mariko supported this, noting that the AI could either auto-assign categories or suggest "it looks like your Holon is in this category" during the creation process (47:03).

Matching Considerations

Key information for matching includes developmental level, life stage, purpose, needs and offers, domain focus, formalization level, activity level, and geographic location (20:09). Hera Rose identified five critical filtering categories for the initial launch: domain or focus (what the group works on), what the group needs (funding, visibility, structure), what the group offers (projects, learning, mentorship, impact, belonging), activity level (active, dormant, occasional), and formalization level (informal, loose, institutional) (45:39).

The team discussed incorporating self-assessment data like Human Design, numerology, and other frameworks into player cards (54:20). Mariko noted that this information provides a deeper understanding of individuals beyond their skills and experience, potentially increasing connection quality by giving people multiple ways to understand each other.

Player Card UI Concept 🎮

James introduced the player card concept to make profiles scannable and glanceable (52:21). Drawing inspiration from video game interfaces, the cards will use icons to symbolize key information, AI-generated summaries to condense lengthy profile responses, and achievement badges to display completed courses, assessments, and other accomplishments.

Michael Shaun Conaway emphasized that while the design shouldn't over-gamify the experience, it should feel engaging enough that people want to "collect aligned people" and discover connections (53:03). The goal is to make the discovery process feel as intuitive as scanning a game card, where you can immediately grasp someone's vibe, interests, and needs without reading extensive text.

Player cards will eventually display course completions, certifications, event attendance, and leadership roles within the system (54:20). For example, an icon might indicate "I got my biomimicry certification" or "I've attended all the Waves" or "I'm a course leader who's created a course."

James plans to go through a design iteration process where the team can actually scan test cards to determine if the information hierarchy works effectively (53:03). Michael Shaun Conaway suggested creating a sandbox database where the four core team members can fill out their profiles and review each other's player cards as a real-world test (53:42).

LMS Development Reprioritization 📚

The Learning Management System was moved back to active priority to support the Choose Love course launch (00:21). Mariko explained that while the course content timeline is still being determined (filming, format decisions), the team wants to ensure the LMS doesn't fall completely off the development timeline.

Michael Shaun Conaway agreed to provide embed codes for four Boldly course videos [tag="bunny"] as test content (1:00:31). This will allow the team to validate the LMS functionality and better understand development timelines before committing to the Choose Love course schedule. James made this his second priority for the week after the membership and directory work (1:00:42).

[technology="Online Learning Platforms"]

Mariko emphasized the need to understand development timelines first before setting launch dates, suggesting the team build up the LMS while simultaneously developing course content so both can progress in parallel (1:01:30).

Action Items

James Redenbaugh

  • Deliver working membership system on Holomovement site by end of week for team testing (57:54)
  • Add LMS initiative back to Airtable Kanban board (14:55)
  • Share User & Group Architecture document in Slack for team feedback (16:51)
  • Create sandbox database with core team as first test users for profiles, holons, and alliances (53:05)
  • Implement three-admin confirmation system for holon creation (36:35)
  • Develop player card UI with icons and AI summaries for scannable profiles (52:21)
  • Add Boldly course content to LMS as second priority this week (1:00:42)

Michael Shaun Conaway

  • Provide embed codes for 4 Boldly course videos to James (1:00:31)

All Team Members

  • Review and provide feedback on User & Group Architecture document in Slack (57:41)
  • Create individual profiles, holons, and alliances as first test group (53:05)
Relevant Initiatives

Membership Authentication System

Priority: 
Very High
Size: 
XL
Creation Stage

Directory System Enhancement

Priority: 
Very High
Size: 
L
Planning Stage

About Page Redesign

Priority: 
High
Size: 
M
Integrated

Holomovement App

Priority: 
High
Size: 
XXL
Planning Stage

Holon Data Architecture and Entity Management

Priority: 
High
Size: 
M
Planning Stage

User & Group Architecture Framework

Priority: 
Very High
Size: 
L
Creation Stage
Transcript