Plaqad BA · Release notes
Submitter facelift, faster AI, instant CTAs
A round of UX improvements: cleaner submitter portal, AI Plans wait visualised, CTAs that respond instantly.
Released
A batch of UX improvements that sharpen the everyday flow for everyone. Submitters get a rebuilt brief detail and a single-row My Briefs list with a real progress bar per brief. Approvers get a faster Zone 1 summary, a tighter header so the brief content fits above the fold, and CTAs that snap to the new state the moment an action commits. Activity log redesigned with a continuous timeline + the actor's role on every event. AI Plans now shows an honest progress bar so users know the wait is normal.
For everyone
Workflow CTAs respond instantly
Send to agency. Send back. Approve. Mark complete. The action button used to confirm with a toast, then take 10-20 seconds for the next set of CTAs (and the journey rail) to update. Now the UI snaps to the new state the moment your action commits — no waiting on background work to redraw the page.
Activity log is now a clean continuous timeline
Continuous vertical rule with dots ON the rule, events flush against it — no more bordered card-stack per event. Each event also shows who acted ('Approver', 'Agency', 'Submitter') alongside the timestamp.
AI Plans wait now shows progress
The skeleton on the AI Plans tab and Zone 1 summary now carries a smooth progress bar with a clear 'Usually takes 10-20s' label. Replaces the rotating 'Thinking…' messages with something users can actually plan around.
For approvers
Brief detail header now fits above the fold
The brief detail header was eating about 280px of screen space (title alone was ~50px). Now it's around 170px — Zone 1 ('What this brief is') and the start of the Full Brief are both visible without scrolling on a 13-inch laptop.
Zone 1 summary loads on submit, not on first open
The 1-2 sentence 'What this brief is' summary is now generated the moment a brief is submitted, not the first time you open it. Result: when you open a new brief, the summary is usually already there. Briefs from before this change generate it in 3-5 seconds on first open, separate from the heavier AI Plans pipeline.
Right-rail card copy fixed for every stage
When the brief is back with the submitter for clarification, the right-rail card now correctly says 'Brief is back with the submitter' (it used to say 'Ready for the next decision' — wrong on every non-action stage). Same fix for in-agency, performance review, and archived states.
Settings polish
Notifications gain a Weekly digest toggle. Approved Domains carries a clearer warning callout for the deactivate flow. The bottom of the page now has a 4-card 'Trust & workspace controls' grid (PR Brain, Invite teammates, Security & data policy, Audit export) plus a separate 'Report a technical issue' card so it stands out as the help affordance.
For submitters
Brief detail page rebuilt
Single-column layout: chip header, plain-English subtitle, journey rail, then 3 tabs (Brief / Activity / Files). Right column is gone — no more BriefVersionPanel, no 'What happens next' card, no 'Need help?' floater. The page reads cleaner and the action you need to take is always above the fold.
My Briefs list redesigned with progress bars
Single-row card per brief: status icon + title + thin progress bar + 'Step X of 9' + plain-English status sentence ('Approver is reviewing', 'Agency is working on it'). Closed and Completed are visually distinct — completed briefs show a full green bar, closed briefs a red bar capped at the stop step. New 'Closed' filter pill alongside All / Needs Input / In Progress / Completed.
Resubmit scrolls you back to the top
After you resubmit a brief that needed clarification, the page scrolls smoothly to the top so you see the new state — instead of staying parked where the form just was.