medium priority low complexity frontend pending frontend specialist Tier 3

Acceptance Criteria

Forward step transition (step N → N+1) slides current content out to the left while new content slides in from the right
Backward step transition (step N → N-1) slides current content out to the right while new content slides in from the left
Transition duration is 250ms with a standard ease-in-out curve
Animations use a direction-aware custom AnimatedSwitcher transitionBuilder that detects whether currentStep increased or decreased to determine slide direction
When MediaQuery.of(context).disableAnimations is true (OS reduce-motion enabled), transitions are instant (zero duration) with no slide — content replaces immediately
Animation does not interfere with DraggableScrollableSheet drag behavior — dragging the sheet is not mistaken for a step swipe
No PageView swipe gesture is enabled — step navigation is exclusively via buttons
After animation completes, the previous step widget is fully removed from the tree (not just hidden) to avoid retaining focus or semantic tree pollution
Golden/screenshot test passes for mid-transition frame showing both outgoing and incoming step partially visible

Technical Requirements

frameworks
Flutter
AnimatedSwitcher
apis
MediaQuery.disableAnimations
performance requirements
Animation must run at 60fps on mid-range Android devices (Pixel 4a equivalent)
No jank caused by widget rebuild during animation — use const constructors in step content
ui components
AnimatedSwitcher
SlideTransition
FadeTransition

Execution Context

Execution Tier
Tier 3

Tier 3 - 413 tasks

Can start after Tier 2 completes

Implementation Notes

AnimatedSwitcher alone cannot handle directional transitions — you must provide a custom transitionBuilder that uses SlideTransition with a direction derived from comparing old vs new step index. A clean pattern is to track a _lastStep variable in the container widget (not in Cubit) solely for animation direction detection, updated in didUpdateWidget or via a ValueNotifier. Alternatively, embed direction into the key passed to AnimatedSwitcher children (e.g., ValueKey('step-$currentStep-forward')). Do NOT use PageView — swipe gestures conflict with DraggableScrollableSheet drag and create accessibility issues for users navigating by switch or external keyboard.

For the reduce-motion check: wrap the AnimatedSwitcher in a Builder that reads MediaQuery.disableAnimations and sets duration: Duration.zero when true.

Testing Requirements

Widget tests: verify forward animation direction using a custom transitionBuilder that is testable (inject as parameter or use a test key). Test that disableAnimations: true results in zero-duration transition. Test that back-navigation triggers opposite slide direction. Use tester.pump(Duration(milliseconds: 125)) to test mid-animation state.

Verify old step widget is absent from widget tree after animation completes (findsNothing).

Epic Risks (4)
high impact medium prob scope

As wizard steps accumulate additional features (duplicate warning, retroactive date chips, custom duration entry), the two-tap happy path may inadvertently require extra interactions. A step that previously auto-advanced may start requiring a confirmation tap, breaking the core promise of the feature and increasing friction for high-frequency users like HLF's 380-registration peer mentor.

Mitigation & Contingency

Mitigation: Define and automate a regression test that performs the complete two-tap happy path (open bottom sheet → confirm → confirm) and asserts the confirmation view is reached in exactly two tap events. Run this test in CI on every PR touching the wizard. Treat any failure as a blocking defect.

Contingency: If a new feature unavoidably adds a tap to the happy path, provide a 'quick mode' toggle in user settings that collapses the wizard to a single-confirmation screen for users who never change defaults.

medium impact medium prob technical

Flutter bottom sheets are dismissed on back-button press or background tap by default. If the wizard state is not preserved, a peer mentor who accidentally dismisses mid-flow loses all their entered data and must start over — a significant frustration for users with cognitive disabilities or motor impairments who take longer to fill each step.

Mitigation & Contingency

Mitigation: Implement the wizard state as a persistent Cubit that outlives the bottom sheet widget's lifecycle, scoped to the registration feature route. On re-open, the Cubit restores the previous step and field values. Add a 'discard changes?' confirmation dialog when the user explicitly dismisses a partially filled wizard.

Contingency: If persistent state proves difficult to implement with the chosen routing strategy, implement draft auto-save to a local draft repository every time a field value changes, and restore from draft on the next open.

high impact high prob technical

Multi-step wizard bottom sheets are among the most complex accessibility scenarios in Flutter. Screen readers (TalkBack, VoiceOver) may not announce step transitions, focus may land on the wrong element after advancing, and animated transitions can interfere with the accessibility tree update cycle — making the feature unusable for Blindeforbundet users who rely on screen readers.

Mitigation & Contingency

Mitigation: Assign each wizard step a unique Semantics container with a live region announcement on mount. Use ExcludeSemantics on inactive steps during transition animations. Test each step transition manually with TalkBack and VoiceOver as part of the definition of done for each step component.

Contingency: If animated transitions cause accessibility tree corruption, disable step transition animations entirely in accessibility mode (detected via MediaQuery.accessibleNavigation) and use instant step replacement instead.

medium impact medium prob dependency

The NotesStep relies on the OS keyboard's built-in dictation button for speech-to-text input. This button's availability, position, and behaviour varies significantly between iOS (reliable, visible dictation key) and Android (varies by keyboard, OEM skin, and language settings). HLF and Blindeforbundet specifically requested this capability; if it is unreliable on Android, it fails a SHOULD HAVE requirement for a significant portion of users.

Mitigation & Contingency

Mitigation: Document that the notes dictation feature depends on the device's native keyboard dictation and requires no in-app microphone permission. Add explicit placeholder copy informing users they can use their keyboard's dictation button. Test on a minimum of three Android OEM keyboards (Gboard, Samsung, Swiftkey) and two iOS versions.

Contingency: If native keyboard dictation is too unreliable on Android, implement a fallback in-app microphone button in the NotesStep that triggers the platform's SpeechRecognition API directly via a method channel, scoped only to the notes field with no session recording capability.