# STTIL Shield — Product Architecture

**Design date:** 2026-06-22
**Design by:** Pi
**Status:** Draft — review by Kisa before sharing with Claude Code

---

## 1. Product Definition

**What Shield is:**
A standalone compliance automation platform for small healthcare operations and SaaS companies that engage with PHI and AI and need compliance — without paying enterprise prices.

**What Shield is NOT:**

- Not DMEPOS-specific (that's Signal's lane)
- Not a replacement for Vanta/Drata (different tier — Shield targets smaller orgs)
- Not a consulting service (self-serve compliance tooling)

**Target customer:**

- **Small healthcare ops** — clinics, therapy practices, home health agencies, DME suppliers of any type who handle PHI and need HIPAA compliance
- **Healthcare-adjacent SaaS** — startups building AI tools for healthcare, digital health apps, telemedicine platforms, patient communication tools
- **AI companies handling PHI** — any company building AI/ML products that touch protected health information and need to prove compliance to customers
- **Shield + Signal bundle** — DMEPOS suppliers who need both documentation readiness (Signal) and overall compliance (Shield)

**Core value proposition:**
"Get HIPAA compliant in days, not months. Pre-built policies, automated evidence collection, audit-ready reporting, and a free open-source AI Consent Engine — starting at less than any competitor."

---

## 2. Competitive Positioning

| Competitor | Price | Frameworks | Target | Shield Advantage |
|-----------|-------|-----------|--------|-----------------|
| **Vanta** | $10K-$100K+/yr | SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO, PCI | Enterprise | Overkill for small ops |
| **Drata** | $7.5K-$100K+/yr | SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO, PCI | Mid-market | Overkill for small ops |
| **Secureframe** | $7.5K-$80K+/yr | SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO, PCI | Mid-market | Overkill for small ops |
| **Dash ComplyOps** | **$3K/yr flat** | HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI, ISO, NIST | Small teams | **Direct competitor** |
| **Shield** | **TBD (target $1.2K-$2.4K/yr)** | HIPAA-first, SOC 2, expand | **Small healthcare ops + AI SaaS** | Cheaper + Consent Engine lead magnet |

**Differentiation strategy:**

- Price under Dash (target $100-200/mo instead of $250)
- AI Consent Engine is a unique open-source lead-gen asset no competitor has
- Purpose-built for small healthcare operations and AI companies — not enterprise compliance repackaged
- Optional Signal bundle for DMEPOS suppliers who also need documentation readiness

---

## 3. Feature Set (MVP)

### Core Features (v1)

| Feature | Description | Why |
|---------|-------------|-----|
| **Policy Templates** | 12+ pre-built admin policies (HIPAA-focused) | Instant compliance documentation |
| **Evidence Collection** | Manual upload + API integrations for cloud infra | Prove controls are active |
| **Audit Reports** | One-click SOC 2 / HIPAA evidence bundles | Answer auditor requests fast |
| **Risk Assessment** | Simple asset register + risk scoring | Foundational HIPAA requirement |
| **User Management** | Unlimited users (team collaboration) | Match Dash's offering |
| **Framework Support** | HIPAA v1, SOC 2 v2, expand to PCI/ISO | Start narrow, grow |

### AI Consent Engine (Open-Source Lead Magnet)

**What it does:**
An open-source tool that lets any healthcare organization generate HIPAA-compliant AI/healthcare consent forms for their patients or end-users. A client (clinic, SaaS, AI company) takes the Consent Engine, brands it with their logo and custom language, and serves it to their own patients so patients can generate consent documents.

**How the client uses it:**

1. Fork or clone the open-source GitHub repo
2. Edit a config file (JSON or YAML) with their logo URL, company name, clinic name, custom consent clauses, and branding colors
3. Deploy via one-click to Vercel/Netlify, or self-host
4. Their patients visit their branded consent page, fill in AI tool name and data types, and receive a formatted HIPAA-compliant consent PDF
5. The footer includes: "Powered by STTIL Shield — Need full compliance? Learn more."

**Why open source on GitHub:**

- Builds community trust and brand credibility
- SEO magnet for "AI consent form healthcare HIPAA GitHub"
- Low friction — any developer can try it in 5 minutes
- GitHub stars = social proof for Shield
- PR contributions from the community improve the tool
- Client owns their instance, no data flows through STTIL

---

## 4. Consent Engine — Delivery Options

### Option A: GitHub Template Repo (User's Suggestion) — RECOMMENDED

Create a GitHub template repository that clients can use with one click.

**How it works:**

1. Client clicks "Use this template" on the GitHub repo
2. Their own copy is created with all the code
3. They edit a single `config.yaml` or `config.json` file:

   ```yaml
   organization:
     name: "City Family Clinic"
     logo_url: "https://clinic.com/logo.png"
     primary_color: "#2563eb"
     website: "https://clinic.com"
   consent:
     jurisdiction: "US-HIPAA"
     custom_clauses:
       - "I consent to my data being used for AI-assisted diagnosis"
       - "I understand I can revoke consent at any time"
     footer_text: "This consent form is managed by City Family Clinic"
   ```

4. Deploy button (Vercel/Netlify) — one click to production
5. Client gets a live, branded consent form at `consent.clinic.com` or a Vercel subdomain
6. The form is ready for their patients to use

**Pros:**

- True open source — client owns the code and deployment
- Developer-friendly — uses familiar GitHub workflow
- No data flows through STTIL — privacy advantage
- Community contributions via PRs
- Huge SEO value for "HIPAA consent form GitHub"

**Cons:**

- Requires some technical ability (fork, edit config, deploy)
- No usage analytics for STTIL (can't track how many consents are generated)
- Client self-manages hosting costs (usually free on Vercel/Netlify free tier)

### Option B: Hosted Multi-Tenant (SaaS)

A hosted version at `consent.sttilsolutions.com` where clients log in, upload their logo, customize language through a UI, and get a branded page.

**How it works:**

1. Client signs up (no payment needed)
2. Uploads logo, sets colors, writes custom clauses in a WYSIWYG editor
3. Gets a branded URL: `consent.sttilsolutions.com/city-family-clinic`
4. Links their patients to that URL
5. Or embeds via iframe on their own website

**Pros:**

- Zero technical skills required
- STTIL controls the full experience
- Can track usage, collect emails, measure conversion to Shield paid
- Can A/B test CTAs and optimize lead generation

**Cons:**

- STTIL hosts the service (potential PHI adjacency concerns)
- More operational overhead
- Less open/community feel
- Client doesn't own their instance

### Option C: Hybrid (Recommended as Final State)

Start with Option A (GitHub template) for the developer audience and open-source community. Later add Option B (hosted) for non-technical clients who want a simpler setup.

**Phased rollout:**

1. **Phase 0a:** GitHub template repo — config-driven, deploy button
2. **Phase 0b (later):** Hosted version at consent.sttilsolutions.com — for clinics without developers
3. Both share the same rendering engine (the GitHub repo is the source of truth)

**Best of both worlds:**

- Developers and open-source community get the GitHub experience
- Non-technical clinics get the hosted experience
- The rendering engine is MIT-licensed on GitHub regardless

---

## 5. Technical Architecture

### Standalone Codebase (Not Signal Module)

Build Shield as a new, independent codebase. No shared infrastructure with Signal.

**Stack:**

- Frontend: Vite/React (same stack as Signal — reuse patterns)
- Backend: Python/FastAPI (same stack — reuse patterns)
- Database: Supabase (separate project from Signal's DB)
- Auth: Clerk (separate instance or same with org separation)
- Hosting: Railway (separate project) + Vercel (separate deployment)

**Why standalone:**

- Clean separation — Signal issues never affect Shield or vice versa
- Independent pricing and scaling
- Can sell standalone without bundling concerns
- Easier to spin out or sell separately later

### Consent Engine Architecture (GitHub Template)

```
shield-consent-engine/
├── README.md              # Quick start, config guide
├── config.yaml            # THE config file — client edits this
├── template/              # HTML/CSS/JS rendering engine
│   ├── index.html         # Main consent form page
│   ├── style.css          # Uses CSS variables from config
│   ├── script.js          # Form logic, PDF generation
│   └── preview.png        # Screenshot for GitHub social
├── CNAME                  # Custom domain support
├── vercel.json            # One-click deploy config
├── netlify.toml           # Netlify deploy config
├── LICENSE                # MIT license
└── .github/
    └── CONTRIBUTING.md    # How to contribute
```

**Key technical decisions:**

- Client-side PDF generation only (jsPDF or pdf-lib) — no backend needed
- CSS custom properties driven by config — instant branding
- Zero data storage — forms generate PDF in-browser, nothing is sent to a server
- Deploy preview on every PR via Vercel/Netlify
- GitHub Actions for CI (validate config, build preview)

---

## 6. Pricing Tiers (Suggested)

| Tier | Price (monthly) | Features | Target |
|-----|----------------|---------|--------|
| **Free** | $0 | AI Consent Engine (GitHub template, self-hosted) | Lead gen, community |
| **Starter** | **$99/mo** | 12 policies, evidence upload, audit reports | Solo practitioners, tiny teams |
| **Growth** | **$199/mo** | Starter + API integrations, risk assessments, unlimited users | Growing healthcare ops, SaaS |
| **Enterprise** | Custom | Growth + dedicated support, custom frameworks, Signal bundle | DMEPOS suppliers, larger orgs |

**Rationale:**

- Undercut Dash ($250/mo) at both Starter ($99) and Growth ($199)
- Free tier = Consent Engine (zero cost to STTIL, drives organic traffic and SEO)
- Signal bundle upsell to $299/mo for suppliers who need both Signal + Shield

---

## 7. Go-to-Market

### Consent Engine as Growth Engine

1. Developer or clinic ops person discovers "HIPAA consent form" via search
2. Finds the open-source GitHub repo — stars, forks, tries it
3. Impressed by quality → sees Shield CTA in the footer
4. Signs up for Shield Starter ($99/mo)
5. Upgrades to Growth when they need audit prep and evidence collection

### Channels

- **GitHub:** Stars, trending, HN posts about the open-source Consent Engine
- **SEO:** "HIPAA consent form generator," "AI consent template GitHub," "HIPAA compliance for startups"
- **Content:** Blog posts: "How we built an open-source HIPAA consent engine," "Shield vs Dash ComplyOps"
- **Signal cross-sell:** When a DMEPOS supplier signs up for Signal, offer Shield bundle
- **Direct outreach:** Small clinics, digital health startups, AI healthcare companies

---

## 8. Build Phases

| Phase | Scope | Est. |
|-------|-------|------|
| **Phase 0a: Consent Engine GitHub** | Template repo, config-driven, deploy button, MIT license | 1 session |
| **Phase 0b: Consent Engine Hosted** | Multi-tenant hosted version for non-technical users | 1 session (later) |
| **Phase 1: Shield MVP** | Policy templates, evidence upload, audit reports, user auth | 3-4 sessions |
| **Phase 2: Risk + Integrations** | Risk assessment module, API integrations (AWS, GCP, Railway) | 2-3 sessions |
| **Phase 3: Signal Bundle** | Shared dashboard for suppliers using both products | 1 session |

---

## 9. Open Questions (For Kisa)

1. **Pricing:** Does $99/$199 feel right for small healthcare ops? Too low/high vs Dash at $250?
2. **Frameworks:** Start with HIPAA-only and add SOC 2 later? Or launch with both?
3. **Consent Engine name:** "AI Consent Engine" vs "STTIL Consent Builder" vs "Open Consent"?
4. **Consent Engine approach:** Go with Option A (GitHub template only), Option C (hybrid with hosted later), or something else?
5. **Signal bundle:** A shared login/dashboard, or just a discount code for Shield customers?
6. **Build order:** Consent Engine first (fast win) or Shield MVP first?
7. **PHI concerns with hosted:** If we offer Option B (hosted), does the consent form itself generate PHI? (Patient name + health info in a form = potentially PHI)

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*This is a design draft. Please review and adjust before sharing with Claude Code for build.*