Case Study 04 · 2026 · Cape Town
heirloom.
A safety deposit box for journals.

Long-term journal keepers are stuck. They cannot safely keep their journals, cannot safely destroy them, and no tool resolves both problems. Heirloom is a secure preservation vault that gives people the confidence to let go.

Live discovery research · Survey open
h.
56+
Data Points
12
Competitors Mapped
16
Survey Questions
47
Requirements
01 · Problem

A paralysis with no solution

🔓
Privacy Risk
Physical journals can be read by anyone at any time — a family member, a partner, whoever finds them after death. The number one fear of journal keepers is someone reading without permission.
📦
Physical Burden
Journals accumulate. They move in boxes between countries. They take up space. For frequent movers and digital nomads, the weight is both physical and psychological.
🚫
No Trusted Exit
Existing tools — scanning apps, PDFs, photos — fail to preserve the visual and emotional authenticity of the original. People cannot bring themselves to destroy what isn't truly preserved.
Core Hypothesis
"Long-term journal keepers who fear privacy invasion or physical loss want a secure digital vault that preserves journals visually enough for them to destroy the physical originals."
"There isn't a great system currently for passing on digital journals."
Hannah Braime, digital journalling author
"One of the biggest fears people have as journal keepers is someone reading or doing something with their journal without their permission."
Lynda Monk, Director, International Association for Journal Writing
02 · Process

Discovery to Define — the full PM pipeline

Phase 01 · Discovery
Passive Community Observation
56 data points from Reddit r/Journaling, Facebook groups, and expert articles. Mapped 6 user behaviours and 5 core fears without asking a single question — pure listening first.
Complete
Phase 02 · Discovery
Competitive Analysis
12 products mapped across 3 categories — direct competitors, indirect tools, and DIY workarounds. Key finding: no product exists specifically for preservation-with-destruction intent.
Complete
Phase 03 · Discovery
Quantitative Survey — Live
16-question survey across 6 sections covering screeners, behaviour, fears, solution validation, and willingness to pay. Currently distributed to minimalism, expat, and declutter communities.
In Progress
Phase 04 · Discovery
User Interviews
10 to 15 in-depth interviews with long-term journal keepers who answered yes to the destruction question. Scheduled after survey reaches 100 responses.
Upcoming
Phase 05 · Define
Synthesis and Define
Validate or update the hypothesis with real data. Finalise persona, user journey, and product positioning. Update the PRD with survey findings.
Upcoming
Phase 06 · Build
Wireframes and Prototype
Digital wireframes in Figma based on the completed user flow diagram. Every screen maps to a functional requirement in the PRD. 14 screens, 7 phases.
Upcoming
03 · Research

What the data revealed

🔍 6 Behaviours Identified
Store and hoard, re-read regularly, destroy with regret, scan inadequately, pass to family, and defer indefinitely. The majority of long-term journal keepers store and defer — not because they want to, but because no better option exists.
😰 5 Core Fears
Privacy invasion (#1), fire or flood loss, eBay or donation after death, physical burden, and legacy uncertainty. Privacy fear was consistent across every community observed — without exception.
🛠 DIY Workarounds All Fail
Phone photography, flatbed scanning, typing transcriptions, voice-to-text, fire and safe storage. Every workaround was described by real users as a "trudge" — too slow, too imperfect, or too emotionally unsatisfying to trust.
🎯 Strategic Decision
When survey respondents skewed toward art and bullet journallers — easier to find online — the decision was made to stay the course. Sample bias is not market signal. The harder-to-reach personal diary writer remains the core persona.
04 · Competitive Analysis

Gap in the market

Feature Day One Apple Journal Adobe Scan Heirloom
Visual page-flip replica ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓
Destruction confidence flow ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓
Zero-knowledge encryption ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓
Physical journal import Partial ✗ ✓ ✓
Archive verification check ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓
Succession and legacy transfer ✗ ✗ ✗ Phase 2

No existing product is built specifically for preservation-with-destruction intent. Heirloom owns this positioning entirely.

05 · Product Definition

The MVP — one question only

MVP Question
"Will someone trust Heirloom enough to destroy the physical journal?"
✓ MVP Includes
📱 User authentication and biometric lock
📔 Journal creation with cover photo
📷 Page scanning with auto-processing
🔍 Page review — preview, rescan, continue
✦ Archive verification — the critical moment
📖 Visual page-flip journal view
🔎 OCR handwriting search
🔐 Zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption
— Excluded (Future Phases)
⚖️ Succession and legacy transfer
💣 Self-destruct / dead-man switch
🤖 AI summaries or memory assistant
🖨 Journal reprint service
🤝 Social or sharing features
✍️ In-app journalling — never

User Flow — Login to First Journal Complete

🔑
Login
›
🏠
My Vaults
›
📔
Create Journal
›
📷
Scan Pages
›
✦
Archive Verified
›
🔒
Destroy or Keep
›
📖
Journal View
06 · Success Metrics

How we measure success

North Star Metric
Number of Legacies Secured
Journals fully archived, verified, and marked as preserved
50
Journals archived in first 90 days (beta target)
20%
Users who destroy originals within 14 days
30%
Survey respondents willing to destroy originals (validation threshold)
3s
Maximum page processing time per scan
07 · Deliverables

Work produced

📋
Discovery Research Document
7-page findings report from 56 data points across Reddit, Facebook, and expert interviews.
Complete
📊
Competitive Analysis
3-sheet Excel workbook mapping direct competitors, indirect tools, and DIY workarounds.
Complete
📝
User Survey
16 questions across 6 sections. Live on Google Forms with skip logic and concept validation.
Live
🗺
User Flow Diagram
14-screen interactive HTML flow diagram. 7 phases from login to first journal complete.
Complete
📄
MVP PRD
12-section Product Requirements Document. 47 functional requirements, 7 user stories, MoSCoW prioritised.
Complete
🎨
Wireframes
Paper sketches complete. Digital wireframes in Figma coming next.
In Progress