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8. Digital Experience Platform (DXP)

This section defines the responsibilities and structure of the Digital Experience Platform. The DXP is intentionally constrained to remain lightweight, evolvable, and resilient in environments with heterogeneous backend systems and optional AI execution.

8.1 DXP Responsibilities​

The DXP is responsible for:

  • User interaction and presentation
  • Page composition and layout
  • Navigation and routing
  • Declaring intent through capability invocation
  • Rendering structured capability outputs

The DXP is not responsible for:

  • Business logic or decision-making
  • Data persistence beyond session state
  • Integration with backend systems
  • Orchestration of multi-step processes

This strict boundary ensures the DXP remains fast-moving and low-risk.

8.2 Page Definition Model​

Pages are defined declaratively using a page definition model.

A page definition specifies:

  • Page identity and route
  • Layout to be used
  • Slots to be populated
  • Capabilities to invoke per slot
  • Rendering rules for capability outputs

Page definitions:

  • Are data, not code
  • Are versioned and deployable independently
  • Do not embed business rules

This allows pages to be assembled and evolved without coupling to backend systems.

8.3 Layouts and Slots​

Layouts define the structural skeleton of a page.

A layout:

  • Defines regions (slots) such as header, body, sidebar, footer
  • Does not contain content or logic
  • Is reusable across multiple pages

Slots:

  • Act as placeholders for rendered capability outputs
  • Accept rendering components compatible with the slot type
  • May declare constraints (e.g. size, interaction model)

This separation allows consistent structure with flexible content.

8.4 Capability Rendering​

Capabilities return structured outputs that are rendered by the DXP.

Rendering:

  • Is driven by output schemas, not executor identity
  • Uses reusable UI components matched to schema types
  • Does not embed domain logic

Rendering components:

  • Are deterministic
  • Can render partial or degraded outputs
  • Support confidence and provenance display when relevant

The DXP treats capability outputs as data, not decisions.

8.5 Navigation and Routing​

Navigation is defined independently of backend systems.

Routing:

  • Maps URLs or navigation actions to page definitions
  • Does not encode execution logic
  • Supports deep linking and bookmarking

Navigation state:

  • Is derived from the page model
  • Is independent of capability execution outcomes

This ensures stable navigation even when execution paths change.

8.6 Degraded Operation (AI Unavailable)​

The DXP must function when AI-assisted execution is unavailable.

In degraded operation:

  • Deterministic capabilities continue to function
  • AI-assisted slots display reduced or alternative content
  • Users are informed of reduced confidence or functionality

Page definitions:

  • Declare acceptable degradation behaviour
  • Never hard-depend on AI availability

This ensures operational resilience and predictable user experience.