diff --git a/App.tsx b/App.tsx
index b1909a5..217efce 100644
--- a/App.tsx
+++ b/App.tsx
@@ -27,37 +27,51 @@ import mermaid from 'mermaid';
 const extractJson = (text: string): any => {
     let jsonString = text.trim();
 
+    // Remove BOM and other invisible characters
+    jsonString = jsonString.replace(/^\uFEFF/, ''); // Remove BOM
+    jsonString = jsonString.replace(/^[\u200B-\u200D\uFEFF]/g, ''); // Remove zero-width characters
+
     const fenceRegex = /^```(?:json)?\s*\n?(.*?)\n?\s*```$/s;
     const match = jsonString.match(fenceRegex);
     if (match && match[1]) {
         jsonString = match[1].trim();
     }
 
-    const lastBracket = jsonString.lastIndexOf('}');
-    if (lastBracket === -1) {
-        throw new Error("No closing brace '}' found in API response.");
-    }
-
-    let openBraceCount = 0;
-    let firstBracket = -1;
-    for (let i = lastBracket; i >= 0; i--) {
-        if (jsonString[i] === '}') {
-            openBraceCount++;
-        } else if (jsonString[i] === '{') {
-            openBraceCount--;
+    // Try to parse directly first (most common case)
+    try {
+        return JSON.parse(jsonString);
+    } catch (directParseError) {
+        // If direct parsing fails, try the bracket extraction method
+        const lastBracket = jsonString.lastIndexOf('}');
+        if (lastBracket === -1) {
+            throw new Error("No closing brace '}' found in API response.");
         }
-        if (openBraceCount === 0) {
-            firstBracket = i;
-            break;
+
+        let openBraceCount = 0;
+        let firstBracket = -1;
+        for (let i = lastBracket; i >= 0; i--) {
+            if (jsonString[i] === '}') {
+                openBraceCount++;
+            } else if (jsonString[i] === '{') {
+                openBraceCount--;
+            }
+            if (openBraceCount === 0) {
+                firstBracket = i;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (firstBracket === -1) {
+            throw new Error("Could not find matching opening brace '{' in API response.");
+        }
+
+        const finalJsonString = jsonString.substring(firstBracket, lastBracket + 1);
+        try {
+            return JSON.parse(finalJsonString);
+        } catch (finalParseError) {
+            throw new Error(`JSON parsing failed: ${finalParseError.message}. Raw text: ${jsonString.substring(0, 100)}...`);
         }
     }
-
-    if (firstBracket === -1) {
-        throw new Error("Could not find matching opening brace '{' in API response.");
-    }
-
-    const finalJsonString = jsonString.substring(firstBracket, lastBracket + 1);
-    return JSON.parse(finalJsonString);
 };
 
 
@@ -184,15 +198,23 @@ const MermaidDiagram: React.FC<{ value: string; onChange: (value: string) => voi
     useEffect(() => {
         if (value.trim()) {
             const renderDiagram = async () => {
+                renderCountRef.current += 1;
+                const uniqueId = `mermaid-diagram-${renderCountRef.current}`;
+                
                 try {
                     setError('');
-                    renderCountRef.current += 1;
-                    const uniqueId = `mermaid-diagram-${renderCountRef.current}`;
+                    setDiagramHtml('');
                     const { svg } = await mermaid.render(uniqueId, value);
                     setDiagramHtml(svg);
                 } catch (err) {
                     setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Mermaid diagram rendering failed');
                     setDiagramHtml('');
+                } finally {
+                    // Clean up the DOM element that mermaid might have created
+                    const element = document.getElementById(uniqueId);
+                    if (element && element.parentNode) {
+                        element.parentNode.removeChild(element);
+                    }
                 }
             };
             renderDiagram();
@@ -201,6 +223,19 @@ const MermaidDiagram: React.FC<{ value: string; onChange: (value: string) => voi
             setError('');
         }
     }, [value]);
+
+    // Cleanup function to remove any lingering mermaid elements
+    useEffect(() => {
+        return () => {
+            // Clean up any mermaid elements that might be left in the DOM
+            const mermaidElements = document.querySelectorAll('[id^="mermaid-diagram-"]');
+            mermaidElements.forEach(element => {
+                if (element.parentNode) {
+                    element.parentNode.removeChild(element);
+                }
+            });
+        };
+    }, []);
     
     return (
         <div className="space-y-3">
diff --git a/data/swa_exercises.7.ts b/data/swa_exercises.7.ts
index ef1c901..283fc00 100644
--- a/data/swa_exercises.7.ts
+++ b/data/swa_exercises.7.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { Exercise } from '../types';
 
 export const swaExercises7: Exercise[] = [
   {
-    id: 'swa-6-1-ddd-tactical',
+    id: 'swa-7-1-ddd-tactical',
     title: '6.1 - SWA - Domain-Driven Design (Tactical)',
     parts: [
       {
diff --git a/make-practiceapp-deployready.md b/make-practiceapp-deployready.md
index 78bef1a..c88a190 100644
--- a/make-practiceapp-deployready.md
+++ b/make-practiceapp-deployready.md
@@ -512,9 +512,16 @@ CMD [ "serve", "-s", "dist", "-l", "8000" ]
 - **Real-time Preview**: Users can see their Mermaid diagram rendered as they type
 - **Error Handling**: Clear error messages for invalid Mermaid syntax
 - **Unique Rendering**: Each render uses a unique ID to prevent caching issues that could cause diagrams to disappear
+- **DOM Cleanup**: Proper cleanup of mermaid-generated DOM elements to prevent accumulation of leftover elements from failed renders
 - **Consistent Styling**: Matches the existing design language of the application
 - **Accessibility**: Proper ARIA labels and semantic HTML structure
 
+**Important Implementation Details**:
+
+- **DOM Element Cleanup**: Added `finally` block in render function to clean up DOM elements that mermaid creates, especially important for failed renders which would otherwise leave orphaned elements
+- **Component Unmount Cleanup**: Added cleanup `useEffect` to remove any lingering mermaid elements when component unmounts
+- **Unique ID Generation**: Uses `useRef` counter to generate unique IDs for each render attempt, preventing mermaid's internal caching issues
+
 This enhancement makes the application more suitable for software architecture exercises that require diagram creation and visualization.
 
 ---