Define completion from the user’s perspective
Pick a first action that makes the app useful: save a first reading item, create a first project or complete a sample session. Opening the home screen is not necessarily meaningful completion. Choose one action and confirm how the app visibly records it.
This example uses a fictional reading app. The user creates a collection and saves a first article. It does not describe a UGC Pilot feature or evidence of improved activation.
Show the real starting state
State whether the viewer must already have an account, a verified email or a workspace invitation. Capture the actual first-use screen rather than an established account full of content. A populated account can conceal the decisions that make onboarding difficult.
If the app offers a sample item, identify it as sample content. Do not imply that every new account already contains imported personal data. Use a setup path that the intended role can access.
| Decision or state | Example | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite | Signed-in eligible account | State any verification requirement. |
| Empty state | No collection yet | Show the real create action. |
| Permission | Optional integration request | Explain a supported alternative. |
| Waiting | Article is being saved | Do not present waiting as completion. |
| Failure | Save did not complete | Show actual retry/help guidance. |
| Success | Article visible in collection | Use the real product result. |
Handle permissions, waiting and recovery
A permission request needs an honest explanation and, where the product supports one, a useful alternative. Do not imply a person must grant an optional permission to continue. For this fictional reading task, pasting an article link might be a supported alternative to browser integration. Verify that alternative in your actual app.
Show loading as loading and failure as failure. A cut that removes every wait can imply a speed guarantee. When a request fails, link to the real retry or help path rather than creating an invented success screen.
Confirm success and keep the tutorial current
End on the saved article inside the chosen collection, not on a decorative celebration. Ask a new reviewer to repeat the task and explain how they know it completed. Check the path for both empty and already-populated accounts if both are relevant.
Keep the tutorial version tied to the app build and starting state. Update it when labels, permissions or prerequisites change. Track completion separately from video views when reliable measurement exists; watching does not prove the user finished setup.
Copy the planning worksheet
Use this worksheet in your own notes. Fill it with verified product details and actual review observations before sharing an asset.
First meaningful action:
Prerequisites and role:
Empty-state starting screen:
Permission / supported alternative:
Loading and failure path:
Visible completion evidence:
New reviewer outcome:
Build version and update owner:Browse the founder guide library for the next task in your workflow.