Onboarding flow audit

Walks a new user's first ten minutes step by step and finds where they stall, with fixes ranked by effort.

Use it when
Activation is low and you are not sure which step loses people.
What you fill in
  • flow Each onboarding step as it is today, with copy
  • activation What an activated user has done
Audit this onboarding flow as a first-time user who is busy and skeptical.

Steps and copy: flow
Activation means: activation

For each step: what the user is thinking, what could make them stop, and a friction score 1 to 5.
Then list fixes, each with the step, the change, expected effect on activation, and effort (S/M/L), sorted by effect ÷ effort.
Finish with the shortest possible path to activation and which steps could be deferred until after it.
Before you answer, check your draft against every instruction above and fix anything that misses.
Replace each highlighted input with your details before you send it.
Why it works
  • Role-plays a realistic user, not an ideal one.
  • Scores friction per step to find the real drop-off.
  • Sorts fixes by return on effort.