bm-voice-of-user

name	bm.voice-of-user
description	Challenge product/spec/feature from user perspective: play different personas walking through flows, list friction points, give improvement suggestions in user language (not technical jargon). Use when designing or reviewing a product, feature, spec, UI, UX, flow, copy, 产品, 设计, 评审, 用户体验, UX, 易用性, 流程, 文案, review feature, design review, user perspective. Fills the 'user perspective' gap.
source	opencrew
version	20260530.01

Skill: Voice of User (User Perspective Review)

Stand on the user's side to scrutinize products/features/specs/copy/flows. This is not a technical review — it's about putting yourself in the shoes of a "real user" to discover problems and give feedback.

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Applicable Scenarios

• Reviewing a feature design / spec / PRD
• Reviewing UI / flows / copy
• Deciding whether to add a feature (first check from user perspective if it's worth it)
• Improving an existing product's experience
• Checking if product intro / Landing Page can resonate with users

Not applicable: Technical quality review (use bm.review-checklist), bug troubleshooting (use bm.systematic-troubleshooting).

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Core Principles

1. Not the designer's perspective, but the user's. Designers know the context and the "why"; users don't know and don't care.
2. User language: Don't say "trade-off", "P0", "MVP"; say "good enough", "hassle-free", "annoying".
3. Specific scenarios: Don't say "the experience here is bad"; say "as a first-time user, when I see X, I think Y".
4. Truly blocking issues vs. nice-to-haves: Rank them; don't lump everything together.

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Workflow

Step 1: Clarify the Review Target

Read the spec / look at screenshots / listen to user's verbal description. If information is incomplete, ask:

• Who is this for? (Most critical)
• In what context will users encounter this? (mobile/desktop, busy/idle, new user/veteran)
• What user problem does it solve?

Step 2: Select Personas (At Least 3)

Don't review with only one "ideal user". Run at least 3 personas:

Persona	Characteristics	Focus
Novice / First Time	Doesn't know what this is or how to use it	Can they understand at first glance; will they bounce in the first 60 seconds
Impatient / Busy	No time to read instructions, wants to finish quickly	How many steps to complete; are there unnecessary steps
Power User / Veteran	Familiar with similar products, has comparisons	Is high-frequency operation fast; are there shortcuts
Non-technical Person	Elderly, non-tech professions	Can they understand the terminology; can they recover from errors
Accessibility User	Visually impaired, motor impaired, keyboard-only users	Can they complete the flow with keyboard; is color contrast sufficient

If the task background includes specific target user personas, add them or substitute.

Step 3: Walk Through the Flow for Each Persona

Describe from the user's perspective: "I am XXX, I open X, I see Y, I want Z, I do W, the result is..."

Record:

• See: Interface/text/buttons
• Think: Inner questions, expectations, misunderstandings
• Do: Actions
• Result: Whether it matches expectations; if not, where they got stuck

Focus on catching:

• Which step is most likely to cause abandonment / exit
• Which phrase/term confuses the user
• Which button makes the user unsure whether to click it
• How many steps to complete the core purpose (more = worse)

Step 4: List Friction Points + Rank Them

## Friction Points (By Severity)

### 🔴 Blocking (User Will Abandon)
- **Novice landing on homepage for the first time**: Sees "configure vault path" and doesn't know what it means, might just close the app
  - Suggested copy: "Tell me which folder your notes are in" + a "Let me choose" button

### 🟡 Annoying (Can Complete But Frustrating)
- **Power user**: Need to click 4 times every time to add a task, can we make it one click?
  - Suggestion: Add `Cmd+N` keyboard shortcut

### 🟢 Nice to Have
- Colors could be more harmonious

Step 5: Suggestions Must Include Alternatives

Don't just say "this doesn't work"; provide at least one specific alternative:

❌ "This button copy is bad" ✅ "Change 'Confirm Submit' to 'Send It Like This' — more conversational, easier for novices to click"

❌ "The flow is too long" ✅ "Merge steps 2 and 3 into one form, from 5 steps → 3 steps"

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Classic Follow-up Question Checklist

Ask yourself each time (not all need to be used):

Entry / First Impression

• How does the user know this feature exists?
• Can they understand what it does at first glance?
• Can they articulate the value within 30 seconds?

Task Path

• How many steps to complete the core goal?
• Are there unnecessary intermediate steps?
• Which steps require user input? How much mental effort does the input take?

Error Tolerance

• Can the user go back if they make a mistake?
• Can the user understand error messages?
• Are there confirmations for destructive/irreversible actions?

Waiting / Feedback

• Is there a progress indicator for slow operations?
• Is there clear feedback upon completion?
• When it fails, does the user know what to do next?

Leaving / Returning

• Can the user find their previous state when they come back?
• After using it, would they want to recommend it to a friend? Why?

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Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why It's Wrong	Correct Approach
Vague "experience is bad"	Not actionable	Specific to "which persona, sees what, thinks what, stuck where"
Only criticizing without solutions	Designer can't act on it	At least 1 alternative per issue
Using product manager jargon	Users don't think like that	User language
Dumping 30 issues at once	No focus, can't fix them all	Rank as blocking/annoying/nice-to-have, fix blocking first
Representing users with "I think"	You are not the user	Review per persona explicitly, note which persona's perspective
Ending after review	No re-review after changes	Walk through persona flow again after fixes to verify

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Output Template

# Voice of User Review: {Target}

**Review Target**: {spec / feature / screenshot / flow}
**Target Users**: {Personas}
**Core Goal**: {What users want to achieve with this}

## Personas

1. **{P1 Name}**: {One-sentence background}
2. **{P2 Name}**: {One-sentence background}
3. **{P3 Name}**: {One-sentence background}

## Flow Walkthrough

### {P1} Perspective
> I am X, I open Y, I see Z...

- ✅ Smooth parts
- ⚠️ Friction point 1
- ❌ Blocking point

### {P2} Perspective
...

## Friction Points Summary

### 🔴 Blocking
- ... (Suggestion: ...)

### 🟡 Annoying
- ... (Suggestion: ...)

### 🟢 Nice to Have
- ...

## Overall Assessment

**Worth doing?**: {Judgment on core goal}
**Top priority fixes**: {1-3 things}

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Collaboration with Other Skills

• Before design: bm.brainstorming has already finalized the spec → run voice-of-user review here
• After changes: Run voice-of-user again → then use bm.verification for self-verification
• Writing product copy / Landing Page: After draft is done, use voice-of-user to check if new users can be engaged within 30 seconds

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File Locations

• Intermediate artifacts: ./working/voice-of-user-{topic}.md
• Final artifacts: ./reviews/{topic}-uxreview.md (code project → ./docs/reviews/{topic}-uxreview.md) (when user requests formal review/archiving)
• Directory does not exist: Create it proactively; follow user conventions if they exist
• Always within cwd: Don't write to /tmp/, ~/Desktop/, ~/Downloads/, or anywhere outside cwd (unless user explicitly specifies)

Code Project Detection: If code project markers exist under cwd (package.json, Cargo.toml, go.mod, pyproject.toml, setup.py, pom.xml, Gemfile, composer.json, or src/ + .git/), final artifacts go under ./docs/ in corresponding subdirectories instead of the project root. Intermediate artifacts in ./working/ remain unchanged. User-specified paths take priority.