onboarding-activation-audit

name	onboarding-activation-audit
description	Audit a signup, onboarding, and activation flow to identify friction, missing value discovery, and concrete product/growth fixes.
argument-hint	["flow-or-product"]

Onboarding Activation Audit

Use this skill when the user wants a structured review of first-time user experience, activation, and early value realization.

What this skill must produce

Always produce:

1. Flow summary
2. Target job / switching moment
3. Activation model
4. Friction audit
5. Missing value-discovery audit
6. Experiment ideas
7. Instrumentation needs
8. Prioritized action plan

Inputs to gather

Use any combination of:

• screenshots / recordings / Figma
• docs / product copy
• analytics notes
• onboarding emails / lifecycle messages
• signup form and first-session behavior
• product type (attention / transaction / productivity)
• whether the product is self-serve, PLG, or sales-assisted

If direct assets are missing, perform a heuristic audit from the available description.

Working rules

• Evaluate onboarding as behavior change, not just a UI tutorial.
• Start from the user’s motivating situation and desired progress.
• Separate onboarding from activation. Activation requires value found and value returned to the business.
• Focus on the fastest route to meaningful action.
• Reduce steps that are account-focused but not value-focused.
• Watch for friction that delays the aha moment.

Step-by-step method

Step 1: define the user’s switch

State:

• what situation they are trying to get away from
• what progress they want
• what they are "hiring" the product to do

Step 2: model activation

Break activation into:

• trigger / acquisition moment
• onboarding
• aha moment
• first value exchange
• early repeat use / ladder of engagement

Define a candidate activation event.

Step 3: map the current flow

Create a step map from arrival to first value.

For each step note:

• user task
• system response
• why the step exists
• risk introduced
• whether it moves the user toward value or only toward setup

Step 4: audit for friction

Inspect:

• unnecessary fields
• permission prompts too early
• unclear copy
• dead-end states
• empty states without guidance
• delayed feedback
• missing social proof
• poor defaults
• too many decisions before value
• account setup dominating doing-focused progress

Step 5: audit for missing value discovery

Inspect whether the flow:

• teaches the right behavior
• gets users to do something meaningful
• shows proof of benefit
• creates momentum toward a second session
• includes lifecycle reinforcement

Step 6: propose fixes

Provide fixes at three levels:

• copy / content
• product flow
• lifecycle / messaging

Step 7: define experiments

Translate fixes into minimum viable tests.

Step 8: define instrumentation

List the events and properties needed to measure the flow.

Output structure

Flow summary

• Product:
• User:
• Core job:
• Dominant motion:
• Current conversion target:

Target job / switching moment

• Old way:
• Frustration pushing the switch:
• Desired progress:
• What success feels like:

Activation model

• Candidate aha moment:
• Candidate first value exchange:
• Candidate activation event:
• Early retained behavior:

Current flow map

Step	What the user does	Why this exists	Moves toward value?	Main risk

Friction audit

Issue	Severity	Why it hurts	Suggested fix

Missing value-discovery audit

Missing element	Why it matters	Suggested intervention

Experiment ideas

Experiment	Hypothesis	Success metric	Min viable test

Instrumentation needs

List events, properties, and funnel stages required to measure:

• signup completion
• onboarding completion
• aha moment reached
• first value exchange
• second-session return

Prioritized action plan

• Now: 3 changes with the highest expected impact
• Next: 3 changes to validate through experiments
• Later: structural improvements requiring more work

Severity scoring

Use these severity levels:

• Critical: likely blocking activation at scale
• High: strong drag on conversion or value discovery
• Medium: meaningful but not fatal
• Low: polish issue

Special instructions

If the product is B2B SaaS:

• check whether onboarding optimizes for team rollout too early or too late
• inspect whether the user is armed with material to bring coworkers in
• inspect whether a product-qualified account signal should be defined

If screenshots or direct UI assets are absent:

• be explicit that this is a heuristic audit
• focus on logic, sequence, copy, and measurement