| name | demo-capture-plan |
| description | Plan a social demo capture that proves a product capability through the shortest credible user flow, clean setup, readable framing, intentional states, capture checklist, and reusable raw media. |
Demo Capture Plan
Use when a visual product milestone is worth showing and the team needs exact instructions for screenshots or screen recording.
Procedure
- Define the one capability or outcome the demo must prove and the audience knowledge assumed before recording.
- Choose the shortest realistic flow that reveals the capability working from understandable starting state to visible result.
- Prepare the environment: clean test data, readable names, stable build, correct account state, hidden secrets or personal information, notifications disabled, and unnecessary UI removed.
- Identify the exact shots or recording beats, including opening context, action, transition, final proof, and any comparison or detail view that materially helps.
- Set capture dimensions, zoom, cursor or touch visibility, audio, device orientation, and pacing for the intended publishing formats while preserving a high-quality master where practical.
- Rehearse the flow and remove waits, dead clicks, errors, or setup steps that do not help viewers understand the result without faking system behavior.
- Capture alternative takes, clean screenshots, and a few extra seconds around important transitions so editing and repurposing have room.
- Verify the recording actually shows the claimed result legibly on a phone-sized viewing surface before writing the social post around it.
Decision rules
- Demonstrate one memorable outcome before attempting a feature tour.
- Remove irrelevant friction from the recording, not real limitations viewers need to understand.
- Never expose credentials, private customer data, or sensitive notifications in captured media.
- Capture reusable source footage; platform-specific crops can come later.
Quality gate
The plan is ready when the capability can be shown in one coherent flow, every shot has a purpose, capture state is clean and safe, the final result is legible without narration, and the raw media can support multiple platform formats without re-running the demo unnecessarily.
