How to Collect Onboarding Feedback

A prompt shown only after completion tells you about people who reached the end. Include an accessible help or feedback route during the task, and use your existing research process to invite people who stopped partway through. Record which group each response came from.

Pick a moment that allows the person to continue their work. A short optional question after an attempt may be enough; a longer interview can happen separately. Someone who has not started needs a question about what prevented the attempt, rather than a rating of a workflow they have never used.

A request for a tutorial might mean the instructions are unclear, the customer lacks source data, or only a colleague has the required permission. Ask for the most recent example before deciding that more guidance is the answer. Keep the person's account distinct from your proposed explanation.

When written feedback leaves the sequence unclear, observe an attempt with a suitable test setup. GOV.UK's usability guidance recommends realistic task goals that do not reveal the steps to follow. That helps you see where the interface itself leaves the participant uncertain.

Source: GOV.UK: Using moderated usability testing

Group reports by the blocked task and compare distinct accounts, consequences, and available workarounds. In the reporting example, an unclear date format and an unavailable data connection both interrupt import, but they need different investigations. Keep them separate until you understand the cause.

For each selected finding, record an owner and a check that would show improvement. After clarifying a date-format instruction, observe whether a new administrator can prepare a valid file without help. Use comparable analytics to examine the wider pattern, and follow up with affected customers when there is a useful update.