Assess Experience Quality
Purpose
Provide a structured quality assessment of a product experience to identify where users struggle, drop off, or get confused.
Skill type
Conceptual skill with diagnostic output
Use this skill when
- A flow has high drop-off or low completion rates
- User feedback consistently mentions confusion or friction in a specific area
- A design review needs structured quality criteria
- A product area hasn't been assessed since initial launch
Do not use this skill when
- The goal is running a usability study (use run-usability-testing)
- No data or user feedback is available to ground the assessment
Required inputs
- Product flow or feature to assess
- Available signals: analytics data, user feedback, support tickets, or usability observations
Optional inputs
- Baseline metrics (completion rate, time-on-task, error rate)
- Prior usability test findings
- Design heuristics to apply
Upstream context
Works best when:
- Usage data or qualitative feedback exists
- UX research findings are available
If upstream context is missing
Produce a heuristic assessment framework and flag that data-based assessment requires actual signals.
Downstream handoff
Output can feed:
- manage-design-handoff (issues to address in next design iteration)
- run-usability-testing (validate fixes)
- formulate-experiment-hypothesis (test experience improvements)
Instructions
- Map the flow being assessed step by step.
- Apply experience quality criteria: discoverability, clarity, efficiency, error recovery, trust.
- Identify friction points with supporting evidence.
- Assess severity: critical (blocks task) / major (causes confusion) / minor (annoyance).
- Identify quick wins vs. structural issues.
- Recommend specific improvements.
Output
Provide:
- Flow map with quality assessment per step
- Friction points by severity
- Heuristic violations (if applicable)
- Quick wins and structural improvements
- Metrics impact estimation (qualitative)
- Confidence level in the assessment (evidence-based or heuristic-only)
Risks / caveats
- Heuristic assessment is a starting point, not a substitute for user observation
- Do not overstate severity — not all friction is a critical issue
- Distinguish between aesthetic issues and usability/task-completion issues