Onboarding Diagnostic Framework

Which dimension is failing — and what to check first

SYMPTOM 01
Users do not start the flow
Check prompts first
Did they see the onboarding path? Was the cue timely and tied to a moment of relevance? If not, the product is asking too late, too weakly, or not at all.
Prompt failure
SYMPTOM 02
Users start but do not complete
Check ability
Too many steps? Cognitively heavy? Do they have to invent too much? Are they being asked to trust a high-risk action before seeing proof or safety controls?
Ability barrier
SYMPTOM 03
Users complete but do not continue
Only then check motivation
At this point, the issue may be value communication, a weak payoff, poor segment fit, or the wrong first win — not the UI or the copy.
Motivation problem
SYMPTOM 04
Team still cannot tell what is failing
Instrumentation is not good enough yet
Discovery, abandonment, first-value, and prompt-response events need to be visible before behavioral diagnosis can work with confidence.
Tracking gap