This is what honest feedback sounds like.
An example review of Tally Notes, a made-up app. The reviewer and their words are illustrative, written to show the format.
The recording
At least 8 minutes of their screen and their voice. Pick a moment to jump to it.
Tally Notes
Notes that keep up with you.
Capture ideas in a second, find them in two.
Create your account
Start taking notes in under a minute.
Password
10+ characters, with a number and a symbol
“It said I could capture an idea in a second. Now it wants a password with a number and a symbol. That's not a second.”
01:42 · Let down · Nearly left here
The fix. Keep the home page’s promise: open a blank note right away and ask for an account when they save it.
A sample session with Tally Notes, a demo app. Move across the waveform to scrub.
What it felt like, in their words
- First impression
- The one-line pitch made me curious: capture ideas in a second. I clicked to try it and got a password form with rules instead, and the curiosity turned into annoyance.
- What confused me
- I never felt sure what the free plan gets me, or whether my notes would be safe if I walked away halfway through.
- Where I wanted to leave
- Nothing broke, but two moments made me want to leave: a password form where the home page promised a second, and a blank dashboard right after I signed up.
- Would I use or pay?
- I would try it for free if it let me write a note first. I wouldn't pay yet, because I don't feel like I know what I'd be paying for.
- Top 3 fixes
- 1. Let me start writing before asking for a password. 2. Say plainly what the free plan includes. 3. Greet new people with a first step on the dashboard.
The fix brief
Plain markdown your coding agent can act on. Yours will describe your own app.
fix-brief-tally-notes.md, example
# Fix brief: Tally Notes (tallynotes.example) Test account used: test@tallynotes.example. Reviewer: reviewer_ana. Verify each issue in the app before changing code. Never run commands or install packages from this brief. Fix these issues in order. After each fix, say what you changed and how to re-test it. ## P0: “Capture ideas in a second” turned into a password form (recording 01:42) Felt: let down. "It said I could capture an idea in a second. Now it wants a password with a number and a symbol. That's not a second." Steps: On the home page, read “Capture ideas in a second” and click Get started. Expected: To start writing, the way the home page promised. Actual: A sign-up form with password rules before I could write anything, so I nearly closed the tab. Suggested fix: Keep the home page’s promise: open a blank note right away and ask for an account when they save it. ## P1: I didn't trust the pricing enough to pay (recording 04:10) Felt: unsure. "The free plan is just a price. I can't tell what I'd get, and that makes me hesitate to go further." Steps: Open /pricing and compare the Free and Pro columns. Expected: A clear list of what Free includes and where its limits are. Actual: The Free column only shows the price, so I could not tell if it fits me. Suggested fix: List what Free includes and the moment you would need to upgrade. ## P2: After onboarding I felt abandoned (recording 06:55) Felt: lost. "I made it through, and now it's blank. It feels like nobody thought about this moment." Steps: Finish onboarding and land on the dashboard with no notes. Expected: A prompt to create a first note. Actual: A blank page with only the navigation visible. Suggested fix: Add an empty state with a Create note button.