A feature may work for experienced users while failing for people arriving without inherited setup.
An experienced teammate knows where to click, what must already exist, and which empty screen is normal. A first-time user sees only a blank path and no reason to trust the next step.
The practical check
Test the first-run path as its own workflow instead of treating it as an edge case.
Where AI fits
AI can list the assumptions a returning user already has and identify what a first-time user cannot yet see, do, or understand.\n
The human decision
People decide which initial conditions the product must support.
The lesson
A product is not ready until the first person can use it without borrowing invisible history.
Look to the Build Log companion for the first-run audit of setup knowledge that new users do not yet have.
AI Skills
Use this lesson with the AI assistant you already use
Use this to prepare a reviewable next step without changing any system.
Paste the prompt, share only the context needed to answer it, and treat the result as a draft for your review. Do not include confidential information or let an AI assistant make changes without your approval.
Optional: for a visual report and saved memory, run /dxdev first.
Don’t have it? Get it at dxdev.com/skills/dxdev. The prompt works without it.
dxdev LESSON · paste into your AI agent
LESSON: Audit a first-time workflow
WHAT TO SHARE:
A de-identified description of the work, current evidence, and the decision you are considering.
ASK YOUR AGENT TO:
1. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and unanswered questions.
2. Test the first-run path as its own workflow instead of treating it as an edge case.
3. Identify the narrowest useful next review step.
RETURN:
A short table with the evidence, uncertainty, human-owned decision, and next action.
BOUNDARY: Do not change records, contact anyone, route work, publish content, or act in an external system. A person must review the evidence and approve every consequential step.
