AIWorkDex
Customer Research Practice

Create a consent-aware feedback route

Give early users a clear way to report a relevant experience and choose separate follow-up research.

Preparation
A focused setup and review cycle
Difficulty
Moderate
Task
Create an early-user feedback route
Back to the Task: Create an early-user feedback route

Before you start

Get what you need before you start

  • Confirm privacy, retention, access, and consent requirements.
  • Choose one product moment connected to the research question.

Steps

Work through the method

Use the listed inputs and tools. Check the evidence when you need to verify a step.

  1. Choose the feedback moment

    Select a point where the user has just completed, abandoned, or struggled with the target task.

    Why it matters: The prompt should connect to a concrete experience.

    Input
    The research question and product journey.
    Output
    One feedback moment with a written reason.
    Tools in this stepGoogle Sheets

    Evidence for this step

  2. Ask about the experience

    Ask what the user was trying to do, what happened, and what made the situation difficult.

    Why it matters: Specific event questions produce more inspectable context than general satisfaction prompts.

    Input
    The chosen feedback moment.
    Output
    A short neutral feedback prompt.
    Tools in this stepGoogle Forms

    Evidence for this step

  3. State the data use

    Explain the purpose, access, retention, and optional nature of every requested field.

    Why it matters: The route must match the approved consent and privacy basis.

    Input
    The feedback form and local policy.
    Output
    Reviewed notice and field list.
    Tools in this stepGoogle Forms

    Evidence for this step

  4. Separate follow-up consent

    Offer a distinct approved contact route for users who choose a later interview.

    Why it matters: Feedback submission and research contact are separate choices.

    Input
    The approved follow-up process.
    Output
    A separate voluntary follow-up path.
    Tools in this stepGoogle Forms

    Evidence for this step

  5. Triage by the research question

    Code each response by the relevant task, observed problem, and need for clarification.

    Why it matters: A repeatable review keeps useful evidence from disappearing into a general inbox.

    Input
    De-identified feedback responses.
    Output
    A coded response register.
    Tools in this stepGoogle Sheets

    Evidence for this step

  6. Review the route

    Check access, retention, missing context, and whether the prompt reaches the intended product moment.

    Why it matters: The route needs continued human review before it informs product work.

    Input
    The response register and form settings.
    Output
    A change, continuation, or retirement decision.
    Tools in this stepGoogle FormsGoogle Sheets

    Evidence for this step

Success checks

Check the result before you finish

  • The prompt asks about one recent experience.
  • Follow-up contact requires a separate choice.
  • The team can trace each coded response to the protected original.

Failure modes

Watch for these problems

  • Remove any field without a defined purpose.
  • Pause the route when privacy or consent requirements remain unresolved.
  • Change the prompt when responses cannot answer the research question.

Tools

Choose the tools you need

Sources

Read the sources behind this practice

Check what each source supports and where the advice has limits.