An onboarding video should help a new user do something with the product. A first lesson might establish what a monitoring check measures; a later lesson might help the user send a test alert. Those lessons need different starting states, even when both appear in the same onboarding flow.
The fictional monitoring product Beacon supplies the example here. A user creates a check for a test endpoint and sends an alert to a demonstration inbox. The endpoint and inbox belong to a test environment, so the exercise does not interrupt a real service or contact an on-call team.
Define the first successful task
For Beacon, the learner's first task is to create a check and verify its result. Alert routing follows in a separate lesson because a user needs to understand the check before deciding who should hear about its failures. An orientation video can show the relationship between those objects, but the procedure needs enough detail for someone to complete it.
The producer gathers the account prerequisites, relevant permission level, and a resettable test workspace. The source package includes the endpoint's expected response and a screenshot of the correct completed check. It identifies whether the user must connect a notification destination before proceeding to the next lesson.
A lesson title such as “Create a check for your test endpoint” names the task. “Discover monitoring” leaves the learner guessing whether the video covers setup, incident response, or reporting.
Make the setup procedure reproducible
The fictional fixture calls the check Storefront test and uses https://status.example/demo, a placeholder URL that a real lesson would replace with a functioning test endpoint. The expected state is a successful check with its latest result visible. These details belong in the written instructions beside the video as well as in the producer's notes.
The visual procedure follows the actual product interface:
- Open the check-creation screen. The recording includes the navigation needed to reach it. A tight crop shows the form while retaining the page title.
- Enter the check name and test URL. The video pauses long enough to distinguish those fields. It explains any required setting whose default changes the expected result.
- Save the check and show the initial state. If the product queues the first check, the recording retains that state instead of cutting directly to success without explanation.
- Open the first result. The displayed URL and check name connect the result to the saved configuration. The learner can compare the outcome with the expected fixture.
- Show how to correct a wrong URL. A separate test case enters an invalid fixture URL and demonstrates the actual edit-and-retry path. It helps a learner recover from a mistake the procedure could produce.
A production lesson uses verified control labels throughout. If a button appears only to workspace administrators, the prerequisite states that requirement. Showing an inaccessible control without explaining permissions would leave a new user unable to follow the lesson.
Explain alerts with a controlled failure
The alert lesson starts with an existing check and a connected test destination. It identifies those prerequisites beside the player so someone arriving directly can prepare the right state.
Beacon's fictional configuration sends an alert after two consecutive failed checks. The storyboard shows one failure while the alert remains pending, followed by a second failure that creates a notification. Both the threshold and delivery behavior are fixture definitions; a real product's verified configuration replaces them.
| Visible event | State the learner can inspect |
|---|---|
| The first test request fails. | The failure count is one, and no alert has been sent. |
| The second test request fails. | The count reaches the configured threshold. |
| Beacon records the notification. | The delivery record names the demonstration inbox. |
| The inbox receives the message. | The message identifies Storefront test. |
The delivery record and received message establish different facts. A queued notification does not prove receipt. If the real product cannot confirm delivery, the lesson should stop at the state it can actually show and explain how the learner checks the destination.
An animation can make the threshold easier to compare, while a recording shows where the user changes it. The video must disclose removed waiting time when the edit could suggest an immediate alert.
Place help beside the relevant action
The check-creation page can link to the setup lesson, and an alert-destination screen can link to the alert lesson. A thumbnail with the task title and duration lets the user decide whether playback fits their current problem. A full lesson library provides another route without becoming the only route.
Written steps remain useful while the learner works in the product. A troubleshooting note can distinguish a wrong endpoint from a missing permission or an unconnected notification destination. Each explanation points to the relevant control or reference page instead of repeating the whole video.
The video needs captions and readable controls at the intended player size. A phone-sized preview can expose a field that looked clear in the editor but disappears in the embedded lesson.
Test whether a new user can finish
A reviewer who did not prepare the fixture follows the lesson from the stated starting state. The observer records where they stop, what they expected, and which instruction they needed. Completing playback is not the success criterion; the saved check and inspected result are.
The producer corrects missing prerequisites or inaccurate screens before adjusting decorative details. If learners repeatedly confuse a check with an incident, the lesson needs a clearer explanation of those objects. Faster editing would not resolve that confusion.
The completed onboarding package includes the video and its written task, with the product version and expected outcome recorded. The lesson owner tracks changes to control names, alert thresholds, and permissions. The documentation-video guide explains how to maintain those references across a larger library.