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mental-model-mismatch-and-onboarding

Use this skill when designing onboarding, when diagnosing why users keep getting confused, when migrating users from one product convention to another, or when the system genuinely differs from familiar comparable products. Trigger when the user mentions "users don't get it," "we keep getting the same support tickets," or "this is a new pattern they need to learn." Sub-aspect of `mental-model`; read that first.

plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/cognition-and-learnability-principles/skills/mental-model-mismatch-and-onboarding/SKILL.md

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# Mental-model mismatches and onboarding

When the user's mental model and the system's actual behavior diverge, three things can be done: change the system to match the user's model; change the user's model through onboarding and teaching; or surface the divergence so the user knows when their model doesn't apply.

## Diagnosing mismatches

Common signals of mental-model mismatch:

- **Repeated support tickets** about the same misunderstanding ("Why doesn't X work?" when X works fine — the user's expectation didn't match).
- **Drop-off at the same flow step** (the user reached this step expecting one thing; got another; left).
- **High undo / cancel rate** at a particular action.
- **Forum / community questions** asking how to do things the system doesn't actually do.
- **Negative reviews** mentioning unmet expectations.