Onboarding
Part of Customer education for B2B products
Updating customer education after a product release
Find customer tasks affected by a release, revise the guidance, verify the new path and tell relevant users what changed.
When a release changes a customer task, update the guidance for that task. Confirm who can use the change, revise affected instructions, and tell relevant roles what to do differently. A release announcement cannot replace an accurate task procedure.
Updating Customer Education After a Product Release
- Confirm the released behaviourVerify what changed in the product, who it affects, and when it became available. Check entry points, steps, access, results, help, and availability.
- Revise existing resourcesUpdate task guides, videos, onboarding exercises, in-product prompts, and support answers with accurate steps, screenshots, prerequisites, and expected outcomes.
- Verify the new pathHave an experienced user test the updated procedure in a relevant environment to confirm clarity and correctness.
- Communicate changesInform affected users about the change, what they’ll see, whether action is needed, and where to find updated instructions.
Confirm the released behaviour
Ask the product owner what changed, when it became available, which roles it affects and whether availability differs by environment or configuration. Check whether the release adds a task, changes a step or permission, removes an option, or changes the expected result. Keep planned behaviour separate from confirmed release state.
For each affected task, check:
Part of the task / Question
- Entry
- Has the starting point changed?
- Steps
- Which action or decision differs?
- Access
- Have roles, permissions or prerequisites changed?
- Result
- What should the user now see or verify?
- Help
- Does the old troubleshooting route still apply?
- Availability
- Which customers can use this path, and when?
For a hypothetical approvals product, a changed decision screen may affect a manager's procedure while leaving administrator access instructions intact. Revise guidance for the changed task without implying every role's workflow changed.
Revise the resources people already use
Find task guides, videos, onboarding exercises, in-product prompts and support answers that describe the old path. Prioritise material people need for current work. Correct steps, screenshots, names, prerequisites, expected results and error advice where they changed. If some customers still use an older product state, make the applicable paths clear.
A release note explains what changed; the task resource explains what to do now. Replace or clearly mark a recording that demonstrates an obsolete path, and provide a current procedure. Retire or redirect outdated material through the normal content process so search does not keep returning conflicting instructions.
Old vs New Task Guidance After a Release
- Entry PointBefore: 'Settings > Security' | After: 'Admin Panel > Access Controls'
- Step 1Before: Click 'Approve Request' button | After: Select approval type from dropdown menu
- Access RequirementsBefore: Admin role only | After: Admin or designated manager role
- Expected ResultBefore: Confirmation message appears immediately | After: Approval status updates after review cycle
Verify and communicate the new path
Have someone familiar with the released product check the updated procedure in an appropriate environment. Ask a person representing the affected role to follow it and identify unclear steps. Record the product state checked and any path still awaiting verification. Do not present an unchecked customer configuration as confirmed.
Tell affected people what task changed, what they will see, whether they need to act and where to find current instructions. A rarely used administrator option may need a targeted update; an everyday workflow may justify a demonstration or guided practice. Describe limited rollout accurately rather than saying the change is available to everyone.
After release, review questions about the changed step and whether intended users can complete the task. Correct confusing guidance and route product faults to their technical owner. Keep a content owner and review point until the new path is settled.
