Evidence Board 101: The Discovery Play
Stop filing user feedback into a spreadsheet that no one reads. In Pathmode, the Evidence Board is a diagnostic play you run to find problems worth solving.
Think of it like a doctor's triage board: you gather symptoms, spot patterns, and decide where to operate.
The "Evidence-First" Method
Most teams start with solutions. We start with evidence.
Step 1: Define the Product Area
Create a product area around a specific domain. Not "the whole product" but "Onboarding" or "Data Export" or "Team Collaboration."
Bad scope: "All user feedback" Good scope: "Trial-to-paid conversion friction"
Step 2: Collect Evidence
Feed evidence into the product area from wherever it lives:
- Friction: Support tickets, bug reports, rage clicks
- Quotes: User interviews, NPS comments, sales call notes
- Observations: Session recordings, usability tests
- Metrics: Drop-off rates, time-to-action, error rates
- Requests: Feature requests, workaround reports
Each piece of evidence gets a type, a source, and lands on the board.
Step 3: Cluster the Patterns
Switch to Stage View and drag evidence into stages that match your domain. Patterns will emerge:
- Three support tickets about the same export bug
- An NPS comment and a session recording showing the same confusion
- A metric spike that lines up with a feature request
The clusters are your signal. Isolated items are noise.
Step 4: Synthesize an Intent
Where evidence is densest, you have a problem worth solving. Select the cluster and click "Synthesize Intent." Pathmode generates an Agent-Ready Spec from the evidence—linked, traceable, and ready to build.
Stop collecting. Start specifying.
When to Run This Play
| Trigger | Signal |
|---|---|
| Onboarding drop-off | Users sign up but don't activate |
| Feature underuse | You shipped it, no one uses it |
| Support spike | Sudden ticket volume on a topic |
| Expansion stall | Users won't invite teammates |
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
❌ The Junk Drawer: Dumping all feedback into one product area with no domain focus.
❌ The Lone Data Point: Creating an Intent from a single piece of evidence. Look for clusters.
❌ The Stale Board: Collecting evidence but never reviewing or synthesizing it.
❌ The Assumption Board: Adding "evidence" that's really your team's opinions, not user data.
Next Steps
Ready to run this play?
- Start from scratch: Create a new product area in Pathmode and follow this method.
- Use a template: Try the SaaS Onboarding Friction Patterns for common evidence to watch for.