By Tangenix · Published 2026-10-23 · Free template

Setup Progress Message Map Template

Describe real setup progress, required and optional steps, save state and resume behavior without equating screen views with task completion.

When to use this template

Use this when an onboarding flow contains several necessary steps and users need to know where they are and what remains.

Choose another approach when: You want to manufacture progress, label optional marketing questions as required setup, or promise saved work without verifying persistence.

Gather these inputs

The actual required setup sequence and supported optional branches.
The conditions that prove a step is complete.
Verified save, back, skip and resume behavior.

Copy and adapt the template

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Setup Progress Message Map Template: editable text

Worked example

Illustrative example, not a Crany customer result. Replace every example detail with facts you can verify.

A fictional setup asks a designer to create a project and add a first checklist item. Viewing the second screen is not completion; the item must actually save. An optional logo-upload step is labeled optional and does not inflate the required progress count.
The owner tests closing and reopening the flow before saying work is saved. If resuming is unsupported, the copy does not invent it. The final message explains the workspace is ready for the next task without claiming the client has received anything.

How to use it

Map necessary steps and define real completion evidence for each.
Write progress and control messages from actual persisted behavior.
Test back, interruption, skip and resume before publishing state claims.

Check before using it

Screen visits are not mistaken for completed setup tasks.
Optional steps are distinguishable and genuinely skippable.
Save and resume statements have verified behavior behind them.

What to measure

Track where real required tasks fail or remain incomplete, keeping optional exploration separate. Progress wording does not establish activation or prove that every interruption path preserves data.

Research and sources

Task observation and clear contextual feedback inform this original state map. It is not a statistical activation definition or a requirement to add a progress indicator.

NN/g: Turn User Goals into Task Scenarios for Usability Testing — checked 2026-10-23. Realistic actionable user tasks without interface clues for qualitative usability observation.
NN/g: Onboarding Tutorials vs. Contextual Help — checked 2026-10-23. Task-relevant contextual help, dismissibility and avoiding unnecessary memorization or interruptions.
W3C WAI: User Notification — checked 2026-10-23. Clear success and error feedback, identification of affected controls and understandable recovery instructions.

This original template and worked example were prepared with AI assistance. Source documentation supports the principles stated above; it does not endorse Crany or guarantee this template’s performance.

About Crany

Crany is an AI marketing co-founder in development for software founders and vibe coders, designed to strategize, execute approved marketing and improve based on results. This free resource is usable independently of the product. Join the public waitlist.