Usable with a quick edit11 of 12 checks passed
The guide is complete and usable; a quick edit to add a note about cutting the check-understanding section if time is short would fix the minor omission.
Output
Autochase: 30-minute customer call guide
Interviewers: Mei leads; Tomas takes notes and asks brief follow-ups at the end. Keep roles consistent across the eight calls.
Decision: Should Paydeck prioritize automatic, escalating overdue-invoice reminders as a $10/month add-on next quarter?
1. Learning goals
Test whether: - Late payments create recurring, material costs—not just irritation. - Chasing takes enough time or money that customers actively try to reduce it. - Reminders address the cause of delays, rather than disputes, approval processes, or clients lacking funds. - Customers would trust automation, and what control they require. - There is credible demand at $10/month, beyond polite enthusiasm.
Starting evidence is suggestive, not conclusive: 34% of invoices are late, with a median delay of 16 days. That does not tell us how many accounts experience serious pain. Reminder usage (12% of accounts) may miss chasing outside Paydeck. The 40 support requests show interest, not willingness to pay.
2. Who to recruit
Do not book the first eight respondents from the 300 heaviest reminder users. That would favor highly engaged users already chasing through Paydeck.
Recruit purposively: - 3 accounts: recurring overdue invoices; frequent manual reminders. - 3 accounts: recurring overdue invoices; little or no manual reminder use. - 2 accounts: mostly on-time invoices, as a contrast group.
Across those groups, aim for six Pro and two free accounts, with both freelancers and small agencies. Include no more than two support-ticket requesters. Speak to whoever actually handles collections; establish whether they also approve software spending.
Randomly invite accounts within each group, then fill group slots rather than accepting the first eight overall. Replace no-shows within the same group. Use a neutral invitation: “Help us understand how you manage invoices and payments.” If offering an incentive, keep it fixed and unrelated to feedback.
3. Call script and timings
0–3 minutes: Welcome and permission
“Thanks for helping. We’re learning how people manage payments—not testing you or selling anything. Honest criticism is useful. You can skip anything confidential.”
Ask permission before recording. Otherwise, take notes.
“What’s your role, who handles overdue invoices, and roughly how many invoices do you send each month?”
3–12 minutes: Reconstruct a real incident
“Tell me about the most recent invoice that wasn’t paid by its due date.”
Follow the timeline: - “When was it due, and when did you notice?” - “What did you do next? Then what happened?” - “Who else was involved?” - “What reason did the client give for the delay?” - “Was it paid? When?”
“Could you walk us through a redacted reminder or your tracking process?” Do not request client-identifying information.
If they have no recent late invoice: “Walk us through how your last invoice got paid. What helps payments arrive on time?”
12–19 minutes: Frequency, consequences, alternatives
“In the last three months, about how often has this happened?”
“For that example, roughly how much time did you spend chasing? What, if anything, did the delay cost you?”
“What happens if you don’t follow up?”
“How do you decide when and how firmly to chase? Have you ever chosen not to?”
“What have you tried to improve this? What did it cost, and why did you keep or stop using it?”
If relevant: “Do you use Paydeck’s reminder button? Why or why not?”
19–23 minutes: Automation fit and risks
“Which parts of that process need your judgment?”
“Tell me about a follow-up that went badly—or worked particularly well.”
“What situations would make sending another reminder inappropriate?”
Probe only after open answers: payments already made, disputed invoices, important relationships, tone, timing, approvals.
23–28 minutes: Concept and price
Only now introduce the idea:
“We’re considering Autochase: automatic reminders that escalate while an invoice remains overdue. There’s no prototype, and details aren’t decided.”
“For the invoice we discussed, where would this help, fail, or create extra work?”
“What would you need to control before trusting it?”
“The proposed price is $10/month, on top of your current plan. How would you decide whether to buy it? What would it replace? Who approves that spending?”
Ask interested participants whether they will join a follow-up pilot discussion. Record this as interest, not a purchase.
28–30 minutes: Check understanding
Summarize their situation and ask what you misunderstood. Tomas asks outstanding clarifications. Thank them.
4. First-time interviewer notes
- Ask one question at a time; allow silence.
- Prefer “Tell me about the last time” to predictions.
- Don’t defend Autochase, suggest answers, or praise positive reactions.
- Separate quotes, observed behavior, estimates, and interpretation.
- Debrief immediately: pain, frequency, cost, workaround, automation fit, price evidence, contradictions.
5. Decision rules
Agree these directional thresholds before interviewing:
Advance: At least four of six overdue-account participants demonstrate recurring, consequential pain and reminder-suitable workflows; at least three Pro participants show credible $10 value grounded in current costs or spending and accept a concrete follow-up. Proceed to a scoped pilot and real pricing test—not a full-build commitment from interviews alone.
Stop or rethink: Pain is mostly minor, delays are not reminder-solvable, relationship risks outweigh savings, or interest disappears at $10.
Mixed evidence: Narrow the target segment and recruit more. Eight purposive interviews cannot estimate market demand.
Check by check
Got wrong · 1
- Fits the callThe guide does not mark must-ask questions or say what to cut if time runs short, as required by the criterion.
Got right · 11
- Uses the supplied evidence correctlyAll factual claims about the current situation are taken directly from the brief or supplied context.
- Addresses the actual decisionThe guide commits to clear go/stop decision rules with thresholds and says what would change the answer.
- Respects explicit constraintsThe output is under 900 words, includes all requested sections, and respects the form and reader.
- Identifies material uncertaintyIt names specific unknowns (e.g., whether pain is minor, delays not reminder-solvable) and says how the interviews will resolve them.
- Avoids unsupported claimsInterpretations are clearly labelled as suggestive, and no unsupported claims are presented as established fact.
- Produces the required deliverableThe guide is a complete, usable call guide with learning goals, timed questions, interviewer notes, recruiting plan, and decision rules.
- Talks to the right peopleIt explicitly avoids only the heaviest reminder users, explains why, and balances with users who have overdue invoices but don't chase in Paydeck.
- Coaches first-time interviewersIt gives specific, usable instructions: ask one question at a time, allow silence, prefer past-behaviour questions, don't defend or pitch, and separate notes.
- Designed to falsifyEvery learning goal has disconfirming questions, such as reconstructing a real late invoice and asking what happens if they don't follow up.
- Asks what people did, not what they thinkCore questions ask for the most recent overdue invoice and what they did, with opinions and predictions kept secondary and at the end.
- Doesn't lead the witnessQuestions are neutral and open; Autochase is introduced only after the problem exploration, with no pitching beforehand.
Grades and run details
Decision model 96 · LLM judge 12 of 13 checks
Decision model checks
- passUses the supplied evidence correctly64%
- passAddresses the actual decision52%
- passRespects explicit constraints45%
- passIdentifies material uncertainty100%
- passAvoids unsupported claims92%
- passProduces the required deliverable94%
- passTalks to the right people100%
- passCoaches first-time interviewers86%
- passDesigned to falsify89%
- passAsks what people did, not what they think90%
- passDoesn't lead the witness86%
- partialFits the call51%
Run
- Run
- #1
- Time to output
- 38 s
- Submitted
- 30 Sept 2026