Check whether the outcome improved
Set theme checks
Require a descriptive label, evidence links, affected context, supporting observations, counterexample, and confidence note. Add a check that the theme describes a user outcome or behavior rather than an analyst category with no product meaning.
Review with source owners
Ask observers, researchers, or service staff to compare the theme with the original notes. Record disagreements and language that users would not recognize. Keep source differences visible when a survey pattern and an interview story answer different questions.
Approve the communication scope
State which decision the theme can inform and what it cannot establish. Decide whether to share, split, retest, or defer it. Give the team a follow-up question when a critical context remains unsupported.
What to carry forward
The verification record should show theme checks, source review, counterexamples, confidence, and decision scope. Share themes only with their boundary and evidence trail. Retain a follow-up when a critical segment or method remains underrepresented. before broad circulation.
Technical background: IDEO design thinking guidance.
Keep the decision with the work.
Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.
Create an account See the product workflow