axiom-ux-flow-audit

UX Flow Audit

UX issues are not polish — they're defects that cause support tickets, bad reviews, and user churn.

Axiom's code-level auditors check patterns. This skill checks what users actually experience: Can they complete their task? Can they get back? Do they know what's happening?

6 iOS UX Principles (Detection Anchors)

These principles anchor every detection category. When a principle is violated, users get stuck, confused, or frustrated.

1. Honor the Promise

What the button/title says must match what the user gets. A "Settings" button that opens a profile page breaks trust.

2. Escape Hatch

Every modal (sheet, fullScreenCover, alert) must have a way out. A sheet without a dismiss button or drag-to-dismiss traps users.

3. Primary Action Visibility

The main thing users came to do must be immediately visible and tappable. If the CTA requires scrolling or menu-diving, users won't find it.

4. Dead End Prevention

Every view must have a forward path (next step) or a completion state (success message, return to start). A view with no actions and no navigation is a dead end.

5. Progressive Disclosure

Don't overwhelm on first screen. Show essentials first, details on demand. An onboarding flow that dumps 12 settings on page one loses users.

6. Feedback Loop

Users must know what's happening during async operations. No loading state = "is it broken?" No error state = "what went wrong?" No empty state = "is this feature missing?"

Detection Categories

8 Core Defects (always check — these are UX bugs, not opinions):

1. Dead-End Views (CRITICAL)
2. Dismiss Traps (CRITICAL)
3. Buried CTAs (HIGH)
4. Promise-Scope Mismatch (HIGH)
5. Deep Link Dead Ends (HIGH)
6. Missing Empty States (HIGH)
7. Missing Loading/Error States (HIGH)
8. Accessibility Dead Ends (HIGH)

3 Contextual Checks (check when product context warrants — these involve design judgment):

9. Onboarding Gaps (MEDIUM) — requires knowing the product's onboarding strategy
10. Broken Data Paths (MEDIUM) — overlaps with code correctness; include only when UX-visible
11. Platform Parity Gaps (MEDIUM) — depends on target device strategy

Core defects are always worth reporting. Contextual checks require product knowledge — flag them if they look wrong, but acknowledge they may be intentional decisions.

1. Dead-End Views (CRITICAL)

Views with no navigation forward, no actions, and no completion state.

Detect:

• SwiftUI: Views with no NavigationLink, Button, .sheet, .fullScreenCover, .navigationDestination, or dismiss action
• UIKit: View controllers with no IBAction, no addTarget, no navigation push/present calls, no UIBarButtonItem
• Check for views/VCs that are navigation destinations but offer no way to proceed or return

Common cause: Placeholder views during development that ship to production.

2. Dismiss Traps (CRITICAL)

Sheets or fullScreenCover without a dismiss path.

Detect:

• SwiftUI: .fullScreenCover without @Environment(\.dismiss) or explicit dismiss button; .sheet with .interactiveDismissDisabled(true) without alternative dismiss; alert/confirmation dialogs missing cancel actions
• UIKit: present(_:animated:) with modalPresentationStyle = .fullScreen where presented VC has no dismiss/close button; isModalInPresentation = true without alternative dismiss path

Why critical: Users literally cannot leave the screen. The only escape is force-quitting the app.

3. Buried CTAs (HIGH)

Primary actions hidden below fold, in menus, or behind navigation.

Detect:

• Primary action buttons placed after long ScrollView content
• Important actions only in .toolbar overflow menu (.secondaryAction)
• CTAs inside expandable DisclosureGroup sections
• No prominent action on the main tab's root view

Not a buried CTA: Below-fold placement that is intentional — checkout confirmation ("review order then confirm"), terms acceptance ("read then agree"), or content that the user should see before acting. The test: is the below-fold placement serving the user (they need context first) or hurting them (they can't find the action)?

4. Promise-Scope Mismatch (HIGH)

NavigationTitle, button label, or tab name doesn't match the content.

Detect:

• .navigationTitle("X") where view content is clearly about Y
• NavigationLink("Settings") that navigates to a profile/account view
• Tab labels that don't match tab content
• Button text suggesting one action but performing another

5. Deep Link Dead Ends (HIGH)

URL opens but lands on empty or broken state.

Detect:

• .onOpenURL handlers that push a view without checking if data exists
• Deep link destinations that assume pre-loaded state
• Universal link handling that doesn't validate the entity ID
• No fallback when deep-linked content is unavailable

Cross-reference: axiom-swiftui-nav covers deep link architecture. This category checks the UX outcome.

6. Missing Empty States (HIGH)

Lists, grids, or content views with no data show blank screen.

Detect:

• List or ForEach without if items.isEmpty { ... } or .overlay for empty state
• @Query results displayed without empty check
• Search results with no "no results" view
• Filtered views that can reach zero items

7. Missing Loading/Error States (HIGH)

Async operations with no feedback.

Detect:

• SwiftUI: .task { } or Task { } that fetches data without a loading indicator; try await without error presentation (no .alert, no error state variable); state enum missing .loading or .error cases
• UIKit: URLSession calls without UIActivityIndicatorView or progress UI; completion handlers that don't update UI on error; missing UIAlertController for failure cases
• Both: Network calls without timeout or retry UI
• Both: catch blocks that only print/log in #if DEBUG with no user-visible feedback — the user sees the operation silently fail

Focus on network/write operations: Skip loading indicators for fast local reads (GRDB queries, UserDefaults, cached data) that complete in under 100ms — adding spinners to these creates visual flicker. Focus on network calls, database writes, and any operation that can meaningfully fail.

Scan systematically: When you find a silent-error pattern in one file (e.g., catch { print(...) } without user feedback), scan ALL similar files for the same pattern. A single catch-block issue usually indicates a codebase-wide habit.

8. Accessibility Dead Ends (HIGH)

Actions only reachable via gestures or visual cues, invisible to assistive technology.

Detect:

• .onLongPressGesture / .swipeActions / DragGesture without .accessibilityAction equivalent
• Custom controls without .accessibilityLabel or .accessibilityHint
• Navigation that depends on color alone (e.g., "tap the green button")
• Pull-to-refresh (refreshable) without VoiceOver-accessible alternative (note: refreshable is automatically accessible — check custom implementations)

Cross-reference: axiom-accessibility-diag covers full WCAG compliance. This category specifically checks UX flow reachability from assistive technology.

9. Onboarding Gaps (MEDIUM)

First-launch flow that's incomplete or overwhelming.

Detect:

• No @AppStorage-gated onboarding check
• Onboarding flow without skip/later option
• More than 5 onboarding screens
• Onboarding that requires account creation before showing app value

10. Broken Data Paths (MEDIUM)

State/binding wiring issues that manifest as UX problems (view shows stale data, edits don't save, view appears empty when data exists).

Detect:

• Views accepting @Binding that are initialized with .constant() in non-preview code
• Views expecting @Environment values not provided by ancestors
• @Observable models created locally when they should be injected
• @State used where @Binding should propagate changes upward

Scope note: This overlaps with general SwiftUI correctness (axiom-swiftui-debugging). Include findings here only when the broken data path causes a visible UX problem — blank screen, stale content, edits that don't persist. Skip compiler-level or crash-level issues that belong in code review.

11. Platform Parity Gaps (MEDIUM)

iPad sidebar missing, landscape broken, Mac Catalyst issues.

Detect:

• NavigationStack without NavigationSplitView alternative for iPad
• No .horizontalSizeClass checks for adaptive layout
• Views that break in landscape (fixed heights, no scroll)
• Missing keyboard shortcut support on iPad/Mac

Audit Process

Step 1: Map Entry Points

Find all ways users enter the app:

• @main App struct / SceneDelegate
• .onOpenURL handlers (deep links)
• Widget Link destinations
• Notification response handlers (UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate)
• Spotlight/Siri intent handlers

Step 2: Map Navigation Containers

Find all navigation structure:

• NavigationStack / NavigationSplitView
• TabView with tab structure
• .sheet / .fullScreenCover presentations
• Custom modal presentations

Step 3: Trace Flows

For each entry point → completion path:

1. Can the user reach their goal?
2. Can the user get back?
3. Does the user know what's happening at each step?

Step 4: Check Data Wiring

• Are @Binding vars actually passed from parent?
• Are @Observable objects injected via environment?
• Are @Query results handled for empty case?

Step 5: Check Platform Adaptivity

• iPad: Does sidebar/split view work?
• Landscape: Does layout adapt?
• Mac Catalyst/Designed for iPad: Do keyboard shortcuts exist?

Step 6: Check Accessibility Flows

• Can VoiceOver users complete every flow?
• Are gesture-only actions backed by accessibility actions?

Cross-Auditor Correlation

When findings overlap with other Axiom auditors, note the correlation and elevate severity:

UX Finding	Overlapping Auditor	Compound Effect	Severity Bump
Dead end + missing NavigationPath	swiftui-nav-auditor	Programmatic fix impossible	CRITICAL
Gesture-only action + no .accessibilityAction	accessibility-auditor	Dead end for VoiceOver users	CRITICAL
Missing loading state + unhandled async error	concurrency-auditor	Crash + no user feedback	CRITICAL
Missing empty state + @Query with no results	swiftdata-auditor	Blank screen after data migration	HIGH
Deep link dead end + no URL validation	swiftui-nav-auditor	Silent failure from external link	HIGH

Output Format

Enhanced Rating Table (for CRITICAL and HIGH findings)

Finding	Urgency	Blast Radius	Fix Effort	ROI
Dead-end after payment	Ship-blocker	All users	30 min	Critical
Missing empty state on search	Next release	Users who search	15 min	High

Urgency: Ship-blocker / Next release / Backlog Blast Radius: All users / Specific flow / Edge case Fix Effort: Time estimate for the fix ROI: Computed from urgency x blast radius / effort

Navigation Reachability Score

At end of audit, output:

## Navigation Reachability

- Total screens found: [N] (views with navigation presentation)
- Deep-linkable screens: [N] (.onOpenURL can reach them)
- Widget-reachable screens: [N] (widget Link destinations)
- Notification-reachable screens: [N] (notification handlers)
- Coverage: [N]% of screens are externally reachable

Fix Effort Reality Check

Most UX flow defects are fast fixes. When someone says "that's a big change," check this table:

Defect	Typical Fix	Time
Dismiss trap (no close button)	Add toolbar Cancel button + dismiss()	10-15 min
Missing empty state	Add if items.isEmpty { ContentUnavailableView(...) }	15-20 min
Buried CTA (placement change)	Move button from .secondaryAction to .primaryAction	20-30 min
Dead-end view (no forward path)	Add NavigationLink or action button	15-30 min
Missing loading state	Add @State var isLoading + ProgressView overlay	15-20 min
Silent error (no user feedback)	Add .alert presentation on catch block	10-15 min
Gesture-only action	Add .accessibilityAction + visible button alternative	15-20 min

The cost of NOT fixing: A dismiss trap or dead end after payment generates 1-star reviews within hours of launch. Each review costs 10-20 positive reviews to offset. The 15-minute fix prevents weeks of damage control.

Anti-Rationalization

Thought	Reality
"UX issues are just polish, we'll fix later"	UX dead ends cause 1-star reviews. They're defects, not enhancements. A 15-min fix now prevents weeks of damage control.
"Users will figure it out"	Users don't figure it out. They delete the app. Average user tries for 30 seconds.
"We'll add empty states after launch"	Empty states are the FIRST thing new users see. Launching without them means launching broken.
"That fix is a big design change"	Most UX fixes are placement or state changes (10-30 min). Check the Fix Effort table above.
"Accessibility is a separate concern"	If VoiceOver users can't complete a flow, it's a dead end. Same defect, different user.
"This screen is just temporary"	Temporary screens ship. Check them anyway.
"The dismiss gesture handles it"	fullScreenCover has no dismiss gesture. That's the trap.

Resources

Skills: axiom-swiftui-nav, axiom-accessibility-diag, axiom-hig, axiom-swiftui-debugging

Agents: ux-flow-auditor (automated scanning), swiftui-nav-auditor (navigation architecture), accessibility-auditor (WCAG compliance)