Replay meetings go bad when someone performs surprise. A cursor wiggles, the room laughs, an “insight” is declared, and nobody writes a cell on the grid. Theatre feels like research. It is not Screen Flow Analytics.
In Replay Annotation Hours we use a dull protocol. You may only mark: entered cell, reread, opened interrupt, used back gesture, copied text, waited on OTP, returned, abandoned, reached success. Adjectives wait until twelve sessions exist. If you cannot mark it with those verbs, you watch silently.
Why the list is short
A long codebook becomes a place to hide. People invent tags instead of facing order. The short list forces the queue into view. When “opened interrupt” appears on eight of twelve sessions at the same cell, you have a finding. When someone says “they seemed confused,” you have a vibe.
What to ignore on purpose
Mouse fidgeting. A pause to sip water. A notification that is not from your product, unless it covers a field. Beauty of the UI. Whether you personally like the typeface. These are tempting. They steal the hour.
Ending the session
Stop at twelve even if the thirteenth looks juicy. Write the limitation: what the recorder cannot show. Then one proposed change to order. If the room wants a second change, it waits for another twelve. This rule has made more than one visiting executive impatient. That is fine. Impatience is not evidence.
Bring this protocol to Queue Grid Method critique week. Guests may sit silent. Applause is still not a method.