A €150 README test found what its author could no longer see

Terence Eden paid people €25 an hour to install his ActivityBot project while sharing their screens and explaining their thinking. About €150 exposed a wrong demo URL, unclear setup steps and assumptions about files and permissions. He revised the README between sessions. This is a small practical case study, not a controlled measure of documentation quality.

Terence Eden · Oct 11, 2026

Why it matters

Watching a first-time user attempt setup can reveal problems that proofreading misses.

More context

Try one paid installation session before rewriting all your documentation. Let the participant work through the instructions, then retest the changes with someone new.

Keep in mind

The findings come from one project and a small group of participants.

Original read