STEPHEN
STILWELL
USEFUL IN PRACTICE / STEPHEN STILWELL

Find software that
earns its place
in your business.

Practical AI and software for founders and small teams. The task, the tradeoffs, and what to check before you pay.

AI & SOFTWARESMALL BUSINESSCUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
FROM MY OWN SITE BUILD

The details are the story.

All field notes ↗
DESIGN NOTE

A subscribe button needs somewhere to start.

First, the email field was missing. Then, the button was hard to see. My feedback on this site became a useful lesson in making the next step obvious.

Read the story

Based on this site build. No conversion results claimed.

DESIGN RECONSTRUCTION / NOT A LIVE SIGNUP
01 / THE PROBLEM

Where do I type?

Email field missing
Subscribe

A button cannot complete a form on its own.

02 / THE CORRECTION

Make the next step clear.

Email address
you@example.com
Subscribe

A visible field. A button you can find.

A simplified reconstruction of the issues reported while building this site. These are explanatory visuals, not screenshots or measured conversion results.

Editorial illustration of a magnifying glass examining a notebookA QUESTION I KEEP COMING BACK TO

What happens
after the demo?

A clean output is a useful start. I also want to know what needs fixing, who checks it, and whether it fits the way the business works.

That is the perspective behind these field notes.

How I evaluate products ↗
ONE THING TO TRY

Count the cleanup.

When comparing a new tool with your current method, record three things separately.

  1. SetupPreparing the tool and inputs.
  2. ExecutionRunning the actual task.
  3. CorrectionGetting the output ready to use.
AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
Current method 45 min
New approach 35 min

Example totals include setup, execution, and correction. No product benchmark implied.

Try your own numbers ↗
THREE QUESTIONS WORTH INVESTIGATING

On the research desk.

Product analyses. Proposed tests.
01 / GAMMA

Can the reader explain your offer after five slides?

Product storytelling ↗
02 / RETELL AI

The customer corrected the day. Did the booking change?

Customer experience ↗
03 / N8N

Can every claim in the research brief find its source?

Business workflows ↗
YOUR WORK COULD SHAPE THE NEXT FIELD NOTE

What’s taking
longer than it should?

The spreadsheet you keep fixing. The follow-up you keep forgetting. Tell me about a task you would like investigated.

Suggest a task

I’ll ask before quoting you. Submissions do not guarantee a test.

THE EDITORIAL DESK

Next up.

Suggest a task ↗
PUBLISHED

Compare the whole task.

A usable guide and live calculator demonstration, with illustrative inputs.

Use the workflow ↗
INVESTIGATING

The signup after the click.

The implementation guide is available. The next evidence needed is a confirmed subscription and inbox delivery.

See the guide and its limits ↗
PLANNED

A source-backed research brief.

A proposed n8n workflow. No product test has started, and no publication date is promised.

Read the proposed test ↗
USEFUL IN PRACTICE / THE NEWSLETTER

Find tools worth your time.

Every two weeks, get a useful AI or software discovery, a practical workflow, and the tradeoffs to consider. Written for founders and small teams by Stephen Stilwell.