The peak–end rule: people judge experiences largely by peaks (best or worst moments) and the ending — not the mathematical average of every beat.
Engineer the finale
Closings of checkout, cancellation, and offboarding deserve as much love as onboarding — they are what people recount.
Mitigate negative peaks
Errors, outages, and billing surprises become peaks fast — proactive comms, credits, and fast recovery define reputation.
Pair with measurement
CSAT after flows, qualitative diary studies, and support verbatims reveal peaks you did not intend — design those moments deliberately.
Practices
- Add a clear success recap at the end of setup.
- Offer humane copy on unsubscribe with easy win-back.
Common pitfalls
- Ending flows on a generic “OK” with no summary.
- Letting the last step be a slow spinner.