Customer Feedback · Reading the signal · Component
The categories
The stable set that comments are coded into — because free text that is never coded is text that is never used.
The deliverable
What it is
Comments are read individually and forgotten. Coded into a stable set they become countable, and counting is what turns anecdote into finding.
The category set has to be small and stable. A set that grows every period cannot be compared across periods, which removes the point of coding.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The consistency
Whether two people code the same comment the same way.
3 attributes: Agreement · Confused categories · Tested
LearnThe unfitting
Comments that do not fit any category.
3 attributes: Uncoded · Emerging theme · New category needed
Learn
A growing pile of comments that fit no category is where new problems appear first.