Introduction of product reviews

We're establishing a new component of Wayshaping's content system: product reviews. Product reviews are rife with the potential for manipulation, so the content structure and methodology reviews matters a great deal to instill trust that the reviews are legitimate and reliable. In this changelog entry, we'll cover both parts.

Product review methodology

The basic outline of the methodology comes from a singular principle: We only review what actually works in reducing life admin in some way. Products that mostly produce more life admin will not be reviewed.

From this focus, Wayshaping’s methodology has four main parts:

1. Selection of life admin problems
2. Analysis of products within each category of problem
3. Longitudinal testing to assess life admin’s impact
4. Interview-based user research

The method for Tools of Wayshaping is meant to allow evolution of the reviews over time (published quarterly), as we gain feedback from users and as the marketplace for life admin products evolve.

1. Selection of life admin problems. To get Tools of Wayshaping started, we selected a subset of the total universe of problems within life admin. In every new release of the Tools of Wayshaping, problem categories may be changed or added to better reflect the state of tools today. For starters, 23 products reviewed out of more than 50 researched represented a significant initial lift to get a helpful reviews experience started.

2. Analysis of products within each category. Within each category, we select 5 products that show promise in saving users time, effort, and money, based on their existing reputation, other online reviews, or, if new, their own explanation. We accept write-ins from new products to ensure we’re aware of any new products.

Once we’ve selected 5 promising products, we use the product to the fullest possible extent, and rate multiple dimensions of how it has reduced the overall impact of life admin.

3. Longitudinal usage to assess life admin’s impact. Given that the labor of life admin changes with strong habits, every product category’s recent reviews are also compared with

4. Interview-based user research. The initial release of Wayshaping's product reviews did not utilize any systematic feedback from Wayshaping audience members using different products. Future releases (when Wayshaping has an audience) will involve more feedback.

Review structure

Users will notice the obvious format all reviews follow an intentionally structured product review format as part of our intentional content structure. The structure has 15 components summarized in the following list:

1. Short description
2. Product name
3. Incorporated entity providing the product
4. Wayshaping's life admin category (one of several defined options)
5. Link to product - Links may be a standard web URL or a revenue-generating link (if Wayshaping joins the affiliate program of the reviewed product/company)
6. Which review list the review belongs to
7. How it saves on life admin - 4 options: Time, Effort, Money, or Relationships
8. Set up to act in your best interest? A selection of several options:
   1. Yes - Certified Security Practices
   2. Yes - Regulated as a fiduciary
   3. Yes - Publishes its fiduciary commitment
   4. Partially - Depending on how you use it
   5. No - But still highly useful
   6. No - But still somewhat useful
   7. No - But nothing in this category is
   8. No - But regulated for financial stability
   9. No - But government-provided
9. Price description - one-line description
10. Basic description - paragraph
11. How it saves on life admin - paragraph
12. Terms to know - definitions from Wayshaping's glossary
13. Why it thrives in today's marketplace - paragraph
14. 3-point review - intro and short review of why it saves on life admin
15. Direct alternatives - listing of up to 4 alternative companies that provide a direct alternative product to the one reviewed. These often represent companies or offerings that Wayshaping has evaluated by opted not to review, based on the underlying criteria.