Tutorials are often written from the product team’s perspective: here are the concepts we built, the features we named and the sequence we think makes sense. Users arrive with a different question: what can I do here right now?
Good onboarding answers that question through the product itself. The first screen contains a meaningful object. The primary action looks primary. Empty states explain what will happen after a click. Examples are close enough to real work that users can modify them rather than starting from nothing.
Teach at the moment of need
Progressive disclosure works because learning is easier when information has immediate context. A three-minute tour before the user has formed a mental model is mostly memory tax.
The practical rule is to make the common path self-explanatory and move explanation next to the uncommon decisions. Documentation remains essential, but it should be a deeper layer rather than the entrance fee.
If a product only becomes obvious after a tutorial, the tutorial may be masking an interface problem.