Why I Didn’t Let Users Rate Themselves on MockJam

When I first launched MockJam, someone asked me, “Why not let users rate their own performance after each mock?”

It seemed like a reasonable idea. Self-reflection is a part of learning. A simple 1–5 star scale or a few tags like “good structure” or “jumped to solution” could give users a sense of progress.

But I didn’t add it - and it was a conscious decision.

✨What Looked Like a Feature Was Actually a Trap

At first glance, self-rating sounds like a helpful layer:

It encourages reflection.
It gives the user a sense of control.
It could help personalize future feedback.

But when I thought about how people actually behave, I realized it might quietly break the whole loop.

The moment you ask users to rate themselves, they stop flowing.
They start judging. Overthinking. Hesitating.

And when that happens, they do fewer mocks.

✨The Real Goal: Make Feedback a Habit

MockJam wasn’t built to make people analyze themselves. It was built to help them practice.

Get in.
Speak your answer.
Get feedback.
Repeat.

That’s it.

Adding a self-rating step would’ve done the opposite:

Created decision fatigue after each session.
Made people feel like they were being tested - even by themselves.
Reduced the number of mocks they’d do per week.

And in the long run, that meant less improvement.

Sometimes the best way to help users grow
is to not make them think - but just keep them doing.

✨What I Focused On Instead

Rather than ask users to score themselves, I spent time improving the feedback system:

Built a rubric that scores answers across 6 key dimensions (like goal clarity, user insight, and prioritization).
Tuned the prompt to avoid generic praise - it calls out real mistakes.
Made the tone encouraging, but specific.

This way, users still reflect - but through external structure, not internal doubt.

✨I Might Add It One Day - But Not Yet

I’m not against self-reflection.

But tools shape behavior.

If I ever add self-scoring, it’ll be as part of a larger system - maybe to help users compare past performances or spot patterns across sessions.

Until then, I’m choosing flow over friction.

✨Closing Thought

Sometimes, it’s not about what you build - it’s about what you choose not to.

This wasn’t a complex feature. But skipping it helped MockJam stay focused on what actually drives progress:

Repetition. Momentum. Feedback.
Not overanalysis.