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Resolve confusion between 'start a review' and 'add comment now'

Insight

Users are often confused on the different between 'start a review' and 'add comment now' -- they do not know when to use each one, what the differences are in effect, and why certain ones are the default option.

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Supporting evidence

In the Q1FY23 Create stage benchmarking study, participants were confused by these two buttons and what actions they represented. It seemed strange to them that ‘start a review’ was the default choice, even when simply replying to a comment. Users appreciated the idea of submitting multiple comments together as a review, but the presentation made it unclear how to properly make use of it.

I was a little confused about ‘starting a review’ versus adding a comment. I’m still not sure if ‘adding a comment now’ starts a review, or if starting review initiates another workflow. – S-04

...that term completely threw me off - ‘comment’ versus ‘code review’. I know those are two different things. I just hoped that comment meant code review. – S-10

Additionally, several comments during the recommendations workshop support this evidence:

I still don't fully understand why we have comments AND "start a review" and I never know which one to pick. -Workshop participant

I've always been confused about the utility of the Start Review button. Consider making that more clear or removing it as the primary action. -Workshop participant

Sept 16th 2025: https://gitlab.slack.com/archives/CLW71KM96/p1757632568156499

Action

The following recommendation was voted for during the recommendations alignment workshop after the Create stage benchmarking:

  • Clarify the different between 'start a review' and 'add comment now' (6 votes)

Resources

Tasks

  • Assign this issue to the appropriate Product Manager, Product Designer, or UX Researcher.
  • Add the appropriate Group (such as ~"group::source code") label to the issue. This helps identify and track actionable insights at the group level.
  • Link this issue back to the original research issue in the GitLab UX Research project and the Dovetail project.
  • Adjust confidentiality of this issue if applicable
Edited by Gina Doyle