Case Study
Product Design
Post-GA user guidance improvements
What happens when you launch a new tool or feature? Alpha and Beta are about soliciting feedback, but once the feature is released, you can also pick up on trends from observing user behaviors.
Company
Ninety.io
Year
2024
A prototype for an improved use of the empty state is presented to users when they are new to a tool or feature in the platform.
Project Background
Finding a gap in feature adoption — why were users not staying to learn more? This project was a joint effort between Marketing wanting to provide additional content, and Product evaluating the user experience and working together to create a more informative and educational experience for users coming to the Assessments Tool for the first time.
My Role
Observed and assessed user behavior post-marketing campaign directing audience to view the new Assessments Tool. Redesigned to create a more educational experience for users and give them context to what the Assessment Tool is and how it can be a benefit to their organization.
My Team
I was the Product Designer and partnered with the Marketing team. Within my POD, I worked with the Product Manager to define requirements and our Technical Lead to implement the updated design. Feedback and further collaboration with the Product Design Lead and team.
The Opportunity
With the introduction of the new Assessment Tool in the Ninety platform, we faced a challenge:
Clients without any assessments launched were brought to an empty state screen.
How can we leverage existing screen space effectively to promote engagement without creating unnecessary friction?
Key Considerations
User Context and Interaction Frequency
Assessments are typically launched quarterly, raising the question of whether the Gainsight dialog effectively enhanced the user experience or simply added noise.
Ideation Question
How might we utilize app empty states more strategically to educate users about the tool and encourage engagement?
Understanding User Roles and Needs
The Assessment Tool caters to two primary user groups: admins and team members (with differing permissions). Since admins are responsible for launching assessments, the experience needed to focus on meeting their needs while still supporting team member usability.
Goals
Business Goals
Drive adoption of Assessment Tool to support product success metrics and user retention.
UX Goals
Remove the gap in the user experience. Improve user engagement with the tool through intuitive design and strategic interaction points.
By addressing these considerations, we aimed to seamlessly integrate Assessment Tool into the user journey, aligning business objectives with a user-centered approach.
Design Process
To improve the user experience and drive the adoption of the Assessment Tool, I followed a lean iterative design process centered around analyzing user behavior and addressing identified pain points.
Step 1: Review user behavior
Reviewed user interactions through FullStory sessions to understand behavior after clicking the Gainsight dialog's CTA.
Observed that users often clicked the CTA, landed on Assessment Tool’s screen, and immediately exited — indicating confusion or a lack of engagement.
Step 2: Quick Ideation
Brainstormed solutions to enhance the current flow and improve the user’s first interaction with the Assessment Tool.
Focused on addressing the empty state of the landing page to provide clear guidance and actionable steps for users.
Step 3: Iterative Designs
Developed design iterations aimed at delivering a more informative and engaging empty state.
Introduced elements like educational content, step-by-step instructions, and contextual CTAs to guide users effectively.
Step 4: Deliverables for Development
Finalized designs and a prototype for functionality, along with delivered assets to the engineering team for seamless implementation.
Collaborated with engineers to ensure the design changes aligned with the go-to-market (GTM) strategy.
Quick Ideation
Annotated Figma file with mocks of screens and requirements for development.
Before and After view
Sketches looking a ways to incorporate status and educational content on the empty state screen.
Deliverables for Development
Before and after views of main screen (empty state) for the Assessment tool.
Key Insight
The original experience did not support user adoption effectively, as users were greeted with an empty page lacking instructions. This process allowed us to transform the initial interaction into an opportunity to educate and engage, ultimately driving a better user experience.
Tools Used
Figma, FullStory, Gainsight