MobLab
Role: User Experience Designer
Responsibilities: User Interviews, Research, Visual & Interaction Designs, Prototyping, and Usability Testing
Outcome: Improved Product Tour and the Overall Outlook of the Platform
Date: 2022
Overview
MobLab specializes in developing games & experiments for economics and management for high schools & colleges. The platform has been used in hundreds of classrooms and by students, augmenting lectures with immersive activities in which students learn by participating and exploring.
In this transformative project, I undertook the role of a User Experience Designer to elevate MobLab's platform experience. Through a diverse range of responsibilities, from conducting in-depth user interviews and research to crafting intuitive visual and interaction designs, my goal was to redefine how users engage with the platform. The focus was on creating an improved product tour and enhancing the overall outlook of the platform. Let's explore how this design journey unfolded and the remarkable outcomes it delivered.
Problem Statement
Despite successful initial sign-ups, the software faced a concerning challenge of losing a significant number of users shortly after onboarding. The Sales and Product teams expressed growing concerns over the high churn rate, indicating a crucial need to improve the user experience and retention strategies. To retain and delight users, the platform requires thoughtful UX design interventions that address pain points and foster lasting engagement.
Goal
Elevate User Retention Through Data-Driven Insights
In this critical phase, our primary objective was to gather and analyze data-driven insights to identify pain points experienced by new users during the initial onboarding process. By conducting thorough user research and leveraging quantitative and qualitative data, we sought to prioritize solutions that precisely addressed these pain points. Our ultimate aim was to deliver a transformative design solution that would significantly elevate the user retention rate, fostering a lasting and delightful user experience.
Project Scope
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Led the UX design process to enhance user experience and address user retention challenges in MobLab's platform.
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Conducted a comprehensive heuristic analysis to gain insights into new users' experiences and identify pain points
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Utilized findings from the analysis to establish a strategic roadmap for improving user engagement and platform usability.
Phase 1 - Discovery:
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Conducted in-depth user interviews and heuristic evaluations to understand user pain points and opportunities for improvement.
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Gathered valuable insights from users to inform the design direction and prioritize solutions.
Phase 2 - Ideation:
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Engaged in collaborative brainstorming sessions and mind-mapping exercises to explore innovative design solutions.
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Focused on addressing the challenges identified in the discovery phase and finding creative ways to enhance user satisfaction
Phase 3 - Prototyping:
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Developed low-fidelity prototypes to quickly iterate and test various design concepts.
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Iterative testing with users to gather feedback and refine the prototypes for optimal user experience.
Phase 4 - Iterative Testing:
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Conducted usability testing with users to validate the design decisions and gather feedback on the prototypes.
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Iteratively improved the designs based on user feedback and usability insights.
Phase 5 - Design Refinement:
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Incorporated user feedback and usability insights to create high-fidelity designs that addressed user needs effectively.
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Focused on delivering a seamless and delightful user experience through refined designs.
Phase 6 - Final Validation:
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Conducted additional usability testing to ensure the final designs met user expectations and needs.
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Made final adjustments and refinements before presenting the solution for implementation.
Research
Existing Long-Term Users:
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Conducted in-depth interviews with an existing long-term user to understand their experience, challenges, and desired improvements.
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Uncovered key insights, including:
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Perception of the platform as initially complicated without sufficient guidance, leading to user confusion.
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Need for improved functionality, particularly regarding students and assignments, with a desire for streamlining to enhance efficiency.
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Preference for understanding the platform on their own before reaching out to sales, indicating a desire for a self-guided onboarding experience.
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New Sign-Ups:
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Reached out to new sign-ups to gather feedback on their platform usage and reasons for discontinuation.
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Discovered important insights, such as:
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Perception that navigating the platform required multiple steps, hindering their ability to find specific functionalities easily.
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Desire for a more intuitive user experience, especially for efficiently fulfilling their needs, reflecting the importance of seamless interactions.
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Navigating the platform seemed too complicated without assistance.
Performing tasks related to students and assignments required too many steps.
I preferred having some initial understanding before reaching out to sales.
While all the necessary features were available, navigating the platform to meet my needs wasn't straightforward.
User Persona
Through in-depth interviews with existing and previous users, I crafted a user persona to gain a deep understanding of our target audience and demonstrate empathy for their needs. This persona played a pivotal role in our design process, providing valuable insights that led to a more user-centered approach. Additionally, it proved to be instrumental in the following areas:
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Facilitating a shared understanding of our users among team members.
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Uncovering user behaviors and needs, guiding our design decisions.
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Fostering more effective and focused conversations during business meetings.
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Encouraging a shift away from self-focused discussions and recognizing diverse user needs and expectations.
Objectives
Our primary focus was to bridge the gap between the product value and users' expectations. We identified the following key challenges:
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Users didn't perceive sufficient value in the platform.
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Users were unaware of the platform's functionalities.
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The platform's navigation was confusing for users.
Now-How-Wow Matrix
To address the challenges and make impactful changes within the constraints of a small team and limited development resources, we strategically focused on the following areas:
Class Creation:
We identified crucial components for class creation, including naming a class, choosing a subject, creating a playlist, and inviting students. By streamlining this process, we aimed to simplify the platform's initial use and improve user engagement.
Two Steps of Onboarding:
Understanding the significance of a compelling onboarding experience, we split the process into two stages. The first stage was designed to introduce users to the platform's features through a "learn-by-doing" approach, fostering a sense of familiarity and ease. Subsequently, users could reach out to sales for additional details, ensuring they had a seamless onboarding journey.
Free Trial of Premier Membership:
Recognizing the need to establish trust and showcase the platform's capabilities, we introduced a free trial for premier membership. This allowed users to explore all features and functionalities before committing, making the decision-making process more informed and user-centric.
Visibility Over Students:
To cater to instructors' essential needs, we emphasized access to key features: Invitations, roster, and grade book. Empowering instructors with clear visibility over their students' progress and interactions was vital to their effectiveness on the platform.
Calendar Integration:
We introduced a class-specific calendar that displayed live class schedules and assignment deadlines. This feature aimed to help instructors effectively manage their classes and keep students informed about upcoming events.
Minor UI Improvements:
To maintain visual consistency and coherence, we implemented minor UI changes that aligned with the existing design system. These improvements included color adjustments, card designs, illustrations, and interaction enhancements, ensuring a harmonious and delightful user experience.
Mind Mapping
I designed a mind map to generate and structure ideas, engage the mind, reduce complexity, and identify relationships between ideas, data, and information that I gathered from the users.
New Onboarding Experience
The new and improved onboarding experience included:
Value Proposition: We kept the product tour informative and minimal to prevent new users from information overload.
Aha! Moment: After the initial sign-up, users had the opportunity to play a game, view the student's screen, and see the result.
Easy Onboarding Process: Learn-by-doing strategy helped users to learn the platform by creating their first classes.
Personalization & Friendly Outlook: The previous design lacked personalization and warmth.
Solutions
Greeting & Demo
The new design enabled users to greet them with their names, and suggested playing a game to showcase how the platform would help their students to learn economics. Users could quit anytime or decide to skip the step.
The previous design left users clueless after signing up.
Solutions
Class Creation
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Subject Choice: As part of the personalization, the new design gave topics to choose from.
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Free Trial: Previous design required users to make a decision about which package to choose even before they knew what the platform offered. The new design implemented a code for a free trial.
Solutions
Playlist Creation
The new design explained to users what a playlist was and how to create one.
Solutions
Adding a Game
The new concept suggested users add a game with visible options - Add, Demo, and Guide. Previously, these options were available only when they were in a hover state.
Bigger cards and a brief explanation helped users' decision-making process.
Solutions
Inviting Students
Inviting students became much easier by giving multiple options to users. Users could invite their students by Sending bulk emails, Copying a QR code, or Uploading a CVS document.
Once the invite was sent, the default student list became available on the platform. This feature enabled users to see which students' invitations were pending.
Usability Testing
The testing result was successful overall because we included some users throughout the design process. The testing consisted of ten previous and existing users.
I observed users during the product tour, what they were saying when they noticed the improvements, and their facial expressions. Towards the end and through the survey, I asked their opinions about the platform, if they would give it a try with their students, and what else they wished to see.
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The task accomplishment was increased by 90%
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The duration time of completion on each task was reduced by 50%
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The anticipation to use the platform at school was raised by 80% (the other 20% was for school budget reasons)
Final Thoughts
This was one of the most successful challenges I overcame because we involved users from the beginning of the process and created a design that exactly suited their needs.
This project is currently on hold due to the shortage of staff. However, it's approved and will be implemented within the year. Though another test may be required because within a year. users' expectations and needs also evolve.
