Revamping the Welcome Kit experience
UI/UX • Research
Project overview
The purpose of this project was to create a new onboarding experience for new users and existing on premises users who have purchased the Cognos Analytics on Cloud Dedicated/Hosted offering.
Onboarding referred to the process of setting up a new environment and connecting to a user's data sources so they may use Cognos Analytics for their business purposes. This was an overly complex and time consuming process; requiring the client’s administrator(s) to work with the IBM Cloud teams closely.
Users would typically purchase (and therefore configure) two environments.
My role
I was the design lead for this project. I worked with the product manager, the lead developer, and head of support to identify issues and what our ideal solution might look like.
Problems
The as-is process required too much back and forth via a support ticket. A lot of time is lost clarifying information that was provided, gathering missing information, and scheduling meetings. It took on average 3-6 months for users to finish configuring their Cognos Analytics on Cloud Dedicated/Hosted environments.
Design process
- Through a heuristic evaluation we came up with the pain points that we needed to address
- Based on the pain points, we identify three main need statements
- Facilitated a sketch session to generate ideas
- After identifying the issues & users’ needs we started look into what our ideal solution might look like Proposal for a new self-service experience that guides that allow users access a web app with clear and simple step by step instructions
- Created wireframes & used Invision to create a clickable prototype for testing.Worked with a design researcher to conduct tests on five clients/business Partners who have recently completed onboarding
User testing
- Created wireframes & used Invision to create a clickable prototype for testing
- Worked with a design researcher to conduct user testing
- Tested on five clients/business Partners who have recently completed onboarding
- Collected user feedback and improve the experience
Solutions
Currently, users needed to fill out a 17-page form in Word documents stored in Box. Many of our users found the form overwhelming.
We streamlined the experience by creating a web app with clear, straightforward, step-by-step instructions.
Our goal was to simplify what was once an unnecessarily complex process. To reduce scrolling, we broke down the form into nine simple steps. We also used interactive visuals to keep the client engaged through the process, making it more likely they will complete the form in its entirety.
We hope when the users go through the form, they found like they are filling out a fun online quiz.
Existing Issue: The existing form was very complex and prone to error.
Solution: The new experience will allow Input verification directly in the web application
Existing Issue: It was very difficult for the users to get help.
Solution: The new experience allows the users to get help anytime in the web app.
Existing Issue: To complete the form, the users needed to involve other people on the team.
Solution: The new experience allows the users to invite their colleagues to complete the form together.
Existing Issue: There was no easy way for IBM to schedule a meeting with the client. A support ticket was typically owned by an individual who has limited availability.
Solution: In the new web app, it provides client’s availability in the next week so IBM can align resources.
Existing Issue: Clients didn’t know what the status of their onboarding is.
Solution: In the new web app, it provides a status page to notify client if the action is pending client or IBM