CLOUD ELEMENTS
Outthink. Outbuild. And out integrate them all.
Onboarding Process Redesign - Web
2018
Cloud Elements is a Denver-based cloud API integration platform that allows developers to connect, integrate, and manage multiple APIs. However, while their tools make API integrations clean and easy, their signup and onboarding processes are fraught with various difficulties and user frustrations.
THE CHALLENGE
Reconfigure and redesign the Cloud Elements onboarding process while also driving up 30-day trial conversion rates.
MY ROLE
As UX Design interns at Cloud Elements, our team of four began the three-week project sprint by tackling the initial research phase together. We then split into two groups in order to tackle the two major aspects of the project: Izzi and I tackled redesigning sign-up and log-in process while Jeff and Kris focused on reconfiguring the education and tutorial sections of the Cloud Elements user dashboard.
My responsibilities included conducting usability tests, user interviews, data synthesis, wireframing, rapid prototyping, user testing and delivery of high-fidelity mockups.
DISCOVERY & RESEARCH
PERSONA
First, we met with Cloud Elements' Lead UX Designer, Greg Lindahl, who spent a good amount of time helping us understand the Cloud Element product. Greg provided us with three personas that were based on the research he had conducted over the past four years -- a product manager, an integration expert, and a developer.
Due to the scope of this project and the Cloud Elements business goals, we decided to focus on the developer persona, Eric. We further developed this existing persona in order to better understand typical users and their needs.
“I just want to the quickest path to ‘Hello World’. How much stumbling do I need to do through documentation before I know enough to be dangerous?”
Eric currently works at Tendril, and has experience working with several languages, and understands REST, JSON and Javascript. He explains he has been working in the tech industry longer than he’d like to admit. He knows how to create, test and deploy an API. He wants APIs to be simple to use and part of a scalable, accessible system.
Eric's Journey Map
USABILITY TESTING, HEURISTIC MARKUP, & INTERVIEWS
Despite having a persona to work from, we wanted to hear for ourselves what developers have to say about the current Cloud Elements onboarding process. So, my partner Jeff and I conducted three usability tests with real-world developers to observe how our user navigates through the process and to uncover any pain points and general frustrations.
Jeff’s lovely notes he took as I handled recording and guiding users through the onboarding process
We found that the language at sign up created mistrust in the product, and users remained unclear about the product’s function throughout the sign up process. Finally, users identified a lack of clear education on the product’s use once they had entered the site.
“It would be helpful if a tutorial like this was way more front and center. It took me a really long time to get that basic information.”
Meanwhile, our teammates conducted a heuristic analysis of the existing onboarding process. When combined with key quotes from our usability tests, these pain points and frustrations provided us with ample opportunity to provide a clearer and more streamlined design.
FINDINGS & FEATURES
At this point in the process, our team identified the following user needs:
onboarding flow with upfront user education
clear value proposition to customers throughout sign up
immediate access to developer documentation and tutorial
REFINING THE CONCEPT
SKETCHES TO WIREFRAMES
Pen and paper sketches helped us to rapidly build prototypes for user testing. I was then able to quickly explore the function and design of several features through a design studio with my team. Through this process we were able to solve for emerging problems as we developed new features.
Testing with paper prototypes allowed my team to iterate on our designs and quickly move to wireframing. We restructured the original form design by introducing modern design paradigms such as contextual assistance and progressive disclosure. The onboarding tutorial was expanded to teach all necessary steps of integrating an API.
FORM DESIGN
I was responsible for designing the form for the sign-up portion of the onboarding process and decided to break the existing single-page form into 4 pages to make signing up a familiar, clear, and friendly process.
USER GUIDANCE
In addition to the sign-up form, our research called for some user guidance to help immediately introduce some of Cloud Elements’ unique verbiage for API integration. I nostalgically thought back to the early 2000’s and the use of “Clippy” in Microsoft Word to assist you with creating a document. Enter: Claude. We decided that this existing Cloud Elements illustration would be the perfect way to provide helpful tips to users while adding a playful element to a normally dull sign-up process.
FINALIZING THE PRODUCT
HIGH FIDELITY MOCKUPS
The design my team delivered to Cloud Elements prioritizes specific, clear language. This serves three purposes: It builds trust with users from the first interaction with the product, increases understanding of Cloud Elements’ specific terminology, and clarifies the function of the integration platform. The most useful content is now featured prominently on the staging page, and users are more effectively pointed to the most commonly used tools.
TEAMMATES
Izzi Galkin
Jeff Appel
Kris Lunstrum