ENTERPRISE SAAS PRODUCT DESIGN
Redesigning a SaaS product to better meet the needs of a changing user base
Project Roles
UX Writer, UX Researcher
Company
Zuum
Challenge
Zuum, a content strategy tool, operated in the rapidly changing world of social media. And changes in that industry were, in turn, bringing change to the company’s product user base.
As the head of user experience, I needed to better understand the evolving user landscape, as well as their needs, wants, and preferences. To determine if there were needed product improvements. And if so, which would provide the best return on investment.
Solution
Site analytics provided a solid foundation of information
The company’s existing tool offered a solid foundation of behavioral data. I was particularly interested in volume of product use, both frequency and page views, as well as the specific sections and features used. Each of those parameters was viewed relative to user traits like industry, business type, and size.
Insights
■ Individual brands, versus agencies, indexed higher for using auto-delivered reporting. That was also our fastest growing user group.
■ Usage overall tended towards more surface level reporting.
■ Users doing the most complex analysis, ad agencies, indexed higher for downloading data, and indexed lower for auto-delivered reporting.
Usability testing surfaced key behavioral differences between user groups
With the existing tool, I conducted live video user tests of qualified prospects with no previous tool experience. Almost all of our customers went through a free trial period. If users could easily accomplish the tasks they’re most likely to attempt in early product use stages, they’d be more likely to feel comfortable with the tool and have a positive product experience. Something critical in converting prospects to paying customers.
Insights
■ Diagraming task user flows highlights how a signification portion of each task is just navigating from one area of the tool to another. Minimizing that friction tool-wide should benefit any user.
■ Tool navigation hierarchy didn’t align with how users thought about going through tasks. Users tended to gather data network-by-network, versus data point-by-data point.
■ Users had trouble locating administrative settings, especially adding new subscribers to the auto-delivered reports, a common new user requirement.
Reducing friction for users navigating the product
As our data offering had expanded, reports had been added to the system on an ad hoc basis. We needed a big picture approach to the tool navigation. The 3-tier nav was a challenge. Having previously tried a top nav and alternately-organized side nav, we combined card sorting exercises and long-standing research, arriving at a new nav structure. A frequency-ranked 1-2-3 left-hand nav for greater accuracy and reduced movement, combined with the familiarity of Material Design’s 3-Dot menu for admin features.
Sequencing data charts for more conclusive analysis
A typical user’s reporting covered at least 3 social networks, with each network having over 25 metrics, and 60% of those metrics having multiple dimensions. And out of all that data, users wanted to know not only “What was happening”, but also “Why?”
Task Analysis Interviews I conducted revealed insights into how users approach data and reporting. In a pattern reflective of the 5 Why’s approach to problem solving, I saw users asking a similar series of questions to get to the explanation for a data outlier. For example, within a benchmarking report, key metrics were viewed from 3 angles. 1. Closely related metrics. 2. Historical trending, and 3. Dimensions and their proportions.
That inquisition was first adapted to the user experience in blockframes, and guided the structure for everything from the content of reports to chart arrangement sequences.
The final product and ongoing optimizations
Once the final product was launched, site analytics were applied at all touchpoints, including the customer acquisition funnel, onboarding flow, product use, product stickiness, and lifetime value.
Outcomes
The results of the product revisioning were apparent in two ways.
Using site analytics, we experienced a significant increase in our primary user goal: Having a company member subscribed to our regularly-scheduled reports. That subscriber rate increased from just over 50% to 88%.
Using email surveys with open and closed questions, I asked customers to rate their experience and provide any comments on the new design and navigation. The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive.