After analyzing the current support and educational materials, we conducted 1-on-1 interviews with key stakeholders to gain a better a deeper understanding of each one. They walked us through example user flows and answered our questions regarding the most popular features: chat, calculator, video workshops and tickets.
Taking our initial observations and findings into account, we defined our goal for In App Support...
In the next phase of the sprint, we headed to the drawing board to independently sketch ideas inspired by our previous conversations and research. To manage the scope, we chose to focus on simply ideating different ways in which support could be accessed in the product. The following are some of those ideas.
After compiling our top ideas and presenting them to the stakeholders, we gave them time to review each of the ideas and write post-it notes with comments on each one. We decided as a team to move forward with prototyping two of the ideas: "The Toaster" and "The LR Express".
Over the course of 1.5 days, I took our top concepts and prototyped them in UXPin. To help us determine a recommendation to present to the rest of the company, we wrote out a test plan consisting of 5 tasks. Each task focused on user accessibility and they're ability to complete various actions integral to each concept.
The LR Express allows users to expand support materials from the navigation bar across the full width of the page from left to right. Depending on the length to the article, users can choose to view them in the 2nd navigation tier or in full screen. The support button is located at the bottom of the new navigation bar as it behaves differently than the other icons in the list.
The Toaster hosts all the support features in a drawer that can be pulled up from the bottom of the page. It also includes contextual pop-up notifications to assist users as they navigate through new workflows. One major benefit to this UI is that users could see most the origin page and the support content at the same time.
After completing the user tests and reviewing the results, we decided to move forward with The Toaster concept. We felt that this solution best correlated with our initial vision which was, “Empowering users to learn by doing, providing help when they need it”. Additionally, the majority of participants voted The Toaster as the easiest concept to navigate. Other reasons why we chose The Toaster is as follows:
1. The Toaster best fit Castor EDC’s written support content with it’s wide display.
2. All the support options were more easily scannable when displayed as cards.
After polishing the final deliverables, I presented our design thinking process and the final prototype with the rest of the company. Should this concept be pursued further, I also outlined various areas for further research and answered questions from my fellow colleagues.
Of course, no project is successful without a team of talented collaborators, and I had the pleasure of working with some of the best!