Time
5 weeks
Role
Product Designer (focused on the onboarding flow, led project management)
Team
2nd Product Designer, Product Manager, Director of Product Strategy
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Google Suite, UserTesting
PROJECT OVERVIEW
PeopleGrove
PeopleGrove (PG) is an EdTech startup based in SF that partners with 200+ universities. Their all-in-one platform fosters alumni networks and provides career advancement tools for prospective college students, current students, staff, and alumni.
Problem
PG took control of the email outreach and onboarding process for their platform (a white-label product) that was previously managed by universities. However, they’ve encountered low conversion rates for user signups.
Outcome
I redesigned the onboarding experience for college students by embodying PG’s brand attributes and streamlining the signup process with purposeful questions to highlight the platform’s core value proposition.
KICK-OFF
Confronting the low conversion rate issue
Our team initiated this project by reviewing the company vision, business goals, project timeline, and deliverables. Additionally, we discussed the current state of the existing landing page and onboarding flow.
Business Goals
DISCOVER
College students are confused about how the platform works
My team and I recruited 5 college students from our personal networks to conduct moderated usability tests on the existing landing page and signup flow to identify the factors contributing to the low conversion rate. Our test findings included:
Problems with existing landing page
Problems with existing signup flow
DEFINE
Tailoring the experience for one target persona
To address these problems, we tailored the landing page and signup for each user (i.e. student, alum, and staff/admin). For this project, we focused on college students, using a persona to guide our overall messaging and solution.
Yelenna is a high-achieving student who changed career paths. Feeling intimidated and anxious about the transition, she is seeking career guidance, mentorship, and support.
To brainstorm solutions, we posed the question:
IDEATE
“Our students say the magic moment is when they connect with mentors on the platform.” — Pooja Pendharkar, Director of Product Strategy at PeopleGrove
Redesigning the onboarding experience to show a core value proposition
Our stakeholders wanted to emphasize the connections made on the platform. Therefore, we brainstormed questions that would facilitate stronger connections between students and potential mentors in a minimal yet effective manner.
Changes to the onboarding questions
Getting to the core value proposition fast
After filling out the questions, users will be presented with recommendations of potential mentors to connect with, along with an option to send a direct outreach message. The team approved my solution via FigJam.
“The recommendations give the user an action to take, but even if they skip, it puts the user in the right mindset entering the platform.” — Jason Yamnitz, Product Growth Manager at PeopleGrove
PeopleGrove’s existing signup flow
The overall messaging lacked clarity due to being directed at multiple users.
The updated version
When directed at a single user, the streamlined onboarding process clearly presents the core value proposition.
PROTOTYPE
Redesigned landing page
While Stefan was in charge of the landing page and I focused on onboarding, we supported all aspects equally.
First, captivate, then convert
Since the landing page's purpose was to generate interest, Stefan emphasized captivating aesthetics. In contrast, for the signup flow, I opted for a more minimalist appearance to simplify task completion (account creation).
Brand colors and images
Universities control the images and colors on the platform. For the sake of this mockup, we utilized Berkeley's branding.
Redesigned onboarding experience
1. Tailored Questions
As students were confused by the platform's purpose, I customized the questions to generate strong and relevant member recommendations on the platform.
2. Delight
Our stakeholders desired to create a warm experience on the platform, so I incorporated a delightful micro-interaction for when users receive recommendations.
3. Curated Recommendations
Because students felt overwhelmed by the multitude of career resources on campuses, I offered curated recommendations based on their answers.
3. Direct Messaging
Because students felt intimidated about reaching out to professionals for the first time, I introduced an option to message a connection using pre-made templates.
TEST
What do college students think about the redesign?
I launched 10 remote unmoderated usability tests on college students (ages 18 - 24; 6 males, 4 females). Results can be found here.
Critical improvements for a frictionless experience
1. Replaced and reordered recommendations
Most students felt intimidated about reaching out to professionals and preferred connecting with their peers. Therefore, I replaced 'clubs' and 'pathways' with different groups and reorganized them based on levels of expertise and approachability.
2. Easy reference for direct messaging
I improved the messaging feature by making it easier to reference profile information when crafting a direct outreach message.
IMPACT
100% of users expressed satisfaction
I launched a second round of usability tests with 5 students. There were fewer issues and, in fact, more delight.
“I liked how clean and effortless everything was. I never felt overwhelmed. It had just the right amount of options to be helpful but not boring.” — Participant 1, Round 2
“Everything was perfect! The website flowed from one page to another while giving you all the information you need. The website looked great as well.” — Participant 4, Round 2
Retrospective
Positive Outcomes
Our redesign resulted in an increase in user satisfaction compared to the old version. All 15 of our participants found the signup flow to be helpful and reported a clear understanding of how the platform works.
Personal Fulfillment
I loved applying my design expertise to enhance access to career resources. This project felt like a full circle, as I had previously coordinated a nonprofit to support first-generation college students and their mentors.
Next Steps
Given more time, I’d explore ways to enhance the messaging features on the platform, including video calling and specific networking templates. I’d also brainstorm ideas to foster more meaningful, long-term connections.
“The caliber of your approach, work, and deliverables exceeded expectations.” — Jason Yamnitz, Product Growth Manager at PeopleGrove (Client, quote from an email)