Online marketing tool

Graduation Internship

For a design agency I made an online marketing dashboard within their CMS for its clients. Clients currently use Google Analytics, but they find it difficult to use. I had to figure out why and how to solve this problem.

During this project I had to use all the knowledge and methods I learned from my previous work and school experience to create a meaningful, intuitive product.

UX research, Concepting, UX/UI Design, Prototyping and Testing.

Eight months, complete design process in five sprints.

Users include: owners and marketing of small- to mid-sized companies.

Understanding the problem

First things first, I had to understand why users find it difficult to use analytics software. I looked at the user base and the type of people I should design the dashboard for. The online marketeers of the client came up with all types of problems users had to deal with. I also did desk and literature research to find common problems in the user base regarding analytics and dashboards. Two interviews were conducted with owners of mid-sized companies on their use of webanalytics.

Through the research I conducted I found several pain points and patterns. First, the lack of knowledge (especially the use of KPI’s, terminology and interpretation of data results) and second, the lack of awareness (clients didn’t know how to use analytics and/or didn’t see the point of using it).

Another pattern emerged of a process loop of users using analytics – in which the user interprets the data, tries to find insights, makes decisions and actions based on those insights (e.g. changing the website or launching promotions) after which a new set of data comes up and the process begins all over again.

Process loop pattern

Problem statement

How do you make sure that users know what they can get out of webanalytics in order for them to create meaningful follow-up actions to improve their website?

Insights into the user base resulted in several user base visualisation methods including personas, empathy maps and a user profile which were all updated during the design process.

On the basis of research results and the user base visualisation, I drafted five design criteria the final product had to adhere to.

Users need to find valuable insights in a relative short time span.
Users need to base their follow-up actions to the insights they found.
Users of different knowledge-levels should be able to use the system.
Users need to feel confident using the system.
Client touchpoints need to be incorporated into the design.

Persona made as a user profile. Was continuously updated.

After that I used multiple diverging and converging concepting methods to come up with concepts including creating mindmaps, longest/shortlist-method, post-it method, sketching, low-fidelity prototyping, COCD-Box and testing.

Post-it diverging concepting method.

COCD-Box Converging Concepting method.

Post-it diverging concepting method.

Six concepts were created with widely different bases and assumptions, including a personal assistant mobile app, a heavy gamification webapplication, an infographic based e-mail service and a dashboard based on the lay-out and design of the website. Some of the concepts were prototyped and tested with fellow students.

First Concept

After doing research on current analytics and design trends, I started creating a first concept loosely based on draft-concepts. The first concept consisted of a dashboard that involved data collected by Google Analytics, presented in widgets in a dashboard. Users could set goals on their KPI’s to make data measurable. Gamification was incorporated to motivate users to actively use the online marketing tool and reward them for doing so. Micro learning was also a huge part in this first concept. Users would start learning how to use webanalytics during kick-off meetings with online marketeers. This created a service design.

Tests and Problem solving

A prototype was made for this concept and was tested with a user and the CEO of the client. A problem I found during the tests was that goals could be set by the user only. But after talks with the CEO and my colleagues I found out that this was not feasible because goals could only be set by online marketeers through of conversion goals. I shifted this aspect of the concept to the “pre-experience” in kick-off meetings. Other feedback was that goals should be more prominently placed in the lay-out.

During the next four sprints, other methods were used to reshape and reframe the concept, including scenarios, storyboards, sitemaps, styleguides, expert reviews, design principles and multiple diagrams. Three other iterations were made to finetune the concept according the constantly updated design criteria and problem statement.

Iteration 2

Iteration 3

Iteration 4

Iteration 5

Final Concept

The final concept was a one-page analytics dashboard which consisted of a library of information on all the different KPIs. The user would click on a prominent button of a specific KPI, after which a modal-dialog would come up with information about that KPI and the purpose of it for a successful website.

Goals were set during kick-off meetings with online marketeers and goals could be updated and added by using an intuitive contact form within the tool. This would increase the contact between the user and the online marketeer to discuss potential insights and follow-up actions. Goals are vital for users to create intrinsic motivation to actively use the product.

The core-loop discovered in earlier research was also used to create the final prototype tool and was successfully tested. Users found it easy to understand and could find insights and were encouraged to act upon them.

The end result was a final working prototype made in Sketch and Flinto which was tested by users. A design rationale essay on why product solved the stated problems concluded this project.

Final concept made in Sketch and prototyped in Flinto.

Styleguide made for the final prototype.

Key takeaways

I got the chance to be responsible for the creation of a product which would benefit users and clients. I learned how to deal with tight deadlines, multiple high-fidelity prototypes and ever-changing design criteria.

The most valuable thing I learned from this project is that I have the ability to redesign a concept and product when constraints are tightened or a core-piece of the concept doesn’t hold up in tests.

Although this was an individual project, I worked together with other designers and developers whom I counted on to help and advice me throughout this journey.