Sift Self-Guided Onboarding

Creating a Seamless Self-Service Experience

Timeframe: September 2022 - February 2023

Role: Senior Product Designer

Problem Statement:

The problem with Sift's onboarding process is that new users are required to schedule a meeting with Customer Success or Sales before they can access the platform, resulting in a delay in their ability to jump into the product and start using it. This process is time-consuming and may lead to frustration for users who want to get started with Sift as soon as possible.

Overview:

40% of users prefer self-service over human contact and Sift’s current way of onboarding omits those 40% of users. In order to increase market attractiveness and simplify the initial setup and walkthrough process, Sift needed to revamp and rethink its current process.

Research & Competitive Analysis

During the research and competitive analysis phase of the project, the team first identified and defined the problem statement. The team then conducted an analysis of the competitive landscape, including an evaluation of similar SaaS products and services that offer self-service onboarding processes. The team gathered and analyzed data from a range of sources, including user feedback and market research, to gain insights into user needs and preferences related to onboarding. This information was used to inform the design and development of the self-service onboarding process, ensuring that it addresses the pain points and challenges faced by new users while providing a competitive advantage over similar products in the market.

This analysis table was used in determining whether to build the self-guided onboarding internally or use a tool and integrate it into the current product.

Through conversations with the executive leadership and developer team, building a custom onboarding tailored to Sift’s branding and direct needs was decided.

Wireframes

User Feedback

We received video feedback through user testing and based on the feedback, made minor changes to copy and layout to increase cohesiveness and provide further direction for new users.

Finalized Desktop Design

Finalized Desktop Design w/ Overlay

Finalized Overlay Design

Final Designs

Takeaways

Completing this project was a huge milestone for Sift and it helped pivot the tool for the self-service user base. Coming out of this project there was a few things that I learned and that I will take with me to future projects.

  1. You can always make the design or copy more clear. For a users first time with a product, making things as simple and clear as possible is imperative to ensuring a positive experience and onboarding. One piece of feedback given was to make the descriptions more clear so that there wouldn’t be any questions about what to do or where to go next.

  2. Mind all breakpoints and on screen elements. While the design was created with responsiveness in mind there were times where the overlay hid an important button or covered up text on the screen. Having been more aware of those potential issues beforehand would’ve resulted in a better design that didn’t cover up important on screen elements.