about the project

StoryStream's first step towards going self-serve

A redesign and a structural change of the settings area have been long overdue. It has always been pushed back from priorities because it is not customer-facing. The result is multiple disjointed and complicated-to-use pages that even our internal users had difficulty using. The challenge was to make something that is suitable for our existing customers while catering for SAAS clients as well. StoryStream set itself the ambitious goal of being fully self-serve by the end of 2024. An easy-to-use settings area is an integral part of it.

client

StoryStream

date

June 2023 - November 2023

my role and impact

I led the research, design and testing of the product.

I was part of the project throughout the full design cycle balancing between user needs, business requirements and technical limitations. closely collaborating with my colleagues to assure the success of our product.

design lead

James supported me throughout the project and offered feedback and guidance during ideation sessions.

tech lead

I liased with Andy regularly to make sure my ideas were technically feasible. in order to avoid complications later on.

customer service team

I collaborated with multiple members of the team in order to make sure my design were solving the right problem.

Effective cross-team collaboration from the start

kick-off

I started with analysing the existing UI and structure

I completed a heuristic analysis of the UI to understand the problem better and see what I've got to work with. Additionally, I talked to our internal Customer Success people, who are currently the primary users of these pages.

User interviews

Heuristic analysis

Insights

Outdated pages cluttered with lots of unnecessary information

Inefficient onboarding process

Too many steps to complete tasks.

Too much technical knowledge requiredTechnical knowledge required to complete the form. Clients can't do it themselves

This analysis was a crucial part of my discovery-phase research. Many SAAS companies out there have already solved this issue very well so there is no point in trying to invent the wheel.

My goal were to:
- learn about trends and innovations
- leverage what works, avoid what doesn’t
- gain ideas for the navigation structure
- learn about common terminology used

I've researched and analysed other SAAS companies.

ideate on solutions

A unified structure was needed

Users had no clear structure how to set up and manage new accounts; therefore, they invented their own ways, resulting in multiple ambiguous processes. A unified system following the SAAS model was needed for StoryStream to scale and go self-serve.

1. Create organisation

2. Create workspace

3. Invite users

I introduced a new SAAS based structure

I mapped out and user tested the main flows.

Once the overall structure was decided, I created users flows for all the main actions that user will need to do to set up accounts. As a next step, I walked our internal Customer Service team through the flows to make sure they'd work for all customer types.

I created the new sitemap for the platform

Based on the structure I defined earlier and also taking into account our existing pages and section, I created a new sitemap for the platform.

I introduced four user types

Each user type has different permissions levels, determining which platform areas they see and can interact with.

StoryStream Admin

Organisation Admin

Workspace Admin

Editor

build - test - repeat

I created a low-fi prototype for the main flows.

My aim wasn't to create the perfect thing first time around but to put together something asap and test it with users in order to gain valuable insights early on.

painpoint users had

‍The workspace and the organisation navs weren't distinct enough causing issues for users to find their way on the platform.

I've tested the designs with four users.

I has user testing sessions with four member of our CS team, who are currently the main users for our platform, as well as know our customers and their needs the most.