Rethinking the B2B SaaS Onboarding Registration for Seventh.AI
A UX/UI Redesign Project
Project Overview
Overview
The primary goal of this project was to apply the UX process to the redesign of the signup and onboarding process to deliver a clickable walkthrough prototype of the new redesign of Seventh AI’s onboarding platform. The current opportunity lies in users not seeing the value in this onboarding process. The client wanted to make the process less manual, more automated and to give the development team the ability to capture more user information.
UX Research Methods
Business analysis, competitive analysis, comparative analysis, heuristic evaluation, user interview, task analysis, usability testing.
My Roles
Content Strategy
Research & Interviewing
UI Wireframe & Prototype
Project Scope
3-Week Sprint
Problem
Problem Statement
When starting the patent process users that turn to SeventhAI are unaware of the purpose and benefits of SeventhAI’s software and the value that they get after disclosing their information on SeventhAI’s onboarding process.
Design Hypothesis
By explaining SeventhAI’s benefits up front users will be more willing to divulge information about their companies and ideas, we’ll know this to be true when we see an increase in customer acquisition.
Introducing the Business & The User Persona
Seventh.AI
We understand that SeventhAI is a new company. They work to help founders, inventors, researchers, and business owners have access to patenting tools for little to no cost. But the biggest hurdle to the company according to the cofounders is that users do not understand why they are giving their information to SeventhAI and that they don't see the value in the product/onboarding process.
Users need to complete the enrollment process and then they also need to choose their payment package. (When SeventhAI nails down what they are charging.)
The questions are not clear enough, they don't know what the end result is.
The onboarding is too long, the process doesn't let users know where they are or how much longer it will take. Users are not 100% sure what value SeventhAI brings to their patent process.
SeventhAI isn't sure about the breadth of their product at this point. The onboarding process does
Enrollment, clear value, high conversion rate, low churn rate.
High conversion rate and low churn rate.
To help reduce the cost of filing for patents with an attorney, and to get the process back in the business owners hands and to reduce friction in the process.
“I am looking to register my intellectual property because I want to add value to my company.”
User Persona
START-UP ENGINEER
The START-UP ENGINEER is just starting out with their company. They have an idea that will change the way their industry is seen. They share their idea with a close friend who is also a business owner and their friend suggests that the SSD patent their idea to add value to their company while also protecting their idea. But they have never filed for a patent and doesn't know the logistics of applying for a patent.
They know they can't afford to pay an attorney to help them file but they were told about SeventhAI as a safe and affordable way to prepare their patent portfolio. They go to SeventhAI’s website and upon exploring they aren’t sure of the exact benefits of using SeventhAI. They decide to sign up to see if they can learn more by using the service and they begin the initial question assessment, they are quickly confused by the terminology and are unsure of the answers to put.They also are hesitant to enter personal business information because they want to protect their idea. They are unsure how long the onboarding process will take and how much more information they need to provide.
Behaviors & Attitudes
They want to learn more about how to protect their intellectual property.
They want to increase the value of their business.
They are protective over their idea and are hesitant to share it with others.
Frustrations & Pain Points
They want to learn more about how to protect their intellectual property.
They want to increase the value of their business.
They are protective over their idea and are hesitant to share it with others.
Journey Map
RESEARCH
Understanding the Business
Direct Competition
Most competing companies do not offer online enrollment.
These companies will often encourage users to contact them directly making users feel that they may have to commit before knowing what they will receive.
This could also be beneficial for users because they could get a personalized experience and receive assistance if needed.
Indirect Competition
Most companies offer clear and simple terminology.
They also offer educational guides to help users along with a complicated topic or process.
This can be helpful in letting the user feel confident when having to make a decision when it comes to such an important topic.
The Current Process
(1) The progress indicator functions more like a checklist than it does showcasing where the user is in the process. This could potentially confuse the user if they want to go back and fix something that they didn’t understand or complete the first time.
(2) The format of the answers could leave users confused, if they want to go back and fix something that they didn’t understand or complete the first time.
(3) They could be overwhelmed by the size difference of the type, the questions could potentially be overwhelming and continue to draw their eye when the user should move on to reading the information below.
Research Takeaways
It is imperative for the platform to state from the beginning what the onboarding goals are. The user may be willing to complete the onboarding but the lack of information is discouraging to them.
Users are unaware of the value of completing the onboarding process. They do not know what the end result will be.
Understanding the User’s Needs
User Interview & Task Analysis Takeaways
Users felt the questions asked were relevant to the process of filing for a patent, but most were unsure of what the end result would be.
Users were unaware of exactly what Seventh.AI would be able to do for them.
Most users felt hesitant to use the service without attorneys being part of them.
Affinity Mapping Key Takeaways
It is imperative for the platform to state from the beginning what the onboarding goals are. The user may be willing to complete the onboarding but the lack of information is discouraging to them.
Users are unaware of the value of completing the onboarding process. They do not know what the end result will be.
MoSCoW CHART
Usability Testing Findings & 2nd Iteration
Registration
Onboarding registration begins by asking the user for their email address and to create a password. Even if they drop off or abandon the process, Seventh AI already collected a contact email which will give them the opportunity to follow up after.
Onboarding Information
Research showed that one of the major pain points for users was that the users did not understand what Seventh AI did for them.
The information screens prior to the onboarding help educate the user into what exactly is about to happen and reassuring the user about Seventh AI’s confidentiality and the presence of expert advisors on staff.
Onboarding Questionnaire
The questions and answers are simple, organized and use human language. There is also a “skip for now” call to action button that will allow the user to skip a question.
We included a chatbot throughout the onboarding offering assistance if needed to minimize the risk of abandonment.
The status bar is minimalistic so it doesn’t draw too much attention. It is sized to be seen but not to become the focal point on the screen.
Onboarding Summary
The user is able to review and edit their answers before submitting them.
Onboarding Completion
This screen lets the user know that they have successfully completed their onboarding, they will now schedule a 1:1 meeting with a Seventh AI advisor.
Recommendations & Reflections
Expectations
We understood that since this platform was not live yet, we did not have any benchmarks to compare our data against to measure the success of this onboarding process. We also understood that customer acquisition was the ultimate goal and that we couldn’t track any results for this. However, we strongly felt that by explaining the benefits of enrollment as well as the value of doing so will give this experience a low bounce rate and high rate of customer acquisition.
Suggestions
Throughout our research process it was quite challenging to find target users for interviews. Therefore our top recommendation to our client was to test this platform within that market segment to better refine and reiterate the design of it.
We also recommended that they add additional information to the agreements section thus giving the user a better understanding of what they are signing up for and how to use that section of the dashboard. This would include making an onboarding process for that specific path, separate from the registration path shown today.
Challenges
The biggest challenge lied in how new Seventh.AI is. Having just recently been founded, we learned early during our design process that the company does not have any existing customers, their Beta platform was just being tested with “prospective” customers
Next Steps
While we’ve taken care of the onboarding process, the user might need some additional help to navigate the platform itself, so the introduction of a light tutorial as they first arrive could be beneficial in helping the user understand how to use the service.
We also suggest adding an option for the user to schedule an appointment to talk to an advisor within the platform, so that they can get help when they need it.
We also understand that Seventh.AI is working out all of their features, but we recommend that once that is nailed down, that those features be reflected on the homepage and on the introduction of the onboarding process so that users will always be aware of what they will be getting out of your service.
