Krystal Higgins presented on what it means to onboard users to your website, how long that process lasts, and how we can make it more successful. She draws some of her research on the process of onboarding new hires at companies, which is a pretty nifty analogy.
She also had a piece of foam board that she passed around so we could write down how and when we thought our companies/applications stopped the onboarding process on the web, thus gathering data while providing it!
An Event Apart 2017 Onboarding for any situation by Krystal Higgins (pdf)
How do we begin with a new user? Before we do that – let’s think about the end #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
We all tend to concentrate on the first-time setup way too much. First impressions are important but designs don’t scale #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
When we focus on just the first run experience, we tend to abandon users for every other run. @kryshiggins #aeasea
— Erin Walker (Joyce) (@E3Writing) April 3, 2017
User usage changes and evolves over time. When does it end? Does it ever end?@kryshiggins #aeasea
— jared bishop (@bishopart) April 3, 2017
There’s no simple end to “onboarding” – when does it end in your product? #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
First run is like orientation at a new company. Single event, one-size-fits-all, limited results #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
We want onboarding to carry users for the long run. To design beyond that first run we look at opportunities over time #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
See how diverse methods work better. Look at long-term guidance in products #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Onboarding’s job:
– familiarize user
– learn about the user
– convert to signed up
– guide to next steps#AEASEA— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
New hire onboarding is often planned over months, not minutes. They plan out to the 6-12 month mark #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Research suggests that you need more than one day to onboard a new user. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
Days 3-7 are most critical for users to decide whether to uninstall an app. Don’t onboard just in the first session #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Some video games have developed wonderful onboarding experiences. @kryshiggins #aeasea
— jared bishop (@bishopart) April 3, 2017
Lumosity as an example: learn about the user, which helps user self-reflect too #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Familiarization: sends users right into 3 games to try #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Familiarize users with mechanics of games. Recap at the end, start to hint of subscription plan. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
At the end, stats and info… hint to subscribe. Next day, invitation to engage & subscribe via email #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
New games that are locked because you aren’t subscribed start to show after a few days… info about subscription only services #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Even after subscription, games have onboarding, new features have onboarding #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Once subscribed, immediately engage with new features now unlocked – driving engagement, not just adoption. @kryshiggins #aeasea
— Erin Walker (Joyce) (@E3Writing) April 3, 2017
Wealthfront does engagement well too: first info about you, then interactive dashboard to learn more… then save the plan #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Duolingo subtly introduces new features after the user has already been onboard for a little while #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Techniques for initial onboarding shouldn’t be limited to initial moments. New or existing features can use it #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Use onboarding tactics for big redesigns #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Minimizing change aversion for the Google Drive launch https://t.co/pcF8mO6XB0 #aeasea
— ashleigh ??? (@ashleigh8) April 3, 2017
Onboarding for Redesigns
– Prepare
– Familiarize
– Guide
– Learn
via @kryshiggins #aeasea— Conor Meagher ??? (@conrmahr) April 3, 2017
Yahoo Mail provided an onboarding-like experience when redesigning mail, including soliciting feedback #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
I can’t help but wonder what the mail will look like if/when they redesign and rebrand for the Verizon / AOL / Yahoo! = Oath! merger.
Greet and guide existing users through a redesign and offer the option to provide feedback. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
Sometimes people stop using your product and come back later. What changed since the last time i used it? What changed about me? #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Sometimes people stop using your product and come back later. What changed since the last time i used it? What changed about me? #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Turbotax – takes a moment to update me on what's changed and then asks what's changed in my life to provide the right experience. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
Everyone has diverse needs in onboarding. Onboarding isn’t a fixed experience that fits everyone #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Expectations, motivations, learning styles all affect onboarding #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Onboarding is not a fixed path for users. Maybe one user needs more help than another. Not all users are equal. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
If you thought every on boarding experience is the same @kryshiggins would (correctly) suggest otherwise pic.twitter.com/gmkEe0fTYU
— A Brave New (@abravenew) April 3, 2017
A referral from a friend may give us expectations that are pre-set. A deep link, different expectations #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Who’s seen Github’s homepage lately? *laughter* Yeah, we all deep link in #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Moving from one platform to another may need less guidance than a first use case. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Moving from a competitor brings in the mental models from the competitor experience along for the ride #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
“People learn new material
best when they encounter it
multiple times and through
multiple modalities”
Linda Nilson #aeasea @kryshiggins— Chad (@lingokid) April 3, 2017
People use many different learning styles depending on the situation (there are different styles but we don’t stick with 1) #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Empty states as a default give guidance to an experience. Air Wander shows what you will need to fill out #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Q: Do users change their settings?
A: Less than 5% change default settings.
via @jmspool #aeasea— Conor Meagher ??? (@conrmahr) April 3, 2017
Embrace the value of strong defaults. Research says that most people won't change those if we set them on the best path. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
Inline guidance: for once you have content on the pages. next door slides filling out profile #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
First time you create a post, Medium gives some inline help, which silences itself as soon as you start typing #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
https://t.co/qgeDBuNz93 will let you vote on topics, then inline switches to email sign-up to get results of vote #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Reactive guidance: twitter, the first time you mute you’ll get guidance. Doesn’t appear until you initiate intent #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Proactive guidance: trying to get ahead of a user getting stuck #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Proactive guidance isn’t just takeover tutorials (which don’t feel very integrated) #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Evernote will do lightweight tips on new features. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Emails that provide info about doing a task also count as proactive guidance #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
On-demand guidance will always be necessary! Have a centralized area for help, chat, join discussions #aeasea
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
On-demand guidance – there will always be things we can't predict at times we don't expect them. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
A good onboarding experience will make access to that on demand help easy to find. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
Diverse toolkits for extended onboarding. Use more than one approach #AEASEA pic.twitter.com/ZRg2RkZoz9
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Long-term guidance: but first, the weaver bird. (Masked Weaverbirds are awesome.) #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Like us, weaverbirds took a lot of time and multiple nests to build beautiful structures. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Even weaverbirds need to learn not to suck! It’s not just us!
Long-term Onboarding doesn’t have to happen overnight but can start with some activities #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Start at the end to reveal key actions. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Shout out to @miniver by @kryshiggins #AEASEA pic.twitter.com/qCOsVaj9pk
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Look at core users. Look at unsuccessful users. What do you want to deliver? What do you want to not deliver? #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Like a maze, sometimes it’s easier to solve if you start at the end and trace it to the beginning #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
What do core users do? Many subscribe to news letter… many of those after first sale. That came after posting, came after creating #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
What if most users created their first post after copying an existing listing, which happened after they decided to sell? #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
And since those tweets above make almost no sense without the slide…
What if the unsuccessful users abandon a draft they were writing from scratch? Now we have a spot to call out copying a listing #aeasea
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Facebook found people who friended 7 people within 10 days of signup were more likely to stay engaged than others #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Interviews & surveys, diary studies, cohort analysis can all help you understand which key actions are worth guiding #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Break guidance down into modules. Find areas for guidance in a key action #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
What launches the action (trigger), activity (heart of the action), closes action (feedback?) #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
By breaking action down into these 3 accounts we can find opportunities for onboarded guidance #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Onboarding can then be little modules that can be moved around and varied as the user move through the process #AEASEA pic.twitter.com/Nbqj0qC80p
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
One reason we get stuck in a one-use mindset is because we think people need to see something just once to grok it #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Activity for Onboarding
– Skills needed
– Restating the benefits
– Subtasks and obstacles
via @kryshiggins #aeasea— Conor Meagher ??? (@conrmahr) April 3, 2017
Follow-up for Onboarding
– Feedback
– What next?
via @kryshiggins #aeasea— Conor Meagher ??? (@conrmahr) April 3, 2017
Repetition is critical to learning new concepts and actions #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
if we show something just once, we’re up against the forgetting curve. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Forget me not #aeasea @kryshiggins pic.twitter.com/uHlLcRO2OQ
— jared bishop (@bishopart) April 3, 2017
Immediately after you learn something you begin forgetting it. You're lucky if you retain 1/3 of it. #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
The 1/3 number is after 24 hours, which is pretty mean of our brains if you ask me. It also explains why a week of spring break can totally destroy the momentum a teacher has in a semester of teaching concepts that build on each other.
Reframing and repetition are so so important.
In the teaching world this is called spaced repetition – defeats the forgetting curve #aeasea pic.twitter.com/D7TTkl0Hh3
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
We're aiming for reinforcement not mindless repetition, vary location, method & frequency of guidance to help drive home key actions #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
What are the end conditions? Can user dismiss? Stop showing after X engagements or dismissals? #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
The act of designing for reinforcement will also steer us away from one-size-fits-solutions in our products #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Assemble appropriate methods for our user and product situations. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
How to use a computer mouse from 1983. Probably not appropriate today #aeasea pic.twitter.com/tLoD0jGuTy
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Is the user exploring, or on a mission? Is the product an established space, or brand new? Map right guidance to each segment #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Exploratory/Established. Lightweight general guidance more appropriate #AEASEA Email doesn’t need an up-front tutorial
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
On a mission/established: lightweight focused guidance around that specific mission #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Exploring/novel space: prominent and general guidance #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
On a mission/novel feature: prominent and focused guidance. #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Third dimension is what’s appropriate for *your* product’s identity and brand. Don’t disrupt the harmony of your site #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Include a philosophy for onboarding and user education for design systems in pattern libraries and site audits #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Set learning checkpoints. 5 second test can help determine content clarity and first impressions #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Companies with good new hire onboarding check in through interviews, surveys, focus groups #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Beneficial to make the user an active player giving us feedback through onboarding #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Make feedback part of the core experience in the product #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
when something new or something changed is introduced, solicit feedback #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Solicit feedback when something is cancelled – a subscription or free trial #AEASEA
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
Long-term feedback reviewed #AEASEA pic.twitter.com/STdluVRM3C
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) April 3, 2017
If you start with the end in mind you’ll be able to make sure you heading in the right direction every step of the way. @kryshiggins #aeasea
— jared bishop (@bishopart) April 3, 2017
"Don’t design just for the first run, design onboarding for the long run." – @kryshiggins #aeasea
— Conor Meagher ??? (@conrmahr) April 3, 2017
Onboarding shouldn't be designed as a standalone process for a first-run experience. It should carry the user through the long run #aeasea
— ? Stephanie seaotta Drescher (@seaotta) April 3, 2017
Taking a long-term approach to on-boarding: https://t.co/mn1N6AJNlc
my notes from @kryshiggins talk at #aeasea
— Luke Wroblewski (@lukew) April 3, 2017
I asked where onboarding ends in your products, and #aeasea answered! Here's what's y'all wrote: pic.twitter.com/mlKhY5I95R
— Krystal Higgins (@kryshiggins) April 3, 2017
Wrote some new stuff & updated some old stuff on user-onboarding and longer-term guidance. Enjoy! https://t.co/PEzgfEX18n
— Krystal Higgins (@kryshiggins) March 28, 2017
And, I've updated "From first run to the long run" on opportunities for onboarding tactics across the user journey https://t.co/OcgrWQnV4S
— Krystal Higgins (@kryshiggins) April 2, 2017