Onboarding

Monday, February 26, 2018

3:30-5:30

Hawes 203

Assignment

By 10:00am Monday Feb 26, share a link to your application’s onboarding process and test plan in the Assignment Master tab for this session (Feb 26 - Onboarding). This is typically a google doc or slide presentation that outlines the key path for onboarding a new user. Narrate the process that a first time user will follow to start using your product and include screenshots (scans or photos of paper wireframes are ok). Include a short script of the task you'll assign your test subject. If the onboarding process is already up and running on your app/site, please be sure to provide download instructions and any user names/passwords (if applicable) that we'll need to try it out!

Required Reading

Onboarding New Users is Harder Than You Think by Nate Munger
UserOnboard.com teardowns by Samuel Hulick. Focus on a few teardowns that address issues pertinent to your app.
User Onboarding Academy by Jackson Noel.
Seven Onboarding Mistakes You Don't Want to Make by Bayram Annakov

Session Prep

Your team should be prepared to conduct, during class, a test of your app's onboarding experience, with classmates and our guests as test subjects.
Depending on your app's development status, you can conduct the test using working software, an interactive prototype built with Invision, Proto.io etc., or paper prototypes.
Whatever medium you use, structure your test for a new user who has never before experienced your app. Assume that the new user will navigate to your app through whatever marketing channel you think is likely to be your dominant one for customer acquisition (e.g., searching the iOS App Store; clicking on a Google AdWords ad; etc.). Give your test subject a single, specific task to complete that is representative of what a typical first-time user would do with your app.
If you want a refresher on how to structure and conduct a usability test, refer to the readings and assignment from our October 30, 2016 session (Students who didn't take PM101, please take note!)
Plan to spend 15 minutes in total on your test, with no more than half the time observing the test subject(s) complete the assigned task and the balance debriefing and getting feedback. We will do two tests for each team, rotating testers for the second test.
Similar to the usability testing session in PM101, each team will volunteer a team member to another team as a tester.
Please bring your laptop, along with whatever materials you'll need to administer your test. If you are testing software that can be run in a browser, you should plan to provide a link to your test subjects so they can use their own computers.
Mobile app teams: it is assumed you do not have an app ready for download yet, therefore this will be a low-fi test. Please contact Julia if otherwise. If testing an online interactive prototype on a mobile device, be prepared with a link to share with testers so they can use their own mobile device.