What are the most common user journey pitfalls for onboarding new users?

Map out your customer acquisition funnel, inclusive of marketing CTA, registration, onboarding, all the way to the “aha moment”. The aha moment is the behavior/s your customer exhibits that’s a proxy for “oh, I understand this service!” This usually means getting them to a high customer value engagement activity. As with any funnel, excessive friction before the aha moment can result in churn. One key form of friction is collecting unnecessary registration information. Treat registration as a progressive accretive process. Another form of friction is trying to explain every feature in detail. Onboarding should also be progressive, leveraging known customer information to direct them toward a high value activity for instantaneous ROI.

I used uml diagram to visualize the system to techinal and non technical audiance. From onboarding new Employee or developer and even giving a quick overview to the stakeholder, uml helps me to introduce the project goals, team objectives and role to the new one. Uml also helps developer to navigate source code. Although UML diagrams takes some time to build and become out of date fairly quickly in agile enironment but i treat them as a core aspect of documentation.

L'une des erreurs majeures lors de l'intégration des nouveaux utilisateurs est de les submerger avec trop d'informations à la fois. Cela peut causer confusion, frustration et surcharge cognitive, conduisant à un possible abandon du produit. Plut?t que de tout présenter en une fois, priorisez les informations essentielles pour aider les utilisateurs à démarrer et à atteindre leurs objectifs. Utilisez un langage clair, des aides visuelles et une progression graduelle pour présenter les informations de manière accessible et engageante

Providing excessive information during onboarding overwhelms new users and leads to cognitive overload, confusion, and negative user experience. Effective onboarding should prioritize clarity and simplicity, gradually introducing users to key features and information in a digestible manner to facilitate a smoother and more positive introduction to a product or service.

Never underestimate the power of feedback in user onboarding. It's like giving a friendly nod or a thumbs-up in a conversation – it reassures users they're on the right track. Without it, they're left guessing, which can quickly lead to frustration or disengagement. Think of fun animations, encouraging sounds, or even simple congratulatory messages. Progress bars and checklists are also great; they not only give feedback but also show users how far they've come and what's left to tackle.

When new users don't receive timely and informative feedback during key interactions, they may feel disoriented or uncertain about their progress. Feedback is crucial for guiding users through the onboarding process, reinforcing positive actions, and addressing any errors or uncertainties. Designing clear and contextual feedback mechanisms is essential to enhance the onboarding experience, helping users feel more confident and engaged as they navigate through the initial stages of using a product or service.

Neglecting to provide feedback during onboarding can hinder a positive user experience. Users seek reassurance and guidance, and feedback through visual cues, notifications, or messaging is crucial for them to understand outcomes and gauge progress. Without feedback, users may feel disoriented, leading to frustration and decreased engagement. Providing timely and meaningful feedback helps build confidence and contributes to a successful onboarding experience.

Personalization is important in onboarding to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach that could lead to a lack of user engagement. Ignoring individual preferences, requirements, and contexts can make users feel that the onboarding process doesn't suit their specific needs. By addressing these differences, onboarding experiences become more engaging, relevant, and effective, resulting in a positive start to the user journey.

When onboarding new users, it is essential to communicate the value proposition of a product or service. This outlines the unique benefits and advantages users can expect and motivates them to engage with the platform. Failure to communicate the value proposition can result in disinterest, disengagement, or abandonment of the onboarding process. Effective onboarding should emphasize and communicate the value proposition to ensure users understand the significance and advantages of the product or service.

In my experience, having a strong understanding of the value proposition will help prevent running into problems later down the line. As a designer, make sure you understand the value proposition before diving too far into the weeds. Sometimes a short conversation or a question with your stakeholders is all it takes to gain an understanding of why users should choose their product and why they would benefit from it. Once all parties are aware of the value proposition, the design becomes a lot more clear for both the user and the designer.

Support: Having a point of contact who'd mentoer them during the onboarding journey is beneficial. Giving them space to try out and make mistakes will turn this into an exciting project for them instead of just an overboard of information.

Flexibilit?t: Es sollte m?glich sein, die Onboarding zu einem sp?teren Zeitpunkt fortsetzen zu k?nnen. Das Onboarding sollte erlauben, dass der Nutzer/die Nutzerin sich zun?chst selbst mit dem Produkt auseinandersetzt.