From 47% Abandonment to Clear Navigation
From 47% Abandonment to Clear Navigation
From 47% Abandonment to Clear Navigation
From 47% Abandonment to Clear Navigation
Designing Onboarding That Explains the Process
Designing Onboarding That Explains the Process
Designing Onboarding That Explains the Process
Designing Onboarding That Explains the Process
The Challenge
The Challenge
A political engagement pilot achieved 31% participation — 372 citizens directly influencing a political leader's Knesset agenda — but lost 47% mid-process
The pilot report identified why: process opacity. Users said "the process is not clear or transparent" and had no visibility into journey length, their progress, or how the system worked.
A political engagement pilot achieved 31% participation — 372 citizens directly influencing a political leader's Knesset agenda — but lost 47% mid-process
The pilot report identified why: process opacity. Users said "the process is not clear or transparent" and had no visibility into journey length, their progress, or how the system worked.
A political engagement pilot achieved 31% participation — 372 citizens directly influencing a political leader's Knesset agenda — but lost 47% mid-process
The pilot report identified why: process opacity. Users said "the process is not clear or transparent" and had no visibility into journey length, their progress, or how the system worked.
A political engagement pilot achieved 31% participation — 372 citizens directly influencing a political leader's Knesset agenda — but lost 47% mid-process
The pilot report identified why: process opacity.
Users said "the process is not clear or transparent" and had no visibility into journey length, their progress, or how the system worked.
The Solution
The Solution
I designed onboarding addressing this HIGH PRIORITY finding from the report (process opacity):
Visual journey map
• Progress dots (Tracking progress)
• Plain explanations ("Why random selection?")
• Pause capability
• Confirmation messages
I designed onboarding addressing this HIGH PRIORITY finding from the report (process opacity):
Visual journey map
• Progress dots (Tracking progress)
• Plain explanations ("Why random selection?")
• Pause capability
• Confirmation messages
Design Goal
Design Goal
Increase completion from 53% to 75% by addressing process opacity—the HIGH PRIORITY finding that caused 47% abandonment.
Why: Simpler, shorter, easier to read.
Increase completion from 53% to 75% by addressing process opacity—the HIGH PRIORITY finding that caused 47% abandonment.
Why: Simpler, shorter, easier to read.
The Problem
The Problem
The Problem
The Problem
47% Walked Away
47% Walked Away
The numbers told a story:
The numbers told a story:
372 people entered (31% entry rate)
372 people entered (31% entry rate)
174 gave up mid-process (47% drop-off)
174 gave up mid-process (47% drop-off)
198 made it to the end (53% of those who started)
198 made it to the end (53% of those who started)
What the Pilot Report Revealed
What the Pilot Report Revealed
Process was unclear and not transparent. The platform lacked explanation of how it works.
Process was unclear and not transparent. The platform lacked explanation of how it works.
Solution
Solution
Solution
Solution
6 onboarding:
6 onboarding:
Visual journey roadmap showing all 5 stages upfront
Progress dots on every screen
Plain-language explanations ("Why random selection?")
Visual journey roadmap showing all 5 stages upfront
Progress dots on every screen
Plain-language explanations ("Why random selection?")
• Visual journey roadmap showing all 5 stages upfront
• Progress dots on every screen
• Plain-language explanations ("Why random selection?")
• Visual journey roadmap showing all 5 stages upfront
• Progress dots on every screen
• Plain-language explanations ("Why random selection?")
"You can pause anytime" with auto-save
Visual station markers (unique icon per stage)
Stage-specific context at each transition
"You can pause anytime" with auto-save
Visual station markers (unique icon per stage)
Stage-specific context at each transition
• "You can pause anytime" with auto-save
• Visual station markers (unique icon per stage)
• Stage-specific context at each transition
• "You can pause anytime" with auto-save
• Visual station markers (unique icon per stage)
• Stage-specific context at each transition
Key Design Decisions
Key Design Decisions
Key Design Decisions
Key Design Decisions
Journey Over Progress Bar
Elderly users need concrete visuals, not abstract percentages
Elderly users need concrete visuals, not abstract percentages
Journey Over Progress Bar
Elderly users need concrete visuals, not abstract percentages
Journey Over Progress Bar
Elderly users need concrete visuals, not abstract percentages
Dots Over Percentages
Faster to process, you can count dots
Faster to process, you can count dots
Dots Over Percentages
Faster to process, you can count dots
Dots Over Percentages
Faster to process, you can count dots
Explain Everything
Users abandoned from lack of understanding, not information overload.
Users abandoned from lack of understanding, not information overload.
Explain Everything
Users abandoned from lack of understanding, not information overload.
Explain Everything
Users abandoned from lack of understanding, not information overload.
Show the Whole Map Upfront
Seeing the complete journey addresses "unclear process" feedback
Seeing the complete journey addresses "unclear process" feedback
Show the Whole Map Upfront
Seeing the complete journey addresses "unclear process" feedback
Show the Whole Map Upfront
Seeing the complete journey addresses "unclear process" feedback
Working With Constraints
Working With Constraints
Working With Constraints
Working With Constraints
The situation I walked into:
The situation I walked into:
I had pilot data showing 47% drop-off but no detailed analytics, session recordings, or direct user quotes.
I had pilot data showing 47% drop-off but no detailed analytics, session recordings, or direct user quotes.
How I approached it:
How I approached it:
I prioritized by impact: fixed deal-breakers first (unknown length, no progress), then frustrations (randomization confusion).
Validated through pilot report analysis, elderly user research patterns, and PM approval.
I prioritized by impact: fixed deal-breakers first (unknown length, no progress), then frustrations (randomization confusion).
Validated through pilot report analysis, elderly user research patterns, and PM approval.
What I Learned
What I Learned
What I Learned
Designing for Scale
The 5-stage onboarding successfully addressed the pilot's 47% abandonment issue by providing clear progress indicators and journey visibility.
Post-design, I learned Mass Consensus needs to work for 3-10 stage configurations across different clients. My fixed 5-stage roadmap doesn't flex.
The gap: I built a solution. They needed a system.
Post-pilot insight
As Mass Consensus expands to new clients, each organization runs different process lengths (3-10 stages depending on their decision framework).
The next iteration
The core pattern (journey map, progress dots, stage explanations) validates across all configurations. The enhancement needed is making stage count dynamic rather than fixed—allowing the same UX pattern to flex for different organizational needs.
The core pattern (journey map, progress dots, stage explanations) validates across all configurations. The enhancement needed is making stage count dynamic rather than fixed—allowing the same UX pattern to flex for different organizational needs.
What I'd build
• Dynamic progress system (●●○ for 3 stages, ●●●●●●○ for 7 stages)
• Admin configuration for stage names and descriptions
The lesson: Validate the pattern with real users first, then systematize for scale. The onboarding concept works—the next step is making it configurable.
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