UX Research and design Internship, 05/2023-08/2023
Background
Gamma is a Series A startup with over 20 million users, an AI-powered presentation tool. As the UX researcher, I conduct continuous evaluative research to drive quick design and product improvements, and generative international research to understand the needs and mindsets of our target market users.
First project: Gamma Themes Research
Research questions
1. What do people look at/for when choosing a theme for their presentation?
2. How much level of importance users place on having a variety of theme options?
3. How do users perceive the current theme styles offered by Gamma?
4. How satisfied or dissatisfied are users with Gamma’s current theme offerings?
Research impact
Insights from the research led to product enhancements on a new theme pick page. After retesting, user confusion is reduced from an initial 38% to 0%.
Methodologies
Understand User Satisfaction with Default Themes and identify the specific reasons and areas → User Testing
Define User Perception of Gamma’s theme Styles → User Testing
Measure Importance of Default Theme Variety → Survey
Key takeaways
Misalignment between user desire for content-specific themes and our goal of creating aesthetic and visually appealing themes.
About half of participants are likely to use alternative presentation tool if that offer a wider range of theme choices.
People perceive themes differently than product designers do. The user scenarios for some certain themes are different than what we think.
The design updates:
Second project: Chinese Market & User Research
Research questions
How are Chinese language users using Gamma?
What are the characteristics of these people?
What are the specific needs and pain points of Chinese users? What is the value that we provide?
Who are the primary competitors in China, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
Research Impact
Developed 4 user personas to help company understand Chinese users’ mindsets and needs, offering strategic guidance for localization.
Assessed the localized interface and the traditional and simplified Chinese interface had already been implemented in the product and was actively in use.
Methodologies
In-depth user interviews (each session lasted 30-45 minutes)
User personas- Chinese paying users and non paying users
Chinese users’ habits
Key takeaways
The majority of Chinese users use Gamma with a curiosity mindset, and are still exploring its functions.
Chinese users want to have a Chinese interface and tutorial videos, localized price plans and payment options.
Chinese users hope he AI content quality could be enhanced for professional use.
Third project: Research on Gamma templates
Research questions
Understand what people mean by "templates" (concept testing).
Gain insights into user needs and feedback when using Gamma templates.
For users who hope to upload their own templates in Gamma to use, understand what their expectations are.
Methodologies
Email survey, In-depth user interviews, Usability testing
Thought process:
I began by conducting an email survey to collect quantitative data on user satisfaction with Gamma templates and analyzed open-text responses to identify additional template preferences. To address the third research question, I opted for user interviews to gain deeper insights into their expected outcomes and to collect specific template examples. Other research methods wouldn't have sufficed for this goal. Interestingly, during the interviews, I discovered that actually many users hadn't tried our templates. So I proposed a usability testing research study to pinpoint the issues with our template page. This included an assessment of page design clarity and organization. I devised a usability testing session to test my assumptions. The results confirmed my hypothesis, with over half of the participants highlighting issues with the page.
Research impacts
Discovered variations in user perceptions of templates compared to our defined definitions.
Determined the top five requested templates by users.
Established a streamlined drive to catalog and organize users' desired templates for integration into the Gamma platform.
Key takeaways
“Templates” this concept was perceived differently by users. Users define "template" as theme or both theme and structure, which differs from our definition of templates being solely structural.
When users upload their own templates, they expect Gamma to preserve their theme (logo, color schemes, font, background).
Users think the template page can be organized better and they want to see more categories such as education, social media, etc.
Design project: Speaker notes feature
Research questions
What other tools’ speaker notes function look like?
What are some features that should be contain under “speaker notes”?
Design questions
Methodologies
Competitor research
Thought process:
We compared the speaker notes features of various tools and compiled screenshots for comparison. We focused on identifying common features in speaker notes, their appearance (UX), how to open them, and their location when opened. We found that:
Common features in speaker notes include a timer, a text box for notes, and arrows to navigate to the next slide.
The design is typically very simple and clear, avoiding excessive embellishments.
location: Below the slide (as seen in PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Beautiful.ai),On the left side (as seen in Canva)
Appear when a small icon on the slide is clicked, displaying the notes either on the side or below, and generally matching the slide's length.
Impacts
After whiteboarding, creating wireframes, and prototyping, we deployed the speaker notes feature in the software. Check it out here: https://help.gamma.app/en/articles/9028551-how-to-use-speaker-notes-and-presenter-view-in-gamma#h_27c0f4f0cb
First, we conducted a brainstorming session where we sketched out the features on a whiteboard
To think one step further, we need to know not only just the look but also how it functions when you click, along with the corresponding interactions
Then we created a low-fidelity prototype of one kind of the speaker notes
After having some discussions with other designers, we keep brainstorming and developed some high-fidelity designs to choose from.
Example 1:
For example, when we were figuring out the layout for the right panel bar, we thought about what would happen when the notes pop up. Should the panel stay on the right, getting covered, or maybe move to the left so it's easier to see?
Also, should the note card take up the whole right space or just be a little pop-up window like this?
After presenting these ideas to the design lead and the rest of the design team, we came to a decision. Since users want to focus on the slides when editing or checking their notes, we figured there’s no need to keep the right-side panel open. They don’t need to edit the speakers and slides at the same time, so we went with the second option.
As for the size of the note cards, we all agreed that the first kind is better. The second one they were too small. They were hard to read and also made the whole page look a bit messy and disorganized
Design project 2: A/B testing on onboarding flow
First, we assessed the current state of the onboarding flow and brainstormed some possible sketches of the onboarding window
And a few more!
Second, we designed our A/B testing strategy.
Define Objectives
Primary Goal: Determine which layout leads to the highest user engagement and completion rates during onboarding.
Key Metrics:
conversion rates (users click the payment page and subscribe)
Click-through rate
Drop-off rates
Lessons learned:
Unfortunately, as I was working on this task toward the end of my internship, we weren’t able to finalize the design or move it into testing just yet. However, one crucial lesson I learned from this experience was the importance of metrics. Measuring the success of a design isn’t just about how it looks; it’s also about its performance. Selecting the right metrics—like conversion rates or click-through rates—can greatly enhance our understanding of a design's effectiveness.
For instance, I initially overlooked including conversion rates in my metrics. However, the product manager pointed that out, and it made me realize how essential it is to evaluate whether a particular design leads to user engagement and purchase behavior. This insight highlighted the necessity of aligning design objectives with business goals. By focusing on metrics that matter, we can make more informed design decisions that not only enhance user experience but also drive meaningful results for the business.