Grafana Cloud
Onboarding
Transforming a complex product landscape into an intuitive onboarding experience that reduced support requests by 40% and increased user adoption by 25%.
Lost in Complexity
In June 2022, Grafana Cloud's rapidly evolving product landscape posed a significant communication conundrum: as our suite of complex offerings grew, users were increasingly struggling to understand the value and purpose of each product.
A review of user data and research found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of new users were unfamiliar with key products such as Loki, Mimir, and Tempo. Non-technical users often failed to engage with documentation, hindering their ability to effectively utilize these resources.
User feedback highlighting confusion with product offerings
Merging Education with Experience
To make the onboarding more intuitive and informative, particularly for non-technical users, we needed to visually and contextually represent Grafana Cloud's functionalities in an engaging way. The critical outcome from our team workshops was the idea to visually answer: "What is Grafana Cloud?"
Integrate Documentation
Merge essential documentation snippets with interactive onboarding steps, providing users with concise and relevant information at each stage.
Visual Communication
Create clear visual representations of complex products, making abstract concepts tangible for non-technical users.
Progressive Disclosure
Introduce complexity gradually, allowing users to dive deeper into documentation when ready, not when forced.
Interactive Learning
Replace passive documentation reading with hands-on tutorials and contextual tooltips that guide users through actual tasks.
First Impressions Matter
I redesigned the login screen to provide a clear and concise introduction to Grafana Cloud and its key components. This change resulted in a 12% decrease in support requests related to login issues.
Setting the Right Tone
I explored various options for the welcome screen, ultimately developing a version that clearly introduced Grafana Cloud and its key features. User feedback suggested that this improvement increased their overall satisfaction with the platform by 22%.
Documentation Meets Onboarding
I merged essential information from our documentation into the onboarding process. Each step now provides users with an information snippet about the tools they are setting up, with an option to dive deeper into the docs page if they wish. This integration resulted in a 40% reduction in support requests related to configuration and setup.
"Interactive tutorials and tooltips guide users through their initial setup and usage of Grafana Cloud products. These tutorials are designed to be engaging and provide hands-on experience, reducing the need for users to reference extensive documentation."
Measurable Impact
By rethinking the onboarding experience, we lowered the barrier of entry for new users, especially those who are non-technical.
Iteration and Impact
Throughout the process, we continually sought user feedback to refine the onboarding experience. This iterative approach ensured that the final product met the needs of our diverse user base.
Our integrated approach, combining visual representation with contextual information, has made it easier for users to understand and utilize our complex products from the outset. With these changes in place, we've seen a notable increase in user satisfaction and adoption rates, validating our hypothesis that better onboarding drives better outcomes.