Step Model

Objective

The objective was to design an experience that introduces users to the QuickBooks product ecosystem and makes it easy for them to find the right product based on their needs.

My Role

This was initially a testing exercise comprising of a small spike team working in sprints. 3 designers, Reg Kong, Cliff McEnery and I, worked on the ideas that we proposed during our initial brainstorming. We reported to Principal Designer Ashutosh Kaushik and were supported on content by Senior Content Designer Osas Obaiza and Design Researcher Katja Spreckelmeyer.

The QuickBooks website gets 21mn visits every year.

3% get converted on the pricing page. In user studies we found that 34% of the users that leave the page without buying do so because they couldn't find the right product or plan for them. While sales agents convert 25% of their calls, the volume they deal with is very small. The most effective path to user acquisition is to convert users on the page.

Left: A heat map of one of the tests done on the step model using the old design language. The heat map shows concentration of elements users see and engage with the most. Warmest being the most engaged element.

The idea that I proposed, was something similar to what I had done at Farms2Face, a previous startup I had worked at. I called it the ‘Step Model’. The idea was to gather information from the user and provide them a plan based on their responses.

I categorized the information into an architecture that helped me design the decision tree.

Above: Scan of the flow chart I drew to present to my design team.
Top: Sketch I made during brainstorming to communicate my idea.

The design was based on the old visual language 'Harmony', since the new visual language hadn't been launched yet. We tested it with unique users and select QuickBooks users. The design is best experienced in a functional prototype. To view the invision prototype, click the link below.

view prototype

Impact

Amongst the three ideas that were tested, Step Model performed the best. It had the highest conversion rate (18%) and the most positive ratings from users (4.8/5). In comparision, the other two models had a conversion rate of 3% and 16% and ratings of 2.9 and 4.4 respectively. In total, Step Model sold 153 SKUs. Apart from being an amazing collbrative experience with product marketers and writers, this project also earned me my first Intuit Spotlight award. A $500 prize money given to the ‘MVP’ of big-bet projects.

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© Shantanu Salgaonkar 2019

Insights

Solution

Design

3% get converted on the pricing page. In user studies we found that 34% of the users that leave the page without buying do so because they couldn't find the right product or plan for them. While sales agents convert 25% of their calls, the volume they deal with is very small. The most effective path to user acquisition is to convert users on the page.

The idea that I proposed, was something similar to what I had done at Farms2Face, a previous startup I had worked at. I called it the ‘Step Model’. The idea was to gather information from the user and provide them a plan based on their responses.