User Experience

If you want to do product-led growth like the best (Miro, Canva, Notion), then you need to pull off the 8 layers of the PLG Iceberg. In my latest deep dive with Jaryd Hermann into Miro, we go deep on this framework and break down what it takes to really execute PLG. Here’s a quick rundown of each layer: ↓↓ 👁️ 𝐋1 & 𝐋2: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐩 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠 It's all about communicating your value. Miro’s onboarding begins before handing over an email with: ↳ Compelling messaging ↳ Trust-building/social proof ↳ Transparent pricing 🛝 𝐋3: 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 Miro ensures a smooth start with a minimalist setup: ↳ They nudge users to sign up with a work email, but don’t require it ↳ Sign up is basic. There are no fancy visuals trying to over-communicate anything ↳ They use progressive reveals, minimizing cognitive load ↳ They leverage Single Sign On (SSO) with business-grade auth providers 🎯 𝐋4 & 𝐋5: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 Miro excels in personalizing the onboarding experience, ensuring users quickly find their "aha" moment. ↳ They have dedicated flows for both board Creators and Joiners ↳ There’s no “blank state” ↳ Onboarding is persona based ↳ They use templates to reduce Time To Value ↳ Miro’s onboarding is based on 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸 >>> 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭. 🔄 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 (𝐋6) Miro focuses on creating habitual usage patterns around their core value action, driving long-term engagement. ↳ Their freemium plan avoids throttling value (use now, pay for biz features later) ↳ They focus on extensibility, embedding themselves across other popular tools 💰 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐋7) From a generous freemium model to value-packed premium plans, Miro's pricing strategy is a masterclass in PLG. ↳ Freemium is crafted to remove barriers to entry and encourage users to invite others to collaborate, creating a viral loop. ↳ They monetize business (and power user) needs, just like Slack does ♼ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 (𝐋8) PLA is not “refer a friend”. True PLA means your users naturally invite other users while using your product—for free. ↳ Miro avoids cash incentive invites. For one, it attracts lower intent users. ↳ They leverage the viral flywheel by making the product inately collaborative To go much deeper into each layer of the PLG Iceberg, including detailed examples and tactical takeaways, checkout our full analysis: https://lnkd.in/gVPg-EAq

Most companies I talk to want to fix their retention and monetization problems. Yet the root cause of all their problems is an incorrectly defined and tracked activation and onboarding. This is because activation isn't just about getting users started; it's about getting them committed, engaged, and returning for more. 💡Activation falls into 3 major phases: Setup - Setting the stage, but not the 'aha' moment. Aha - When the user truly feels the product's core value. Habit Loop - Repetition of that 'aha' moment, ensuring user retention and potential monetization. 🚫 Yet many trip up on: - Marking set-up accounts activated - Mistaking innovation in the Setup for 'Aha' - Using Vanity or Qualitative Metrics for 'Aha' - Not measuring frequency component of the habit loop 📌 And furthermore for B2B: - User ≠ Account: Activating individual users doesn’t mean activating entire accounts. - Self-serve isn't King: Especially for enterprise clients, complex use cases, or high-value segments. - Oversimplifying Onboarding and not knowing who is who Checkout my blog for all the juicy details: https://lnkd.in/eev9Mj9V #growth #b2b #activation

I was embarrassed when we onboarded new hires. I don't have fancy collateral. No welcome videos. No searchable database. Just a bunch of Google Docs. (And a lot of my time) When I hired our first employee, I gave them these docs as part of their onboarding. I apologized that I didn’t have something fancier for them. Mentioned how we're a start-up with limited resources. But they told me they were amazed at the level of detail. And they wished they had something like that in their previous jobs. They came from a big company so my first thought was: "There's no way that's true." "They are probably used to more robust onboarding." But then our 2nd hire said the same thing. Then the 3rd. And so on. Even people outside my company applauded our process. My key takeaways: ➟ Many companies don't prioritize onboarding properly. ➟ You don't need flashy tools to set up new hires for success. Just provide the right information in a clear, organized way. Important elements of good onboarding: • Clear documentation covering roles, expectations, processes • A structured timeline for taking in information • Assigning a mentor to provide guidance • Scheduled check-ins to address questions It’s easy to assume more complexity means better onboarding. But from my experience, the basics done right go a long way. What do you think makes for an effective onboarding experience? Share below ⬇ ---- P.S. If this resonated with you, ♻ reshare to your network

This is one of the most important things I’ve learned about resumes, and most don’t do it. Not doing this can hurt your chances of getting an interview 👇 Your resume 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 a description of what you are 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 for. Your resume 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 a collection of your 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 to the job you are applying for! Here's a simple example: A Project Manager's resume that describes what they are 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 for looks like this: - Delivered the project on time and within budget. - Communicated updates regularly to all stakeholders. This is a terrible way to "stand out" - In this example, every Project Manager is responsible for delivering projects on time and budget, and for communicating with stakeholders. In other words, there's nothing 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 about this person's resume. Your resume has to show: - Evidence that you have the experience they are looking for (Tailored resume) - Evidence of the value you bring to the team (Your past accomplishments) To write a resume that 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭, here’s what you should do 👇 Write 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, not what you were responsible for : - What did you do? - What was the impact? - How did you accomplish it? Use the “𝐗 + 𝐘 + 𝐙” formula to write accomplishments: “Accomplished [𝐗] as measured by [𝐘], by doing [𝐙]” 🛑 Instead of writing: “Delivered a project on time and budget” ✅ Write this: 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 [𝐗]: “Launched ____ project” 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 [𝐘]: “1 month ahead of schedule and increasing ROI by Z%” 𝐁𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 [𝐙]: “, by creating a new communication process that allowed low and medium risk tickets to be pre-appproved, reducing friction during development” Together X + Y + Z: “Launched ___ project 1 month ahead of schedule and increasing ROI by Z%, , by creating a new communication process that allowed low and medium risk tickets to be pre-appproved, reducing friction during development” 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 help you show that you have the experience companies look for in 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 of a project that had impact to customers, your team or the organization. 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 your 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 to the job you are applying to will increase your chances of getting an interview. Adding more colors, graphs and random keywords will not. A few extra tips as you go through your accomplishments: 1. Not every accomplishment will have a number (impact). It’s ok, try to have as many as possible. 2. Accomplishments tailored to the job you are applying to >>>> accomplishments you believe are the most important. 3. You can skip the XYZ formula and instead write them as: Verb in past tense + what you did + the impact it had. ------ 🚀 Need help with your resume or Product Management interviews? Check out my comment below for THE BEST resources 👇 #productmangement #resume

I use ChatGPT in my work as a writer, every single day. Here's how: 👉 1. I ask it to analyze my writing for any logical reasoning gaps. 3 out of 5 times it points out things I've overlooked. For example, I sometimes skip an explanatory sentence to keep things "succinct". And I've learnt this because it been pointed out to me repeatedly by ChatGPT. Note: it's absolutely no replacement for an editor. It just scratches the surface. 👉 2. I ask it to build analogies. This serves two purposes. One, I sometimes find a creative way to express a common idea. Two, sometimes a non-sensical analogy will reveal a poorly-reasoned argument. The second one is a legit writing hack. 👉 3. I ask it to give me "one word for many words". For example, I couldn't think of one word for "smile very wide", and it came up with "beam". This helps me maintain my creative flow without having to pause for iteration. Put together, these three things save me 20-25 minutes per blog across outlining, writing, and self-editing. So I thought I'd share :D What are some things you use it for?

🤔 Design portfolio pro-tip: Level up your user flow communication through showing your decision tree. While showcasing basic user flows is a good start, hiring managers often go beyond that. In a sea of portfolios, distinguish yourself by demonstrating: 1. Deep user understanding: Embed user insights and pain points within your flow charts. 2. Creative problem-solving: Highlight how your user flows tackle specific challenges and optimize the user journey. 3. Impactful storytelling: Weave a narrative through your flows, showcasing how they influenced design decisions and drove positive outcomes. Remember, hiring managers want to see evidence of your design thinking and strategic impact, not just technical proficiency at creating a user flow chart. Instead, show your thought process: 1. What are the different types of flows you considered? 2. How did you make a decision on the end result? 3. What research, log data, audits or user feedback did you consider to make your final decision? For example, in this diagram below, my decision process could look something like this: DECISION Reason 1: Reduced onboarding steps by 3 screens Reason 2: Reduced onboarding abandonment by 30% Reason 3: Allow users to skip part of the onboarding flow and return later, increasing signups by x% Let me know if you have any questions! #design #portfolio #portfolioshowcase #uxcommunity #uxdesign #uxdesigner

After many, I mean many, iterations of my portfolio I started to notice the importance of making them flow like a narrative, rather than a checklist. Even more so, I realized that my case studies should not just be the play by play of the all the steps I took to complete the project. Instead, that there were two stories at play. One was that of the play by play. Think me retelling everything I did and what went on to complete the project. The other, is that of the case study. The difference? The case study one should only share out the vital pieces that will help your reader to understand your process and how you think. So you are probably asking, how do I figure that one out? Well, I can help you with that! That is why I created my UX Portfolio Sandwich Model. It’s a list of steps with questions that help you figure out this difference. It’s important for 3 reasons 1️⃣ It helps you find the important deliverables to add 2️⃣ Creates a case study that is shorter in length so helps your Hiring Managers who have no time see more 3️⃣ Allows for more transitions between steps to create a more engaging narrative

99.9999% of case studies I see don't address: → Empathy Way too much "Next, I did this..." Not enough "Here's why we did this..." A well-placed persona image in your study is not a substitute for genuine user understanding. Some ways you can highlight empathy: → Core Needs: Begin your narrative by highlighting the user's fundamental needs. Make their pain points the core of your story, just as you did with your designs. → Insights: Distill the core needs into your primary insights. Showcase these. They guided your design decisions. Let them guide your case study. → How Might We's: A good way to frame problem-solving based on each insight. These show the uncovered potential. → Outcomes: Shift your focus from solely what you've learned to how your solution positively affected the user. How did it make their life better? Tell the story through the user's eyes, not merely as a designer ticking off a checklist. Empathy should have guided every step of your design process. Let it guide your story, too. #ProductDesign #PortfolioTips

When I was head of growth, our team reached 40% activation rates, and onboarded hundreds of thousands of new users. Without knowing it, we discovered a framework. Here are the 6 steps we followed. 1. Define value: Successful onboarding is typically judged by new user activation rates. But what is activation? The moment users receive value. Reaching it should lead to higher retention & conversion to paid plans. First define it. Then get new users there. 2. Deliver value, quickly Revisit your flow and make sure it gets users to the activation moment fast. Remove unnecessary steps, complexity, and distractions along the way. Not sure how to start? Try reducing time (or steps) to activate by 50%. 3. Motivate users to action: Don't settle for simple. Look for sticking points in the user experience you can solve with microcopy, empty states, tours, email flows, etc. Then remind users what to do next with on-demand checklists, progress bars, & milestone celebrations. 4. Customize the experience: Ditch the one-size fits all approach. Learn about your different use cases. Then, create different product "recipes" to help users achieve their specific goals. 5. Start in the middle: Solve for the biggest user pain points stopping users from starting. Lean on customizable templates and pre-made playbooks to help people go 0-1 faster. 6. Build momentum pre-signup: Create ways for website visitors to start interacting with the product - and building momentum, before they fill out any forms. This means that you'll deliver value sooner, and to more people. Keep it simple. Learn what's valuable to users. Then deliver value on their terms.

👇🏽 My post on dashboards unexpectedly got popular. The comment section was amazing, and the following data practitioners shared their expertise on dealing with the challenges of dashboards not being used: Jose Gerardo Pineda Galindo: "Understanding the business is key to deliver an actionable Dashboard... [Also make] your dashboards simple and not a Dashboard with 20+ mixed with graphs, metrics, tables." Robert Odera, MBA: "Start with users and uses... socialize what the dashboard does, reiterate what the dashboard doesn't do, ask what outcomes the changes will drive..." Anna Decker Wilson: "The dashboard is a square peg in a round hole attempt at a solution to the last mile problem in data - it seems like the dashboard will fill the need, but it seldom does..." Daniel E. Thompson: "Most of the dashboards I create for clients involve a 'Business Recommendation' page in PowerBI that covers 4-5 main KPIs, strategy, important metrics, and steps for short/long-term planning." Eric Gonzalez: "1. Gather requirements, 2. Wireframing, 2a. Get stakeholders out of “this is how we’ve always done it” mentality, 3. Monitor usage consistently, 4. If usage is low, ask why and redo 1-2" Anna Bergevin: "Start by asking what they need the data for... Then decide if a dashboard is even the right solution (maybe it’s not - maybe it’s alerts, maybe it’s email report delivery, maybe it’s a curated table they can pull into excel and explore)." Kobe W.: "Start from a business problem and create dashboards as solutions to these problems. Take it up a notch by including the consumer in the design process. Mimic their workflow in the design... [so it's] an integrated part of the process..." Idriss Shatila: "[Educate] them, you're the expert, they came to you, so you tell them what can be done and what cannot be done so that they would learn." Kaleb Thompson: "Stop building dashboards. Most of the time it’s not even the right solution to drive the desired business outcomes... I think the future of BI is a handful of high level enterprise KPIs and the rest being data driven alerts and triggers that lead to real actions." Marco Giordano: "... I insert dashboards into the 'process.' The fact of using the dashboard is tied to some actions they can take. So if they don't use the dashboard(s), they miss a piece!" Andrew C. Madson: "I have my teams get to know their stakeholders and deeply understand their roles, responsibilities, and needs... Then, build a product with quick iterations and tight feedback loops, enabling them to do their job better." Robert Harmon: "[The] first step is [to] stop being reactive with dashboards. Start being proactive with timely messaging. If the data's off, you'll know in like 10 minutes. The users will definitely tell you..." Yuki Kakegawa: "You leave the data industry." (this one is my favorite 🤣) There were more, but I hit the word limit for the post 😅 #data #datascience #analytics