Poll Customization

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Optimization of poll configuration workflows to streamline and highlight key features for presenters, enhancing efficiency and user experience.

Web/iOS Application

DATE

PROJECT TYPE

2023

Product Designer

COMPANY

Poll Everywhere

ROLE

IT STARTS WITH A QUESTION

How might we improve core workflows and maximize screen real estate for presenters while maintaining an intuitive and user-friendly interface?

DISCOVERY

Considering the Past

Poll Everywhere's 12-year history embodies numerous strategic decisions. To shape its future effectively, I first sought to understand the rationale behind its current state. Exploring the 'why' is essential before tackling the 'how'.

Current

• Outdated workflow (Configure > Test > Present)

• Actions grouping is hard to understand and legacy content is hidden under accordion menus

• CTA’s are counter intuitive and hard to find

Previous Iteration

• Actions still hidden under accordion menus

• Better grouping of actions but intractability is unclear

• Configuration moved to L2 doesn’t align with current presenter mental models

Preliminary Research

I analyzed features and UI patterns of Poll Everywhere's top competitors to gain insights into the current market landscape.

Takeaways

01

Poll Everywhere has the most comprehensive set of poll configuration options amongst competitors.

02

Configuration actions between competitors are spread out but are grouped more intuitively into specific sections.

03

Poll Everywhere’s configuration is the only one that does not overlay the configuration panel on top of the visualization.

INDENTIFYING PAIN POINTS

Journey Mapping

I created a presenter journey map to identify key pain points and strategically prioritize improvements based on impact and feasibility.

Takeaways

01

Activity creation is streamlined, but configuration frustrates presenters.

02

Excessive configuration options create a confusing workflow.

03

Restructuring of the configuration panel's information architecture is needed to streamline presenter workflows.

LET’S SIMPLIFY

Auditing the Information Architecture

The current configuration panel includes:

  1. Configure options

  2. Activity test panel

  3. Send activity workflows

These are three distinct workflows. The configuration options are also buried under four levels of navigation, making it confusing for presenters to use.

Diving into the Data

I asked my team if we really needed all our configuration options. The answer was no. The product has many settings due to years of legacy code. To simplify, we:

  1. Identified the least-used options

  2. Checked if any key accounts used these options

  3. Got approval from stakeholders

  4. Removed several low-usage options

This allowed us to streamline our product configuration.

A More Simple Path Forward

After reviewing the configuration's structure, it was obvious we needed to simplify. I conducted a quick internal card sorting exercise with the remaining options. This revealed three clear categories:

  1. Voting settings

  2. Activity settings

  3. Audience settings

These groups fit naturally into our presenters' existing mental models.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT DESIGN PATTERN

Modals vs. Drawers

When creating lo-fi mockups, two UI patterns emerged: Modals vs. Drawers. Modals aligned with our competitors' approach, but we had more configuration options. The main question was: Which pattern could better handle higher information density?

Modal

Drawer

Let’s Test it

We conducted a brief preference test comparing Drawers and Modals for handling high information density. Drawers emerged as the clear winner. Testers reported that Drawers felt more intuitive and better connected to the visualization.

DELIVERY

01

Maximized Screen Real-Estate

The redesigned configuration menu now occupies just 5% of the screen space in its collapsed state, down from 30% previously. By implementing a drawer design, I streamlined the three new categories into a more compact, icon-based layout.

02

Visual Settings

Initial project scoping excluded visual settings from the MVP. However, the adopted drawer pattern allowed us to incorporate the existing visual settings into the new design. This approach not only preserves current functionality but also simplifies future updates to the visual settings module.

03

Voting Settings

04

Activity Settings

05

Audience Settings

RESULTS & TAKEAWAYS

FINAL THOUGHTS

This initiative involved extensive collaboration among three distinct product teams, with the configuration panel representing just one-third of the overall effort. Despite its complexity, we accomplished significant progress in a mere three months through efficient cross-team collaboration. The result was a unified and intuitive configuration experience for our presenters. However, the project timeline has been adjusted, with completion now scheduled for late 2024. Please check back later for updates and performance metrics.