Embedded Files
ROLE
Digital Content Creator (Content developer and advocate for ID.me users)
TOOLS/METHOD
Zendesk, Figma, Miro, Usersnap
TEAM
Member Experience Team in collaboration with the Marketing, Product, and Engineering Team
TIMELINE
Aug 2021 - Dec 2021 (4 months)
Background
Background
Users currently visit the ID.me Help Center whenever they need assistance with ID.me identity verification and management services or an ID.me partner. However, it is difficult for users to easily find the solution to their problems amidst the 600+ help articles and outdated help center design. As a result, users rely on submitting a help ticket for issues that can be solved with the right self-service content.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
How can we categorize our self-service content so that it is accessible and empowers less tech-literate individuals, non-English speaking users, and users who need extra assistance?
Solution
Solution
The solution includes two parts.
Simplified Content Taxonomy
Simplified Content Taxonomy
The first is to build a sustainable content strategy that is sustainable for both our users and the company. This comprises a new and simpler content taxonomy that focuses on ID.me's users as opposed to organizations that partner with ID.me.
Benefits of a simplified content taxonomy include:
Improving navigation for users by organizing content based on ID.me's products and services.
Empowering non-English speaking users and less tech-literate individuals by simplifying terminology and language.
Facilitating easier content updates and maintenance, ensuring relevance and accuracy over time.
UI Update for Enhanced Accessibility
UI Update for Enhanced Accessibility
The second part of the solution is to update the ID.me Help Center user interface (UI) because the current state comprises static pages instead of dynamic pages that automatically update whenever new content is added, changed, or reorganized. The goal of this component is to improve overall UI, increase accessibility, and fulfill 508 compliance requirements.
Key features:
Dynamic Pages: Implement dynamic pages that automatically update with new content additions, changes, or reorganizations.
Improved Navigation: Introduce intuitive navigation elements, such as a search bar, category filters, and breadcrumbs, to aid users in finding relevant information.
Accessibility Features: Incorporate features like alt text for images, keyboard navigation support, and high contrast modes to cater to diverse user needs.
Multi-language Support: Enable language options to accommodate non-English speaking users, promoting inclusivity and accessibility.
Process
Process
Here is how I played a key role in the ID.me Help Center Redesign implementation.
Stakeholder Alignment and Design Thinking Process
Stakeholder Alignment and Design Thinking Process
Ensure alignment across teams and leverage the design thinking process to inform the Help Center redesign.
Actions
Actions
Collaborate with Marketing and UX teams to conduct the design thinking process.
Utilize design fiction, value-sensitive design, and online user data from Zendesk, Usersnap, and the ID.me virtual assistant to gather insights during the empathy research phase.
Identify user requirements and pain points to define the problem effectively.
User Persona Development and Ideation
User Persona Development and Ideation
Establish user personas, conceptual content structures, and workflows to guide the redesign process.
Actions
Actions
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop user personas based on insights gathered during the empathy research phase.
Generate conceptual content structures and workflows in the ideation phase to address identified user requirements and pain points.
Collaboration with the Design Team
Collaboration with the Design Team
Define functionalities and iterate on prototype designs in collaboration with the design team.
Actions
Actions
Work closely with the design team to define the functionalities of the proposed solution.
Utilize storyboards to visualize and communicate the proposed design concepts.
Iterate on the prototype phase from low to high fidelity, evaluating and refining the design at each stage.
Prototype Evaluation and Feedback
Prototype Evaluation and Feedback
Gather feedback from stakeholders through walkthroughs and critique sessions to refine the prototype.
Actions
Actions
Conduct a walkthrough and critique session with stakeholders to present the mid-fidelity prototype.
Solicit feedback on usability, accessibility, and overall user experience to inform further iterations.
UI Redesign and Development
UI Redesign and Development
Overhaul the Help Center's user interface based on feedback and stakeholder input.
Actions
Actions
Incorporate feedback from stakeholders to refine the prototype and finalize UI designs.
Collaborate with development teams to implement the redesigned UI, ensuring compatibility, accessibility, and compliance with 508 standards.
Testing and Quality Assurance
Testing and Quality Assurance
Conduct thorough testing to ensure the functionality and usability of the redesigned Help Center.
Actions
Actions
Perform usability testing with representative user groups to validate the effectiveness of the redesigned UI.
Conduct accessibility testing to ensure compliance with accessibility standards and address any issues identified.
Launch and Rollout
Launch and Rollout
Deploy the redesigned Help Center and communicate the changes to users and stakeholders.
Actions
Actions
Coordinate with marketing and communications teams to prepare for the launch of the redesigned Help Center.
Develop communication materials and user guides to assist users in navigating the new Help Center features.
Monitor user feedback and help ticket trends post-launch to address any issues and ensure a smooth transition.
Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement
Continuously monitor and iterate on the Help Center based on user feedback and analytics data.
Actions
Actions
Establish mechanisms for collecting and analyzing user feedback on an ongoing basis.
Iterate on the Help Center design and content based on user input and evolving user needs to maintain relevance and effectiveness over time.
Sustainable Content Strategy
Sustainable Content Strategy
As the Digital Content Creator whose primary responsibility is to maintain the ID.me Help Center, I defined a sustainable content strategy aimed at organizing and curating help articles effectively, ensuring that users can easily access relevant information to resolve their queries efficiently.
Environmental Impact
Environmental Impact
ID.me products and services as well as their partners are constantly growing and changing, which calls for constant updating or creating of new content. The new content strategy enables the team to easily update, renovate, and re-promote existing content to remain relevant and visible.
Economic Impact
Economic Impact
Changing from a reactive to a sustainable content strategy introduces a more streamlined workflow, which helps reduce overspending on business, human, and financial resources.
Human Impact
Human Impact
Many articles were very similar to one or more articles. Sometimes they were the same except under a different partner category. With this content strategy focusing on ID.me's offerings rather than partners, the company can reduce duplicate and repetitive work to free employees to be more creative.
Society Impact
Society Impact
By refining the written self-service content and freeing up time and resources, the team can now pursue new content opportunities, introduce new help features for users and the broader community and society, and support higher-level business goals.
Results
Results
The revamped Help Center features a simplified content taxonomy and updated UI, improving navigation and accessibility for users.
Via Usersnap, users report a smoother and more intuitive experience when searching for solutions to their queries, leading to a reduction in help ticket submissions.
Accessibility compliance ensures inclusivity for all users, contributing to overall user satisfaction and trust in the platform's support services.
The implementation of dynamic pages enables seamless content updates and maintenance, ensuring continued relevance and accuracy over time.
MAJOR WIN
The average monthly number of submitted tickets to the ID.me Help Center was reduced by 20% within 4 weeks of implementation.
Reflection
Reflection
The revamping of the ID.me Help Center was a multifaceted initiative that required collaboration across teams and a deep understanding of user needs. One of the key challenges was balancing simplicity with the depth of content available on the platform, which we addressed through extensive user research and collaboration with cross-functional teams to develop an intuitive content taxonomy.
The UI redesign presented challenges in ensuring compliance with accessibility standards and compatibility across devices and browsers, but close collaboration with design and technical teams resulted in the implementation of dynamic pages and accessibility features, improving overall usability and inclusivity. Maintaining a focus on training and documentation was crucial to ensuring the sustainability of the Help Center, empowering internal teams to keep it relevant and up-to-date. Ultimately, these efforts led to tangible improvements for members, empowering them to find solutions independently and enhancing satisfaction and trust in the platform's support services.
Playing a major role in this project, I gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge from this project. I overcame constraints (e.g. participant employment, prototyping a help center, content taxonomy), I gained valuable skills and experience in conducting research on topics at the intersection of interdisciplinary concepts, and most importantly I got the opportunity to create something that can make a positive impact to over 75 million ID.me users.
KEY TAKEAWAY
User-centered research is key in revealing nuanced requirements as well as other issues like bias, privacy, and stigma. By empathizing with users' perspectives, we can create inclusive and effective solutions.
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