At a glance
This is a story about how we reimagined Zenhub's Roadmap feature to better align cross-functional teams, improve project tracking, and boost engagement by 40%, all based on valuable user feedback.
My Role
As the main designer for this project, I was able to manage the entire design process independently. Here are some of the steps I took for this job:
Feedback collection and analysis
Research interviews
Competitive analysis
Designs
Usability testing
Hand off
Challenges
OVERLOOKED FEEDBACK
Despite being the second most used feature, the Roadmap had received overwhelming user feedback for years, but it hadn’t been prioritized due to other product demands.
ALIGNMENT WITH LEADERSHIP
A key challenge was aligning with the VP of Product to demonstrate the potential impact of improving the Roadmap, particularly how it could drive engagement and retention.
USER EXPERIENCE IMPACT
Users had long expressed dissatisfaction with the Roadmap’s functionality, which created a barrier to improving key metrics like engagement and retention without addressing the feature's critical issues.
Discovery
We used different methods to get a good idea of what our users needed and what this feature could really be:
Data Analysis: We looked at all the data we had and the events we were tracking on Roadmap to find any patterns in what was working and what wasn't
User Feedback: Using ProductBoard, we identified 10 users who provided valuable feedback and reached out to them for deeper insights into their challenges and pain points with the Roadmap.
In-house Input: We also consulted with our teammates who primarily used the Roadmap to plan their work, to identify patterns and gain a better understanding of how the feature was being utilized.
Competitor Analysis: For inspiration we looked at other products and what were they doing at that time on their Roadmap features.
Design
In response to user feedback, we launched a staged enhancement of the Roadmap feature. Updates included a simplified UI for sharing, improved filter functionality, prominent key dates, and a new dependencies view.
To ensure a smooth transition, we introduced these changes gradually, focusing on minimizing cognitive load and preserving the user experience.
Setbacks
Despite initial optimism, the project faced delays due to the complexity of implementing key features. Redesign and development efforts proved more demanding than expected, particularly for navigation and usability improvements. These challenges underscored the need for a more adaptive project management approach.
How we
solved it
To address setbacks, we worked closely with the development team, breaking the process into manageable tasks and shipping features incrementally. This approach prioritized critical updates, enabling swift adaptation and a more efficient development cycle.
40%
Increase usage on Roadmap for the first three weeks these new features were rolled out.
"Key dates" in particular quickly gained popularity with a completion rate of 60% of the total users we had in those three first weeks.
As next steps, we’ll iterate based on customer feedback to ensure the recent enhancements meet their needs. Through user interviews and surveys, we’ll identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to optimize the features, ensuring the roadmap tool evolves to better align with user requirements.