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Civian
Increased 87% satisfaction for Civian's data platform
Civian is a platform that provides data visualizations for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) employees to make local investment decisions within the New York state. I worked with the team to assess and redesign their interactive map dashboard. In 4 weeks, I conducted moderated usability tests and delivered 4 findings with hi-fidelity designs to enhance usability and drive user acquisition, increased 87% of their user satisfaction.
The Problem
While CSR staff found the tool more useful than PDFs of data, they thought the tool could provide more optimizations in terms of comparing data, making use of the map view and insight suggestions to shorten the working time on the platform.
The Solution
Civian is a platform that provides data visualizations for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) employees to make local investment decisions within the New York state. How might we ensure the map and metrics are useful to CSR executives when they consider local businesses for investment?
In 4 weeks, I conducted moderated usability tests and delivered 4 key findings with hi-fidelity design recommendations to enhance usability and drive user acquisition.
Thorough auditing and a series of moderated tests
When making a CSR investment decision for their company, executives lose time and efficiency having to refer to an enormous amount of data from different sources. Civian solved this problem with their data analysis tool. While their previous PDF solution were successful, Civian's productized data platform has not been tested with their target users – Credit Union executives.
Our team audited the product in-depth, followed up with deep stakeholder questions, and conducted usability tests with a diverse pool of data workers and executives to lead our design suggestions. Our goal was to figure out hard-to-understand visuals and metrics, especially on the map view.
Small changes – big impacts
87%
increase in user satisfaction while testing the redesign
100%
participants said they would use this platform if they were to make investment decisions
1 month
of shortened predicted launch time due to increase in product confidence
Iteration: from ambiguous metric indicator to a clear filter system
When tasked with deciding where to invest capital, testers found it difficult to compare the key statistics like vulnerability score, capital deployed, and impact score as they have to go back and forth locations or switch tabs. We transformed a semantic error (indicator looking like a slider) to a viable solution (sliding for score) and infused comparing ability within this widget, optimizing implementation.
“I don’t know if I need the map at this point to do much of anything...a table comparing them (numbers) would be more effective." – a data analyst
Map view: refined visual system and added depth of data
The map view turned out to contain multiple different problems: trouble understanding the data due to the repeated use of colors, hard-to-distinguish physical boundaries between neighborhoods, and a consensus of wanting to know the local businesses on a deeper level. We included pins on the map that shows eligible local businesses, as well as refined the map color system and boundaries to ensure there are no misreading of the dataset.
“Colors are kinda merging, so confusing!” – an COO of an NGO
Added contextual onboarding with complicated metrics
Testers needed more help understanding the connection between the map to the left and the metrics to the right. We want to ensure guidance is visible only when the users need help.
“I would expect a help icon or link at the top left or bottom of the page.” – my data professor
In retrospective…
Recruit early and creatively
The project was not possible if we gave in to perfectionism and did not recruit people who have little and indirect experience with CSR. Interpreting CSR data-insight more broadly and abstractly as “data”, “social outreach”, “social responsibility”, and “community” were super helpful for our recruitment process.
Probing, redirecting and avoiding biases take practice
During a moderated test, people would do or ask unexpected things, and it takes practice to ask the right questions and extract the necessary insights out of those situations!
"We love the map enhancements and the addition of the compare tab! These were features we had been considering as well but were unsure about how to implement them. Fantastic job!"
–Product Manager of the Civian's team
@Ha Do | last updated apr 2024