In my previous role at a digital marketplace for peer-to-peer car-sharing, I distilled research insights and reframed emotional responses as principles for a good onboarding experience. These principles not only humanised our onboarding objectives but also provided a common vocabulary for the team, increased UXR insights engagement, and helped keep desired emotional impacts stay at the forefront of our minds.
Spin-off initiative for lasting impact
Context
To enhance the car-sharing onboarding process, I collaborated with another UX researcher to conduct interviews with members who’d dropped off from the listing flow, each of us handling half. We identified key pain points and user needs to inform improvements, aiming to increase understanding and reduce drop-offs.
Spin-off Initiative
As we were wrapping up the primary research, I initiated and developed a set of principles to ensure our entire team recognised the key emotional responses we wanted from users.
Methods
In-depth Interviews and Synthesis
Impacts
Increased motivation and engagement as the principles humanise the objectives and connects their daily tasks to meaningful outcomes
Stronger and lasting alignment as emotional goals are often easier to understand and remember
Better understanding of the emotional impact they need to achieve, our team are better equipped to identify and address specific issues that affect users’ feelings
Principles established
“It’s Simple to Set Up“
- Simple Steps: Ensure the setup process is straightforward and intuitive.
- Relevant, Bite-sized Information: Provide information that is concise and easy to understand.
- Responsive Support: Offer prompt and helpful support tailored to individual needs.
“Car-sharing is for me!”
- Accessible: Ensure the service is available and usable by a diverse range of people.
- Flexible: Allow for adjustments based on users’ schedules and relocation needs.
- Relevant: Tailor the experience to individual circumstances and use cases.
“I feel assured”
- Credible Platform: Build trust with transparent and fair practices.
- Responsive Support: Address specific needs and concerns promptly.
- Safety and Cleanliness: Maintain high standards of safety and cleanliness for vehicles.
View of our workshop board during “Reframe the challenge” step, as part of a HMW workshop that I co-facilitated with another UX Researcher 
View of our workshop board during “Reframe the challenge” step, as part of a HMW workshop that I co-facilitated with another UX Researcher
A part of the Onboarding Principles report
Setting the principles up to be lasting references
I grouped topic tags into our three onboarding principles, which I set as tag group names: “Car sharing is for me”, “I feel assured”, and “It’s simple to set up”. This helped with prioritising as it shows which principle needed more focus by showing the volume of feedback for each.
This approach made our work more organised and efficient, allowing us to prioritise and improve key areas of the onboarding process. Mapping the topic tags back to these principles was an effort to set them up as lasting points of reference and a common “vocabulary” for the team. This way, the insights that my UXR team gathers could continue to be valuable and relevant over time!
I grouped topic tags into our three onboarding principles, which I set as tag group names: “Car sharing is for me”, “I feel assured”, and “It’s simple to set up”
When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible. This commitment is anchored by principles.
Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time.
Ngan H. Huynh 