Project Title
RoadMate Onboarding Flow
Role
UX/UI Designer & Researcher
Duration
5 Weeks
Tools
Figma, Mural, & UserTesting
Skills
Lean UX, User Research, Personas, Wireframing, Prototypes, Testing, Competitive Analysis, Design Thinking, and Stakeholder Management
Brief Summary
I led the redesign of a Fortune 500 company's flagship app onboarding, addressing declining user scores driven by confusion and mistrust.
My goal: create an intuitive, user-centered experience that rebuilds trust and highlights the app’s value.
Solution and Goals
The original DriveMyWay app lacked an onboarding flow, leaving users without guidance or exposure to key features. I designed a structured onboarding experience that streamlined sign-up and enhanced user understanding. After iterative testing and stakeholder alignment, my solution will launch in DMW 2.0 this fall, setting users up for success.
Design Components
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Progress Bar ​
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Positive Feedback Loops​
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White space
Prototype Key Features
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Registration & Allowing Permissions
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App Value Proposition
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Customer Testimonials
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Pro Tips
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Data Protection
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Positive Feedback Loop
Prototype Demo.
Case Study Deep Dive
Background
When I joined the team, I was entrusted with a high-priority project for a Fortune 500 company: reimagining the onboarding flow for their flagship app. Despite being in the market for years, the app faced declining user scores, with feedback pointing to confusion about its features and mistrust in its accuracy. Tasked with tackling these critical issues, I focused on creating an intuitive, user-centered onboarding experience to rebuild trust and clearly showcase the app's value.
Problem Statement
To design an intuitive and engaging onboarding flow for DriveMyWay app. This onboarding process should effectively introduce new users to the app’s features, ensure a smooth sign-up process, and enhance user retention.
Solution and Goals
The original DriveMyWay app only included basic registration and permission request screens - no onboarding flow, leaving users without proper guidance on how to navigate the platform and missed opportunities to showcase its best features.
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To bridge this gap, I designed a structured onboarding flow from the ground up, creating an experience that not only streamlined sign-up but also educated users on how to get the most out of the app. Through usability testing, I evaluated whether integrating both onboarding and registration into a single, seamless process improved user understanding and engagement. After multiple iterations and stakeholder alignment, the final prototype proved its value. Now, my onboarding flow will be implemented in DMW 2.0, launching this fall—setting users up for success from the start.
Create a seamless and user friendly onboarding experience
Minimize user drop off rates during the onboarding process
Highlight key feature and benefits of the app
Ensure the design is visually appealing and aligns with brand identity
Collect essential user information efficiently and securely
Discovery
Ground & Research
Understanding the Problem
For the purposes of privacy the project branding was under the created name "RoadMate." To start the project, I took a deep dive into the app’s history and user experience. I analyzed all available DriveMyWay content, including past journey maps, user personas, and research reports, to fully understand the product’s evolution and challenges. I then collaborated with product owners and key stakeholders to uncover customer pain points and clarify business objectives. By prioritizing research and building a strong foundation of insights, I ensured that every design decision addressed real user needs and aligned with the company's goals before moving into prototyping.
Competitive Analysis
For RoadMate, I conducted thorough research on competitor apps and examined industry examples of successful onboarding flows. I analyzed leading usage-based insurance apps, diving into their wireframes, app store views, and user reviews to identify key design patterns and pain points. This helped me understand what features resonated with users and where improvements were needed.
Additionally, I explored successful onboarding flows across various industries, from fintech to health apps, to see what strategies kept users engaged while minimizing friction. This research gave me a solid foundation for creating an intuitive, user-friendly onboarding experience for RoadMate, ensuring it would align with industry best practices and meet real user needs.
Takeaways from Research
Some of the key themes I focused on include
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Avoiding setup friction
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I incorporated a swipe feature to introduce the app, ensuring users could quickly understand the core functions without feeling overwhelmed.
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​Avoiding long tutorials
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Users want to dive into the app, not read a manual, so I kept onboarding brief, letting them explore while still providing guidance.​
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​Reducing sign-in friction
I opted for phone number activation instead of email to streamline the sign-up process and create a smoother, more seamless experience.
Define
Identifying Key Challenges & Opportunities
Align insights to user needs
In the define phase, I employed an in-depth Lean UX approach to shape the foundation of the solution. Building on my research, I developed detailed user personas tailored to the app’s core audience, highlighting key pain points like feature misunderstanding and mistrust in app accuracy. Through collaborative workshops and stakeholder discussions, I identified clear objectives for the onboarding flow: simplify feature explanations, build user trust, and emphasize the app’s unique value proposition.
Pain Points
Narrowed down key pain point categories based on user dispute feedback via email submissions.
Invasive
User Interface
Permissions
How might we...
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How might we give users control over location tracking to ease privacy concerns?
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How might we clarify trade-offs to reduce comparison bias?
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How might we build trust in the app’s value?
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How might we make notifications useful, not overwhelming?
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How might we improve navigation for a more intuitive experience?
Business Problem
DriveMyWay lacked an onboarding flow, leaving users confused about key features and the app's value. This led to higher drop-offs, negative reviews, and lack of trust, limiting valuable data collection.
User Personas
We created two user personas to guide the design and functionality of the RoadMate app, ensuring it meets the unique needs of both experienced and new UBI participants.
The Experienced UBI Participant
The New UBI Participant
Alex,
Alex has been using a usage-based insurance (UBI) program for over a year and is focused on tracking driving habits to optimize rates. They want tools to help with monitoring driving data, understanding how behaviors affect premiums, and exploring options for reducing costs. Alex values real-time insights, detailed reports, and the ability to adjust driving habits to save more on insurance.
Jordan,
Jordan is new to a usage-based insurance (UBI) program and is still adjusting to the tracking system. They need clear guidance on how their driving habits impact their insurance rates and the tools to help them improve over time. Simplicity, progress tracking, and educational resources are key for Jordan to feel comfortable and informed about how to maximize their savings and improve driving behavior.
Hypothesis
We believe that by designing an intuitive and engaging onboarding flow for the DriveMyWay app, incorporating user-tested screens that highlight key features, emphasize data protection, and demonstrate app accuracy, we will effectively introduce new users to the app, ensure a smooth sign-up process, and enhance user retention, resulting in increased user satisfaction, higher registration, and greater trust in the app's value.
Ideate
Exploring Solutions
Designing the solution
After diving deep into user feedback and insights from product stakeholders, it became clear that the onboarding experience was a major pain point—users were feeling lost and disconnected. To address this, I brainstormed potential solutions and broke them down into five focus areas. To bring these ideas to life, I created lo-fi wireframes for each proposed flow, but I knew I needed more input to refine them. So, I set up a workshop with key stakeholders to break down each flow proposal, discuss pros and cons, and align on what would truly serve the user. After a series of collaborative sessions, we narrowed it down to two strong flow options. This hands-on approach helped us shape a solution that not only solved the user problem but also drove business growth.
The Challenge
With a five-screen limit, I needed to strategically merge flows to maximize value while ensuring a seamless user journey. This required a strong focus on content clarity and design efficiency to communicate the app’s purpose effectively within the constraints.
Mural Board Process
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Flow 1
Flow 2
Prototype
Hi-Fi Designs & User Testing
After narrowing down the options with key stakeholders, we decided on a single onboarding flow—a combination of the best elements from both proposed designs. With the flow finalized, I moved forward to create a high-fidelity prototype that would bring the user journey to life.
Since the project was still confidential, I rebranded the app as a fictional company called RoadMate. This allowed me to develop a visual design that mirrored the original DriveMyWay app while maintaining a unique identity. I created a custom color palette and branding elements that reflected the app's guiding, supportive role, while keeping the design professional and approachable.
To ensure a complete and cohesive user experience, I also integrated the initial registration and permission screens into the onboarding flow. This allowed me to provide a full journey that guided users seamlessly through sign-up, permissions, and feature introduction—everything they would need to get started.
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I then facilitated workshops with stakeholders to refine the language, ensuring it was clear, inclusive, and aligned with the app’s tone. With everything in place, I used Figma to build out the final design, fine-tuning interactions and visual details. After receiving approval, I launched user testing to validate the flow and gather actionable feedback, ensuring that the design was fully optimized for both user needs and business goals.
The Product
Main Features and Onboarding
Registration
User Testing
One of my favorite parts of the process was gathering direct feedback from users through UserTesting, where I created a questionnaire and conducted an unmoderated test with 12 participants. Analyzing their responses, I identified key pain points and insights that helped me refine the onboarding flow. By synthesizing the feedback, I could make targeted recommendations, ensuring the design truly resonated with users and met their needs. This phase was crucial in shaping a user-centered experience and strengthening the final design.
Participants
GenZ​
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27 female $60k - $79k
25 male > $19k
25 female $40k - $59k
26 male $20k - $39k
Millennials​
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43 female $80k - $99k
40 female $175k - $199K
29 female >$19k
30 male $20k - $39k
GenX​
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54 female $120k - $124k
51 male $40k - $59k
48 female <$200K
50 male $80k - $99k
Analyzing and Synthesizing Interviews
After conducting interviews, I created a Mural board to analyze responses, identifying key themes and actionable insights.
Usefulness of Content
92%
Scale 1-7 of Usefulness
(Not Useful to Very Useful)
Enroll into Program
83%
Scale 1-7 of Likelihood
(Not Likely to Very Likely)
Complete Onboarding Flow
92%
Scale 1-7 of Likelihood
(Not Likely to Very Likely)
Stakeholder Feedback
I presented these findings to the group, walking through key insights before opening the floor for questions and feedback. The group discussion revealed mixed opinions on whether testimonials should remain in the flow, with some valuing social proof while others questioned their relevance. Feasibility concerns also arose around the progress bar due to potential developer costs. Additionally, there was a strong push for enriching slide content to better prepare customers for app use. This feedback allowed stakeholders to voice their perspectives and refine our direction. After the meeting, I reconnected with key stakeholders to align on next steps and begin design updates for the next phase
Final Design
After sharing with our larger team, I worked with stakeholders to refine the content for clarity and impact, ensuring users instantly grasp the app’s value. We then aligned the branding with the company’s identity for a seamless, intuitive experience.
The result? A design that not only looks the part but also helps users instantly understand and connect with the app’s purpose.
Updated Screens.
Next Steps
Developer Hand off
Final Testing
Go-to-Market
Launch & Improve
Reflection
What I learned..
Collaboration Makes Design Stronger – Working with product owners showed me the power of teamwork and diverse perspectives in shaping great design. While feedback and iteration thrive in collaborative environments, I also learned to adapt to the limitations from developer handoffs, ensuring design goals are met within constraints.
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Leveling Up My UI Game – This project fueled my excitement to advance my UI skills, exploring best practices, prototyping, and micro-interactions to create more engaging, accessible, and intuitive experiences while navigating technical limitations.
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More Time for Iteration = More Impact – The fast pace emphasized the value of iteration. In future projects, I’ll focus on balancing speed with deeper exploration to ensure each design decision is backed by thoughtful iteration and user insights.