Improving community engagement

Research

Role:

I wore multiple hats during the project including Product Design lead, Workshop Facilitator, Developer

Users able to more easily find and subscribe to content such as product updates
Widespread positive feedback both externally and internally
Increase in engagement
Product roadmaps driven from customer demand with the introduction of a new ideas board

Objective

The Data Quality Community was designed to support users of Aperture Data Studio by fostering peer-to-peer interactions, providing resources, and reducing reliance on consultancy support. However, engagement levels were low, and users struggled to find valuable information. The poor information architecture and inactive community limited the platform’s potential. The challenge was clear: we needed to transform the community into a more vibrant, user-friendly space that encouraged active participation.

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Discovery and Research

Through a series of user and stakeholder interviews, I identified the core issues behind the community's stagnation:

Poor Information Architecture: Users reported difficulties in locating the information they needed, largely due to the community’s fragmented structure and inadequate search functionality.
Lack of Engagement: With most posts receiving only a single response from a consultant, users didn’t feel incentivized to engage, and peer-to-peer support was minimal.
Inadequate Content Variety: Users wanted access to a broader range of resources, including learning materials and pre-sales content, which weren’t readily available.
Internal Stakeholder Disconnect: Many internal stakeholders were either disengaged or frustrated by the low participation of their colleagues, further contributing to the community’s lack of vitality.

By clustering these findings into themes, I was able to clearly define the areas that required the most attention.

The old community had a fairly flat structure with most types of content posted in the main discussion area, including internal posts linking to new product versions as sticky posts. Users found it hard to navigate and they only used it when they had a question that needed answering.

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Workshops and Co-Creation

To address these challenges, I facilitated a workshop with key stakeholders across the business. The goal was to transform our research insights into actionable solutions. Here's what we did:

‍Empathy Mapping: I presented empathy maps to bring user frustrations to life, encouraging stakeholders to put themselves in the users’ shoes.

External usage was mainly limited to using the community as a support tool

Internal usage was limited with poor adoption

Partners were not made to feel like an important part of the community and didn't see much value

Community Benchmarking: Participants were asked to share examples of successful online communities, sparking discussions on features and engagement strategies that could be applied to our platform.

‍Brainstorming Solutions: We generated ideas to tackle the main themes, focusing on how to improve the user experience and reinvigorate engagement. Discussions revolved around incentivizing participation, expanding content offerings, and improving navigation.

The best ideas from the physical workshop were pulled out and clustered into groups such as organisation, gamification, search, login / onboarding and crowdsourced ideas.

The outcome was a list of concrete ideas that we could move forward with, aligning the team on a clear vision for the platform's future.

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Design and Execution

Based on the workshop outcomes, I led the design and implementation of key improvements:

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Reimagined Information Architecture

‍We streamlined the site structure in further workshops, making it easier for users to find content and participate in discussions.

Open card sorting workshops were held to define a new information architecture. Patterns were grouped and a new information architecture proposed.

Concept designs

We then concepted out some final designs, and worked alongside the provider, Vanilla Forums, to assess technical faesibility.

Initial concepts included a new left hand navigation and information architecture, including new sections like resources, downloads, events and an ideas board where people could submit requests.

Category-specific search and a clearer CTA

Due to technical contraints with the platform (Vanilla Forums) we were using at the time, the navigation was moved to the top and the photos became icons which more closely aligned to other supporting websites within Experian Data Quality such as the documentation. The new posts were more clearly highlighted, and guidelines introuduced to internal users.

Incentivizing Engagement‍

We introduced features aimed at fostering peer-to-peer support, including notifications for activity in threads users had participated in and recognition for top contributors.

Throughout the design process, I kept stakeholders informed and aligned, running feedback sessions to ensure the updates met both business and user needs.

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Outcome: Driving Engagement and Usability

Once the updates were live, we conducted follow-up interviews with users to gauge the success of the redesign. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with notable improvements in both external user satisfaction and internal stakeholder participation. Key results included:

Increased Engagement: The introduction of new features led to more active participation from users, with a higher frequency of peer-to-peer interactions and repeat visits.
Enhanced Usability: Users reported that the platform was much easier to navigate, with information more accessible and relevant content easier to find.
Internal Alignment: The revamped community fostered better collaboration across departments, with more stakeholders actively contributing to and benefiting from the platform.

This project transformed the Data Quality Community from a fragmented, underused resource into a thriving hub of engagement and support, aligning users’ needs with the business’s goals.