Data Exploration

At mySidewalk, I developed data guides to simplify using large datasets and iteratively improved platform usability, leading to the launch of a beta product called Seek. The new product was developed using rich analytics and user feedback that helped achieve a 25% boost in retention.

5 min read  · GovTech · Product Strategy · Prototyping · Interaction Design · Visual Design 

Mission and goals

mySidewalk is driven by a mission to democratize data accessibility and empower the general public. Their data storytelling tools leverage an extensive collection of public and private datasets that are rigorously groomed and curated for individuals with limited data expertise. Access to accurate data can profoundly impact public welfare, enabling cities to secure grants for local government funding and build deeper understandings of their communities that can help avert potential crises.

The way forward

My role over Design involved conducting a thorough review of the platform's usability, identifying areas for improvement, and devising a new UX vision and product strategy. A core aspect of this vision was to leverage the company's data expertise by incorporating comprehensive curated guides into the products, simplifying data selection and usage for users of all backgrounds. 

The first version of Guides was integrated into the platform's data selection. We collected the best datasets from the best sources for key topics, then formatted and organized the datasets with explanations of how to use them. 

We implemented usability enhancements iteratively, with particular focus on refining geographic region selection. We also continued development of the data guide concept to provide users with valuable insights. This progress set the stage for the Seek beta project, which aimed to integrate faster and more intuitive data exploration tools into the platform.

The updated region selection consolidated several disconnected features and screens into a single dialog.

A new platform

The Seek team was of a mix of roles from different departments within the company, including Front-End Developers, Product Managers, User Researchers, Marketers, and myself as the sole Designer. I created low-fidelity Balsamiq mockups to align everyone's understanding and guide the development of features for the beta release. I also built a comprehensive set of interactions in an Axure prototype. It proved invaluable in exploring behaviors and effectively conveying them to our developers.

I arranged the mockups on a large canvas with color-coded arrows and numbered callouts (with design rationales and descriptions of variations) to make it easier to reference and discuss specific points during design reviews.
A considerable amount of effort was put into the UX writing for the whole new platform, but I gave extra attention to the information callouts for descriptive statistics. We had several language reviews with our internal data experts because our goal was to educate and we needed to ensure our language was plain-spoken and accurate. 
I developed new visual styles as we built the Beta, so I maintained an Axure prototype with examples of all the new components. They were laid out to demonstrate their various states, and I built them to be easily read by developers using Axure's built-in inspector tool.
Clicking a row opens a "details" dialog that visualizes that specific region with a population chart and reorients the row into a column for a different view of the data. We also included options (that require no configuration or data knowledge) to display statistics and highlight outliers.
Seek allows users to explore and find insights, but it also helps to build a sense of data, or how different datasets relate to each other and when certain visualizations work (or don't work).
The single variable and bivariate (two-variable) map "detail" dialogs include ranking details and provide many different views and contexts to help users explore the data and find the insights they're after. 

Guided by data

Throughout the process, I leveraged Fullstory (our primary analytics tool) as an essential resource for studying user behaviors. A combination of A/B testing, surveys, and follow-up interviews with user groups informed the development of new features. I also used the experimental nature of the beta platform to develop new interactive data visualizations and to refine new patterns and components for the visual design system.

The rich analytics and visualizations provided by Fullstory were invaluable during development. This data is arguably the next best thing to an eye-tracking study, but with the extra advantage that is has no observer bias and is collected automatically.

Conclusions

Seek inherited the usability enhancements we developed for the legacy platform, and they continued to evolve with the product. The use of an analytics and recording tool like Fullstory added depth to statistical data and uncovered usability issues that may have remained unnoticed at the pace of traditional observation methods. 

This project drove home the importance of paying attention to the numbers. By engaging real users in the process, we efficiently optimized functionality, which resulted in a 25% boost in retention.

Check out my other examples or learn more about me.

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