Microsoft OneNote
OneNote is part of Microsoft's Office suite. OneNote is a digital notebook that helps users capture ideas, take notes, and stay organized. The product is used by millions of people every day.
I was a member of the onboarding team.
Project Details
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When I joined the OneNote team, there was a new investment into redesigning the First Run Experience (FRE) with the overall goal of increasing user retention.
Product telemetry and past research had showed that product retention corresponds with users having more feature engagement and realizing higher product value.
How can we show users OneNote’s value and functionality during the new FRE?
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Duration: 8 months
Where: Microsoft Office OneNote Design Team
Role: Product Designer
Tools: Figma, Sketch, Microsoft Forms
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I worked with researchers and used data to create wireframes and test prototypes with users. I collaborated with senior UX designers, project managers, visual designers, and software engineers to build first-run experiences that supported business goals.
Before: Original Structured Notebook Flow
My starting point was the existing First Run Experience. The design intention attempts to demonstrate the value of OneNote by providing examples of how notebooks can be used. However, this teaching moment was too fleeting, and the experience needed a visual refresh to align with branding.
Process
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Usability Testing
The Microsoft Office team provided Flash Feedback—a bi-monthly opportunity to test prototypes with real users. I took advantage of this resource and completed four flash feedback usability testing rounds with an average of eight users per round.
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Research Collaboration
I worked with OneNote’s research resources to understand past efforts for similar concepts (e.g., templated notebooks), create surveys for flash feedback sessions, and identify how telemetry data can support design decisions.
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Weekly Team Critiques
OneNote was a supportive environment and hosted formal weekly design critiques. I always enjoy critique. During critiques, I learned from senior designers and better understood feature priorities and what was being iterated on.
Early concept using pop-ups with feature demonstrations
Early idea with overlays and contextual teaching toasts
An early pop-up design that influenced final design
Project Goals
Design iterations defined our goals for the new FRE experience.
Incorporate contextual teaching UI to improve feature engagement and retention
Create scalable interfaces that allow OneNote to introduce more notebook themes and templates
Create consistent feature patterns and experiences for users across platforms
Prototype Iterations
These videos are examples of tested prototypes of new on-boarding experiences. These iterations exemplify new ideas and visual treatments that reinforced project goals.
Consider All Product Platforms
The on-boarding and notebook creation process was inconsistent on various devices and platforms. During my prototype iterations, I designed for cross-platform use, which aligned with team goals of streamlining product touchpoints.
Impact
This is an example of a final prototype. When I concluded this project, my design was initially shipped as an experiment to 10% of the OneNote web platform. Telemetry analysis revealed significant improvements to feature engagement and retention, and my design was subsequently shipped to 100% of the platform.
