3 minute read
With a change in frequency of Harvard Business Review print issues, we wanted to show current subscribers our appreciation.
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The Challenge
In late 2016, Harvard Business Review was planning on decreasing yearly print issues from ten to six. Each new issue was thicker, with more content, and premium paper. We wanted to make sure subscribers knew that in addition to the print magazine, there was a wealth of digital content on the website, HBR.org. To that end, subscribers were given seven free digital gifts to thank them for their loyalty. Each of the gifts were products that can be purchased on HBR.org. The Marketing team had initially decided (informally) on the user flow for accessing the gifts, and they brought me in as the UX expert to make sure everything was good. They were planning on a not-insignificant number of subscribers calling Customer Service with questions on how to access their gifts. They described to me how users would get their gifts using the current site design, and I immediately recognized major usability issues with this approach. I proposed to prototype an alternate flow and test it out with users to help mitigate or eliminate these issues. In addition to improving the UX for the project, my goal was to have very few subscribers calling Customer Service. |
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The Team
I was the sole UX researcher/designer on the team, working with an interactive designer. This project was done before HBR moved to Agile Scrum development. |
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The Prototype
I worked with the interactive designer and the product manager to map out an alternative user flow that would make it much easier for subscribers to access their free gifts. My interactive designer colleague designed high-fidelity mockups in Illustrator and created an interactive prototype using Adobe XD. In consultation with me, she edited the UI layout of the email that subscribers would receive, as well as the pages on the site where users would access their gifts.
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UX Research Method: Moderated Remote Usability Testing
I conducted moderated remote usability testing with HBR subscribers, non-subscribers, and members of the general public who had heard of Harvard Business Review. Without use of a formal usability lab, I set up the testing in a conference room using Zoom to connect the participant's screen and audio. Test observers were present in the room with me, but they were instructed to remain quiet and pass any questions to me via sticky notes. |
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The Bottom Line
I was able to completely avoid the usability issues that I identified in the Marketing team's original user flow. With my colleague creating iterative prototypes, I conducted iterative usability testing to improve the UX for the project. Of all the subscribers who responded to the Marketing email and accessed their gifts, only TWO ended up calling Customer Service. And those calls were simply questions about the change in print issue frequency! |