Overview
Users configuring CDGC Secure Agent services faced drop-off risks due to a bad setup experience. Users had to jump across tabs to read dense external documentation in order to complete their services and connectors setup.
To solve this, I wrote, designed, and built an interactive in-app walkthrough in the Administrator product that teaches users the workflow in real time. By replacing external documentation with tooltips, targeted animations, and precise steps anchored throughout the product and onboarding experience, I helped users complete setup faster without the friction.
Problem
Before this project, the team saw user drop-off during early onboarding. A review of the user journey revealed three primary issues:
Forcing users to read external documentation while navigating the product caused confusion and led to setup errors.
Background services took time to start up. Without real-time status updates in the UI, users assumed the system failed and quit the setup process early.
This setup friction slowed down onboarding and delayed the time it took for customers to get real value from the product.
Goals
I set three core goals for the experience:
Use active voice to guide users through steps and success states without cluttering active form fields or overwhelming the interface.
Help users move between different product areas, like Administrator and CDGC, without losing their place.
Ensure walkthrough steps and popups stayed locked to the correct UI elements across different screen sizes and user setups.
Solution
I worked with Regional Success and Product Management to turn complicated technical steps into a simple, step-by-step walkthrough that directly matches our main goals:
I took time to understand the setup process and wrote short, step-by-step instructions in active voice to guide users through each task and success states.
I built clear paths to help users move within the Administrator product without losing their place, including looping GIFs to highlight UI elements users might otherwise miss.
I tested every walkthrough step and pop-up across different screen sizes and user setups to make sure tooltips stayed locked onto target elements, like buttons and menus, so the content was easy to view and didn't create extra frustration.
Feedback & Iteration
I tested the walkthrough in live scenarios, gathered feedback from Regional Success and Product Management, and updated the walkthrough to fix key technical and usability issues:
Interacting with live form fields originally caused the walkthrough to close early. I changed the trigger logic so the walkthrough advances only after a service saves successfully.
Page scrolling originally caused tooltips to drift. I updated the element targeting to keep tooltips locked in place as users scroll.
I wrote all instructional text in active voice, shortened line lengths for easy scanning, and added spacing so users can read instructions quickly.
Outcome & Next Steps
To make sure the walkthrough delivers ongoing value within the CDGC ecosystem, I completed the following actions:
Integrated the "Enabling Services" walkthrough into the main CDGC Onboarding Assistant menu so users can launch it anytime.
Led a final walkthrough for the Regional Success team so stakeholders can update service requirements as the product evolves.
Because I built the walkthrough natively in Pendo, the team can now track completion rates, drop-off points, and time-on-task to refine the content based on live user data.
The walkthrough earned 387 total views, with 84% of users who clicked the menu item completing most of the walkthrough.
