problem:

User research provided insight that Azure Quantum Workspace creation was arduous and confusing . There were many points of friction that left users frustrated, unsure of how to proceed and abandoning the workflow. In addition there was opportunity to utilize learned behavior and better align with the Azure framework and design system.

goal:

Mitigate abandonment and gain user trust by removing ambiguity and clutter and aligning with the Azure framework design system. The intent was to provide a more efficient, intuitive experience through clear calls to action and affordances, and enable a better understanding of requirements and the task at hand.

process:

User research, team collaboration, design socialization, UX design, iteration

results:

• A workspace quick create path was added to remove the need for heavy decisions during workspace creation. This resulted in a workspace completion rate increase from 35% to over 70%.

• Placeholder text added to provide users with input requirement examples.

• The incorporation of multiple provider’s Terms of service acceptance into one decision, mitigated user’s need to click into each provider to accept individually.

• Text revisions enabled more concise guidance and better user comprehension.

• Standardization of provider logos and content enabled a cleaner UI experience for users and a more professional presentation for providers.

• Alignment with the Azure framework design system
  

advanced create:

quick create:

my role:

User Research, design socialization, UX design

problem:

User research exposed that the Overview page and included Getting started content was confusing and misleading. This was both a hierarchy and content overload problem.

First time users were unsure what the easiest and quickest path to get started and submit their first job was. 7 of 7 usability study participants followed a “Local configuration” path to configure their environment and submit jobs through a command-line interface rather than using the intended and much easier option with notebooks incorporated into Azure Quantum UI.

A deeper dive into some of these conversations additionally highlighted that more advanced / repeat users had trouble finding Quota Utilization and Job Activity content that was co-located with getting started content.

goal:

Highlight an easier pathway to submit a first job using notebooks in Azure Quantum UI. Revise page messaging and page design to better delineate between first run, subsequent use, and highly advanced options.

process:

User research, team collaboration, design socialization, UX design

results:

• The removal of first-run obstacles and presenting the primary CTA front and center with more descriptive and accurate messaging, resulted in a higher rate of success with over x3 job submission rate increase.

• Quota usage was redesigned and moved from Overview page to Operations side menu and co-located with credit usage content. This presented a more intuitive ingress point and a more holistic view of usage.

• Text revisions enabled more concise guidance and enabled a higher user confidence and trust with better user comprehension.
  

my role:

User research, design socialization, UX design

problem:

User research provided great feedback on the intent of the sample gallery, but indicated users were confused about how to easily find relevant content and navigate the workflow to using the samples. Users had difficulty navigating the more advanced samples that were available. This created low interaction with the page and low job submissions initiated from the sample gallery use.

goal:

Provide engaging content that enables users to learn while completing tasks and submitting jobs using the samples provided.

process:

User research, team collaboration, design socialization, UX design, iteration

results:

• Introductory content added as “hello world” samples. User research validated a high percentage of users utilize the Sample gallery for learning opportunities and comprehension of Azure Quantum’s broad offerings.

• Page redesign presented content more effectively with categorization of samples and standardization of content presentation.

• Provider selection feature added to hello world samples to demonstrate the provider agnostic aspects of Azure Quantum.
  

my role:

Usability Research, collaboration, design socialization, UX Design

goal:

Enable users to easily understand their credits and quotas usage per workspace and subscription, and in relation to their selected provider plan. Provide easy access to upgrade / increase amounts.

results:

Users could more intuitively account for both credit and quota usage in order to plan for any associated use and funding accordingly.

my role:

Usability Research, collaboration, design socialization, UX Design