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Case Study 06

Registration Flows

Mapping sixteen registration processes and stilling
them down to four flows for 2+ Million users

Coming Soon!

This case study isn’t quite done yet. I’ve
chosen to still include it as an example of
where I improved upon an existing user
experience. Simplifying the registration

process had a big impact on retention
& conversion for Parchment. It can be
tempting to focus on new products &
features, but many times it is the core

user journey that can make or break a
product. I appreciate your patience as I
pull my portfolio together, please feel
free to contact me with any questions!

Here's a Quick Sneak Peek!

PROBLEM

Parchment had 6 Product Managers
across 8 products. Over time, a silo
mentality had resulted in 16 unique user
registration processes. Each had
independent profile and legal
requirements, design language,
mismatched steps and overlapping user
types. Even worse, they often dumped
into each other in unpredictable ways
that sometimes lead to dead ends and
cyclical loops.

By implementing Hotjar, I was able to
demonstrate that registration could
sometimes take a little as 5 minutes and
other times result in users that repeatedly
left and returned over hours of frustration
before presumably giving up and going
to their school admins to pursue a
multi-week paper ordering process. This
represented lost revenue, time intensive
support calls, and upset schools.

SOLUTION

I mapped out the existing 16 flows and
identified common components that
were then turned into registration
‘cards’ within a ‘deck’. I then built
consensus among the product team to
define requirements, user types, roles,
and profile data requirements. I
condensed these into three flows with
conditional logic based on origin,
school parameters, state legal
requirements, and self-identifying user
information and responses. I also added
a fourth dedicated to a native app
concept you can see in Case Study 09.

Once all of the flows and information
architecture were in place, I worked with
my product design counterpart to
visually design the registration cards
which we then used to create an
InVision prototype with hundreds of
individual screen states.

IMPLEMENTATION

Rather than flipping a switch and
causing untold mayhem, we began with
shunting users from one registration
flow at a time, creating only the
necessary registration cards to replace
them. When I left in 2017, Parchment
had not yet completed the transition.

Outcomes for this kind of long-term,
continuous release initiative can be
difficult to objectively quantify. I am
happy to say that we saw a steady,
double digit reduction in drop-off
percentage rates and support calls
while our NPS rose by a similar
percentage. The credit for this success
can easily be shared with many other
people, departments, and projects that
contributed over that period of time to
Parchment’s success. However, I
believe this kind of integration is the
hallmark of a good UX initiative.

Think We Would Work Well Together?
Say Hello!

About the author:

Jacob Cotten

A product designer with insatiable curiosity and an addiction to learning, Jacob often
participates in every phase of the design process –––from strategy to execution. He is currently
working for Gloo, a venture funded startup in Boulder, Colorado, that is building cloud-based
software that is centered around personal growth.    Learn More

Recommended case studies:

Website designed, written and coded by Jacob.
© 2018 Jacob Cotten.  Legalities

I was the principal designer for all of the work shown unless otherwise noted, and I am the author and creator of the case studies within this portfolio. This website exists as a digital resume for the purpose of providing proof of experience in order to gain future potential work. Many of these projects were completed collaboratively in a “creative for hire” agency, freelance contract, or software company with copyright assigned to that entity or client.

I always have language in my creative contracts that I discuss with clients and employers that specifies my ability to display my work publicly. This includes concepts and processes as well as final deliverables, given that all of these are necessary to display my competence as a UX and Product Designer. I follow best practices to the best of my ability to assure that my work for clients is in compliance with copyright, either through open licensing or purchase of stock photography, mockups, icons, and other creative resources. However, I recognize that digital ownership is sometimes disputed on the internet. I do not assume legal liability for work completed in good faith on behalf of corporations and organizations, even if it is displayed here in my Resume. Even so, I take copyright and intellectual property seriously as a professional designer and photographer.

If you have any questions or concerns about something displayed here, please contact me and I will do my best to resolve them as simply and expediently as possible. Thank you!