Strike Graph
Strike Graph is a SaaS product company that helps other businesses achieve, maintain, and manage cybersecurity compliance programs.
Overview
We evaluated Strike Graph's existing web application and then proposed a revised product design in order to improve the application's performance for primary users.
KEY DELIVERABLES
PROCESS WORK
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MY ROLE
UX Researcher | UX/UI Designer | User Interview Observer & Note-Taker
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METHODS
Cognitive Walkthrough | Task Analysis | Contextual Inquiry | User Interviews | User Stories & Scenarios | Screen & User Flows | High Fidelity Wireframes | Interactive Prototyping | Design Systems
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TOOLS
Figma | FigJam | GoogleDocs | Zoom | Pen & Paper
SUMMARY
Key Points
Problem: Improve and introduce new functionalities into Strike Graph’s existing app to empower users and expand the user base
Process: Working as a part of a 5-person research team, we evaluated the existing product and experience using internal (cognitive walkthrough) and external (contextual inquiry sessions, client demo) methods in order to identify key painpoints and opportunity areas to drive the development of user stories and scenarios
Findings: Opportunities for customization, contextualization, and self-driven task management, while keeping color accessibility in mind
Solution: Moving into independent work, I started with low-fi sketches, screen flows, and task flows, and then developed an interactive prototype with annotated documentation for client delivery
Challenges: In response to changing logistics and participant in cognitive inquiry sessions, we joined forces with another UX team and adapted moderation techniques in-session to maximize user research opportunities
Reflection: This project emphasized the importance of flexibility in the research process and was a wake-up call for the need to design with accessibility in mind
PROBLEM
Problem Statement
Strike Graph provides an all-in-one solution to help companies (often small or startup pre-public businesses) build their security compliance program from the ground up. Their web application offers content, tailored audit frameworks, integrations, and automations, but customers rely heavily on Strike Graph customer success manager representatives for guidance throughout the process. Strike Graph approached us with the goal of making improvements and introducing new functionalities into their existing app, in order to reduce customer reliance on their success reps and expand their appeal to the user base to medium and large-sized enterprise customers.
Strike Graph’s existing product’s landing page (Compliance Dashboard) features several color-coded data visualizations, along with a main navigation pane on the left and navigation tabs in the page header.
Existing Product Evaluation
To understand the existing product, we participated in an onboarding demo with the client, conducted an internal cognitive walkthrough on primary tasks in Strike Graph (identified in a generative research report from the client), and conducted three contextual inquiry sessions with current users.
Screenshot of cognitive walkthrough documentation for primary task: tailer control to organization.
The generative research report received during client intake provided a general overview of the company, primary users, key tasks, future goals, and competitors.
Team FigJam board used to collect, organize, and analyze data from contextual inquiry sessions with Strike Graph users.
Opportunity Areas
The synthesis of our research data revealed several key themes and opportunity areas.
Customization
Strike Graph users have varied roles and responsibilities within both within their company and the web app. A customizable interface that allows users to easily access their most frequently-used tools may help to facilitate user workflows and efficient workflows.
Contextualization
Strike Graph users rely heavily on others—customer success reps or company teammates—for understanding what tasks are needed of them and completing them within the platform. Providing additional context to users regarding how their role fits into the audit process and a road map for what tasks are ahead may help users to feel more informed and empowered while using Strike Graph.
Task Management
Strike Graph users have multiple tasks to complete both within the tool and outside the tool. Providing a solution to help users organize, prioritize, and manage their tasks within Strike Graph may help user keep up-to-date on time-sensitive tasks and complete them in the most efficient manner possible within the constraints of the current tool.
“I have a static list of responsibilities. I usually go straight to the Evidence Repository and search by owner to find myself.”
- Participant 2
(Strike Graph contributing user at company)
“Oh my God there’s so much for me to do!”
- Participant 1
(Strike Graph lead user at company)
“Clients struggle with ‘What am I supposed to do? When am I supposed to do it?’”
- Participant 3
(Strike Graph contributing user and product manager)
Color Consistency & Accessibility
Underpinning all of our research findings was the theme of color consistency and accessibility. Strike Graph's web app integrates lots of data visualizations and color coded elements. Thus, a strong consideration of color is foundational to improving Strike Graph's visibility, consistency, and overall accessibility.
Strike Graph’s existing product employs multiple color-coding schemes across different data visualizations, fields, and screens (including the Compliance Dashboard, pictured here)—many of which rely heavily on red-green color differentiation.
The Evidence Repository within the existing platform employs two color-coded fields in a tabular view: the first column uses colored dots to indicate evidence item status, and the last column uses colored tags corresponding to attachment status.
User Stories & Scenarios
Driven by these research findings, I developed user stories and scenarios to help develop empathy for Strike Graph's primary user groups (identified in the generative research report) in the context of the identified opportunity areas.
User Story #1
As a compliance manager, I want to be able to easily access frequently used tools within Strike Graph, so that I feel focused and am able to have an efficient workflow, without needing to look through irrelevant information to address the requirement task at hand.
User Story #2
As a technical leader, I want to be able to better understand how my and my company’s responsibilities fit into the audit process, so that I can feel informed, empowered, and equipped as I guide my company forward.
User Story #3
As a compliance contributor, I want to be able to organize my tasks within Strike Graph, so that I can prioritize my workload, maintain an efficient workflow, and feel assured in my decisions as I work through my tasks.
SOLUTION
Sketches
Guided by our user stories and scenarios as an entry points into developing solutions for key opportunity areas, I created hand sketches as visual depictions of screen flows, user and task flows, wireframes, and states of key interactions.
Sketch of revised landing page / dashboard overview, featuring customizable widgets and data visualizations intended to provide users with both context about how their role fits into the company’s audit process and features specific to their role and responsibilities within Strike Graph.
Sketch of screen flow depicting how users may access a widget library to add personalized content to their dashboard, as well as navigate to open tasks within other areas of the web app via targeted dashboard widgets.
Sketch of an updated log in and profile setup flow, designed to capture relevant company- and role-specific information not currently collected in Strike Graph’s new customer intake form, to be used to create a more relevant, tailored, and informed experience throughout the product.
Interactive Prototyping
Working from my hand sketches, I moved into creating an interactive prototype of these solutions.
Profile setup screen for collecting company-specific information (such as industry area) during the log in flow.
Updated dashboard landing page (My Audit Journey) features customizable widgets that provide users quick access to their most frequently used tools, and help them track their role and responsibilities in the context of their company and the audit process.
Full view of main dashboard (My Audit Journey) includes tools for managing personnel, accessing, and organizing tasks.
Detailed information for open tasks is accessible from data visualizations and widgets on the main dashboard. For example, a listing of unscored risks is accessible via the Audit Roadmap “Score Risks” task block.
Users encounter additional prompts while completing tasks within Strike Graph (e.g., prompting user to mitigate a risk directly after scoring it) and receive more relevant suggestions for completing such processes (e.g., controls suggested based on both the audit framework and company-specific information).
Annotated Documentation
I delivered my research findings and recommended changes to the client in the form of an interactive prototype and annotated documentation of contextual explanations, design rationale, and interactions & state changes.
Annotations for key screens (Widget Library pictured here) produced in Figma document explanations of content, design rationale based on research findings, interactions and state changes, design changes from the existing product, and entry points to the interactive prototype.
CONCLUSION
Deliverables
Next Steps
With the prototype, documentation, and recommended changes in the hands of our client, it will be up to Strike Graph to decide what to do with our proposed solutions — whether this means more ideation, building out more screens, conducting user testing, etc., we are excited to see what comes next for Strike Graph.
Key Learnings & Takeaways
We had the opportunity to learn from the users of a customized and specialized tool, within the context of their existing workflows.
We worked to understand and design within an existing design system, integrating consistent visual cues with the existing product while, at the same time, introducing revised and expanded functionalities.
We learned a lesson in designing with accessibility in mind: a user's goal should not have to be to simply have an accessible experience — any user should be able to have the same goal, and accessible design should make this possible.