Salesforce Trailhead
Designing Adaptive Engagement for Evolving Learner Needs
SaaS
B2B
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
8 weeks
team
2 Enginners, 1 PM, me
platform
Web
What Changed
Documentation time dropped from 15-20 minutes to 7-10 minutes. Support tickets about lost work decreased by 78% in the first month. In a follow-up survey, 89% of therapists said the new system was easier or much easier than before.
But my favorite feedback was qualitative
'This is exactly what I needed—I can finally see where I am.'
'I haven't lost a note since the update. Game changer.'
'It actually feels like someone asked us what we needed.'
Zero people requested to go back to the old version, which felt like the real success metric.
What I'd Do Differently
I'd push harder for access to real users earlier. Working through intermediaries gave me valuable insights, but I missed nuances that only come from watching someone actually struggle with an interface. Even one shadowing session would have accelerated my understanding.
I'd also document existing problems more systematically. I relied heavily on anecdotal feedback and support tickets, which worked—but a proper heuristic evaluation would have given me clearer evidence when advocating for changes.
What I Learned
Strategic improvements beat perfect overhauls. I wanted to rebuild everything into a sleek single-page experience. But given our constraints, that wasn't realistic. The three focused changes we made—progress visibility, auto-save, better IA—delivered serious value without requiring a ground-up rebuild.
Mental models beat logic. What made sense to me (grouping related data) didn't always match how therapists thought. Validating assumptions with people who actually do the work saved me from shipping something technically correct but functionally wrong.
Invisible design builds trust. The 'Last saved' indicator wasn't technically necessary—the system was auto-saving either way. But it transformed how people felt about the experience. Sometimes the most important design work is making invisible processes visible.
This is sample content for portfolio development purposes. Replace with your actual case studies when ready.
