What is Olive?

Olive is a platform that streamlines businesses' process of buying a software. They provide information about the software, then evaluate it against the requirements that each company has. Olive believes that this removes any biases and ensures personalized and focused results.

Solutions provided by competitors are biased and not personalized

To understand the problem scope better, I conducted a competitive research analysis on softwares similar to Olive. I focused on their features and solutions they offer to their users.

From this analysis, it became evident that the information provided by these software solutions is generic and lacks customization for each company's needs. Furthermore, competitors often rely on reviews provided by current customers with disparate requirements.

Olive users believe data visualizations enhance interaction and engagement.

I conducted user interviews with Olive's users and target users to understand more about their experiences when using Olive, and their pain points.

Key Takeaways:

Designing data visualization

With the persona in place, I initiated the ideation phase by sketching various data visualization concepts on paper. During this stage, I maintained open communication with the CTO, incorporating internal feedback to ensure alignment with their expectations and branding guidelines.

Here are some examples of sketches and the key screens:

After obtaining a clearer vision of the data visualizations, I charted the flows of the entire platform, with a particular focus on how users would navigate between different visualizations. This process not only helped me conceptualize other necessary components but also facilitated the creation of the overall user experience.

Testing and validation

I created a clickable prototype on Figma, and conducted a remote usability test. During the sessions, I prepared series of questions and challenges I'd like them to do with the prototype. This way, I was able to evaluate how well users could navigate throughout the page and see if the designs provided would be effective.

Moreover, 100% of them also agreed that they would be able to learn these new features quickly.

"I'm a visual person – love seeing the data visualizations! These help me present easily to my stakeholders when coming to a software decision"
‍
– Olive customer and business analyst

Despite the great results, there are some things I needed to change...

Here are some of the iterations I made, following the usability test sessions.

A change in the way we highlight differences

One of the features users loved was the ability to expand graphs to highlight differences between each software solutions. However, during the usability test, many of them are not aware of this feature.

Solution:
Instead of clicking onto the numbers to expand the graph, the grids are highlighted upon hover, indicating that it is clickable.

Old design

Iterated design

Adding a step-by-step onboarding

From the test, 60% agree that they feel confident using the platform*
*... Confidence will increase after several uses of the platform.

Solution:
I designed a step-by-step tooltip upon onboarding and trying out the new feature. Most people are already familiar with this format, hence increasing its chance of success.

Here are the final designs

The final solution of this project can be divided into three main sections:

Highlighting differences in two ways

Compare and contrast
Customers can easily compare software solutions across categories, requirements, stakeholders, and departments through intuitive data visualizations.

Expanding Grids
When multiple software solutions share similarities, expanding the grids helps users recognize that, despite commonalities, each solution excels in distinct areas.

Interactive data visualization

Users can now choose from three distinct, customizable data visualizations. Each can be tailored to specific requirements using filters, grouping, and measurement options, making the data more engaging and insightful.