INTRODUCTION

Microsoft needed a guided solution to help diverse audiences—students, teachers, and schools—navigate its vast array of products and make informed purchasing decisions. My role was to design an intuitive wizard tool, ensuring users could easily identify the best product for their unique needs while aligning with business goals of increasing conversions and improving the overall customer experience.

MY ROLE

Lead UX designer responsible creating decision tree, defining user flows, designing wireframes and prototype, and writing design documentation for dev hand off

THE TEAM

1 UX designer, 1 product manager, 2 visual designers, 1 experience strategist, 2 copywriters

TIMELINE

Aug 2022 - Oct 2022

THE CHALLENGE

With an extensive catalog of products, users often felt overwhelmed when trying to choose the right solution. The challenge was to simplify this process by creating a guided, audience-specific tool that provided clear recommendations while maintaining an engaging and accessible user experience.

Provide recommendations

Match users with relevant devices, products, resources or support recommendations based on key self-selected criteria (audience type, content type, need/focus).

Easy access

The Help Me Choose Finder should be easily accessible throughout the site and be simple and quick to interact with (in-page module as opposed to pop-up or separate page).

Support users

Support users in navigating the site and introducing them to the wealth of products and/or resources it has to offer.
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Collect user data

Gather user data that can help inform personalized mechanics across the experience (in a single session or for a returning visitor that has not cleared cookies).

THE APPROACH

User Research & Insights

Collaborated with product strategists to identify key audience segments and their unique needs. We conducted stakeholder interviews to uncover pain points, such as decision fatigue and unclear product differentiation.

Iterative Design Process

Mapped out detailed user flows and decision trees to guide each audience type—students, teachers, or schools—through a tailored experience. Focused on designing intuitive prompts and clear CTAs to streamline the decision-making process.

Mobile-First Design

Prioritized mobile accessibility by creating a responsive, lightweight interface that adapted seamlessly across devices. This was crucial for ensuring a positive experience for users on-the-go.
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Prototyping & Testing

Built interactive prototypes to validate user flows and design decisions. Usability tests confirmed the clarity and efficiency of the tool, leading to minor refinements in question phrasing and visual hierarchy.

STRATEGY + UX

The Help Me Choose Finder included a series of guided questions and filters tailored to different educational settings, allowing users to input their requirements and preferences.

Step 1: User self-identifies audience

Auditing the Microsoft EDU site gave us insight into what their main audience sectors were. The most common audience members are students and parents, school leaders, educators, IT professionals and higher education. Learning this enabled us to begin constructing the starting point for all flow.

Step 2: User selects type of content or information

Matching certain products and recommendations to specific audience types is the next step. After selecting an audience type, the user is prompted to choose between devices, products, training, or resources. With this information we can filter the different offerings that are best suited for the corresponding audience.

Step 3: User chooses main area of focus

This step differs depending on the audience and their focus. Here the user is able to narrow down what they are looking for by choosing different priorities and selecting options within those priorities. Priorities to choose from are price, device type, brand, screen size, or features.

Leveraging machine learning algorithms, the tool generates personalized recommendations based on users' input. It analyzes data patterns and aligns them with the user's educational goals, budget constraints, and technological preferences.

I worked closely with experience strategy to create a decision tree that would highlight each step from beginning to end. The decision tree enabled us to map out all the potential user flows particular to each audience group and allowed us account for all the different steps and sub-steps within each flow.

THE SOLUTION

Simplified User Journeys

• Designed a decision tree and user flows to accommodate varying audience types, ensuring logical navigation from start to finish.

• Introduced audience-specific prompts and product recommendations, personalizing the experience for students, teachers, and schools.

Mobile-First, Accessible Design

• Created a fully responsive design, ensuring a seamless experience across devices.

• Focused on accessibility by adhering to WCAG guidelines, including intuitive navigation and clear, readable text.

Seamless Integration

• Ensured the "Help Me Choose" Finder was seamlessly integrated into Microsoft’s EDU website, maintaining brand consistency while enhancing the overall user experience.

• Designed the tool to align with existing site architecture and content strategies, making it easy for users to discover and engage with.

The HMCF seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft EDU website, featuring prominently on the homepage and within relevant product pages. Since online quizzes have a lot in common with online games because they’re interactive and they provide a sense of achievement when complete.

We wanted to illustrate this playful spirit and intrigue the user with a quiz design that feels fun, intuitive and seamless to use.We are championing the spirit of the brand look and feel by infusing the signature shapes, playful color palette, and warm human photography.

Example Flow: School Leader

IMPACT + TAKEAWAYS

The "Help Me Choose" Finder transformed the way users interacted with Microsoft’s product catalog, empowering them to make confident, informed decisions. For Microsoft, the tool not only increased conversions but also provided actionable insights into customer preferences, enabling better targeting and future product development.

This project demonstrated the value of simplifying complex workflows through thoughtful UX design. By putting the user’s needs at the forefront and leveraging collaborative problem-solving, we created a solution that met both user expectations and business objectives. The success of the "Help Me Choose" Finder further underscored the importance of data-driven design and scalable solutions.