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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Reorganizing the information architecture (IA) of the UserZoom (UZ) Academy website empowered users to become more self-reliant, self-sufficient, and successful on the UZ platform. The new IA saved customers thousands of dollars each month while increasing user adoption and satisfaction.
Reorganizing the information architecture (IA) of the UserZoom (UZ) Academy website empowered users to become more self-reliant, self-sufficient, and successful on the UZ platform. The new IA saved customers thousands of dollars each month while increasing user adoption and satisfaction.
Before this project:
A combination of both UZ software tutorials and UX research documentation was confusing and inadequate for users to achieve UX research self-sufficiency. The UZ Academy content was mostly software tutorials, with UX research processs documentation sprinkled in.
After launching improvements:
By separating UZ software documentation from UX Research content and increasing the quantity of UX research documentation, users were less confused and more easily informed on how to harness the UZ software platform to conduct world-class UX research on their own.
Results
28% Increase in learner confidence
12% Increase in usrer self-reliance
7% Reduction in reliance on Research Partners
Project Details
Project Details
Client
UserZoom
Client Description
UserZoom, is an integral part of UserTesting, an all-in-one Experience Insights Management (XIM) platform. It is designed for enterprise businesses to conduct targeted remote, digital user research. It offers both qualitative and quantitative tools - such as usability testing, card sorting, tree testing, and surveys—to make it easier for product teams to measure and improve digital experiences.
Team
Mo Goltz worked in collaboration with a UX Researcher, Customer Education Manager, and a UX Manager
My Role
Lead Learning Experience Designer
Timeline
3 Months
Deliverables
Academy website audit report with suggested new information architecture, quality of life improvemnts, and accessibility and usability reccomendations
Training Needs Analysis report
New learner-feedback form design
Context
Context
Why was this project needed?
Why was this project needed?
The Users needed to know more in order to become successful
The majority of UserZoom's user base isn't made up of formally trained UX researchers. They're Product Managers and UX Designers who've picked up research skills ad hoc - on the job, as needed, one project at a time. They know enough to be dangerous: familiar with the basics, but without the depth required to run world-class UX research independently. They needed more guidance on how to conduct UX research properly.
The Problems
The Problems
The Information Architecture confused users
UserZoom Academy's IA blurred platform tutorials with UX research fundamentals, so software instruction dominated while research methodology felt like an afterthought. Users left knowing the tool, not the skill - a gap between what they wanted to do and what they could actually do.
Escalation: Confused users turned to expensive research partners
This gap had real business consequences. Customers who couldn't conduct independent studies turned to UZ Research Partners - dedicated researchers who ran studies on their behalf. The model worked, but it was expensive for everyone involved and an unsustainable substitute for true self-sufficiency.
Churn: WIthout research partners, users were not seeing value
Customers weren't getting the outcome they'd signed up for: subscribe, run studies, walk away with actionable insights. In practice, the software alone couldn't deliver that. Without the underlying research skillset, users struggled to produce consistent, high-quality recommendations. This resulted in users leaving UserZoom for competitors with simpler software or stronger built-in research training.
Project Goals
Project Goals
Keep customers and users on the UZ software platform
Reduce customers’ need for reliance on expensive Research Partners
Reduce the amount they spend on bespoke research
Increase user self-reliance in conducting UX research on their own while achieving world-class results
Increase product adoption
Increase user satisfaction with the training provided
PROCESS AND APPROACH
To triangulate the truth, we conducted several research methods to gain a holistic perspective on what opprotunies there were for the Academy. We asked reserch questions via a: survey, tranining needs analysis, and site audit.
Reasoning behind an information architecture update was supported by three reserach methods:
Survey: users were confused by outdated tutorials mixed in with UX research process documentation
Tranining needs analysis: users needed more guidance on how to do UX research properly over using the UserZoom tools
Site audit: the current information architecture did not match the mental models of the users
SOLUTION
All three research methods found that a new and better Information Architecture (IA) was needed to meet the needs of users
Key changes to the IA:
Separate UZ software tutorials from UX research content
Update key documentation focused on UZ workflows that are now obsolete
Increase the amount of content focused solely on UX research fundamentals
Key Benefits of the new IA:
Made it easier to find and reference needed documentation
Decreased the amount of time and effort needed to update content when the UZ software platform gets updated
Created a more advantageous balance of UZ software tutorials with UX research-focused content
RESULTS
By updating the UserZoom Academy's Information architecture, dependency on Research Partners dropped, while user self-reliance grew.
Business and Company Results
Increased user adoption of the platform and its features
Increased the ammount of users who are self-reliant and self-directed when it comes to UX research by 12%
Reduced the reliance on expensive Research Partners by 7%
Training Results
Increased learner confidence in applying key UX methods on the job by 28%
Increased the efficacy and usability of the Academy by improving over 100 UX issues
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