SafeMode - Onboarding and Tutorial Flow

Challenge

The fleet industry loses approximately $70 billion annually due to preventable human errors like accidents, poor driving behaviors, and fuel inefficiencies. Fleet managers lack visibility into driver performance and tools to implement corrective measures, while users frequently dropped off during app registration due to confusing permission requests.

Solution

A redesigned onboarding flow and in-app tutorial that clearly explains permission requirements, builds user trust, and gamifies good driving behavior by allowing drivers to collect points and convert them to cash rewards.

My Role

Lead Designer - responsible for the complete design process from onboarding flow to app tutorial, collaborating closely with the CEO and mobile developer to bring designs to production.

Personal Takeaways

This project taught me the critical importance of making strategic pivots based on user research. What started as a hidden premium feature became publicly accessible after learning this would better serve our trial conversion goals. I also learned that when users rely heavily on benchmarking data for business decisions, data quality and comprehensiveness become paramount - gaps we couldn’t control (like geographical data) significantly impacted user satisfaction.

SITUATION

SafeMode’s original onboarding process was causing significant user drop-off. The app requested multiple permissions before sign-up without explanation, used confusing static button images, and immediately directed users to plain text legal documents after registration. My primary objectives were boosting completed app registrations and enhancing app engagement.

PROJECT GOALS

Design a fresh onboarding and registration process with an integrated tutorial to reduce user drop-off, improve trust through clear permission explanations, and increase user retention through gamified driving behavior.

DESIGN APPROACH

I conducted a rapid but intensive discovery phase including competitive analysis, existing work audit, and user research. Using three key heuristics, I evaluated the original onboarding:

• User control and freedom (Score: 2/5) - Confusing permission requests with static button images before sign-up.
• Flexibility and efficiency (Score: 3/5) - Generally user-friendly but poor onboarding experience.
• Aesthetic design (Score: 3/5) - Clea n but overly basic, lacking visual integration.

The research revealed users needed clearer explanations for required permissions and a proper tutorial to understand app functionality. Despite user preferences for streamlined processes, numerous permissions remained essential for core functionality.

PROTOTYPE + TESTING

I created low-fidelity prototypes to transform sketches into interactive formats for testing various onboarding approaches. Usability testing with non-tech-savvy users proved vital, revealing differing opinions between team assumptions and actual user needs regarding permission presentation and sequence. A/B testing ultimately guided the final direction, balancing user preferences with technical requirements.

LAUNCH + OUTCOMES

The revamped onboarding process provides a seamless experience that guides users through initial steps while introducing app features intuitively. The gamified system motivates good driving behavior through point collection and cash rewards, directly addressing the fleet industry’s core challenges while improving user retention and adoption.

DETAILS

🔗 URL: SafeMode
🗓️ DATE: October 2019
👨🏽‍💻 ROLE: Product Designer
🛠 TOOLS: Figma