Donorbox User Onboarding Guide

Role:  Product Manager
Duration: January 2023 – April 2023

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Donorbox App

Donorbox is a leading SaaS non profit donations management app in the US. It employs around 150 people from around the world.

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Project Overview

The objective of this project was to redesign and enhance the Donorbox form editor by introducing a live preview feature and reorganizing the user interface (UI) to improve usability and conversion rates.

The previous version of the editor relied on static images, which caused confusion among users who could not see real-time updates. Additionally, first-time users were presented with a simplified UI, leading them to believe that essential features were missing.

By integrating live preview capabilities, restructuring the information architecture (IA), and refining user workflows, we aimed to:
- Increase form creation rates.
- Reduce user confusion.
- Improve conversion rates by making form editing more intuitive.

Dashboard design prior to the onboarding guide implementation – lacked clear guidance for new users on how to onboard and receive their first donation.

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Agile Product Management & Jira Workflow

To ensure efficient execution, I established an Agile process with structured sprint cycles, backlog management, and stakeholder alignment using Jira.

Agile Process Highlights

  • Sprint Planning: Defined major Epics (e.g., "Live Preview Implementation", "Navigation Improvements") and broke them into Jira tickets with clear acceptance criteria
  • Weekly Standups: Conducted check-ins with design, development, and QA to track progress and unblock issues.
  • Sprint Reviews & Retrospectives: Evaluated sprint outcomes, analyzed bottlenecks, and iterated based on user feedback.
  • Backlog Grooming: Maintained a structured backlog to align priorities with business objectives.

Jira Setup & Execution

  • Epics Created:
    • "Improve Form Editor Navigation"
    • "Live Preview Feature Development"
    • "User Testing & Iteration Enhancements"
  • User Stories & Tickets:
    • Defined detailed user stories (e.g., "As a user, I should see a real-time form preview").
    • Created technical tasks for engineering teams.
  • Bug Tracking & QA:
    • Ensured early bug identification to prevent release delays.

💡 Impact: The Agile methodology streamlined development, reducing the iteration cycle by 30% while maintaining a high-quality release.

Challenges & Key Constraints

  • Remote Cross-Functional Team: Coordinating across multiple time zones (design, development, QA, and stakeholders) while ensuring seamless execution.
  • Limited Engineering Resources: Focused on incremental improvements instead of a full overhaul to ensure feasibility.
  • Balancing New & Existing Users: Needed to modernize the UI without disrupting long-time users familiar with the old system.

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Data-Driven Research & Insights

User Feedback & Behavioral Analysis

User onboarding flow planning

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We collected insights through multiple research methods to ensure data-driven decision-making:

  • User Research:
    • Conducted customer interviews to identify pain points and feature requests.
    • The primary frustration was lack of real-time form visibility, leading to higher editing time and more errors.
  • Hotjar Behavioral Analysis:
    • Analyzed recordings to track friction points in the editing process.
    • Identified high drop-off rates after users struggled with UI navigation.
  • Competitor Benchmarking:
    • Reviewed donation SaaS platforms to assess industry best practices for form-building UX.
    • Identified the need for real-time previews and intuitive navigation.
  • Customer Support Tickets & Survey Data:
    • Common support complaints revealed that users didn’t realize advanced form settings existed.
    • Introduced full dropdown visibility from the start to prevent confusion.
  • Analytics Setup (GA4 and later Posthog):
    • Set up granular funnel tracking in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure onboarding effectiveness.
  • Key Insights:
    • 90% of users expected real-time previews but were only shown static images.
    • Users struggled to locate advanced settings due to the previous UI layout.

Product Execution & Solution Implementation

Introducing Real-Time Live Preview

  • Developed a live preview feature allowing users to see instant changes (color, amount, currency) while editing forms.
  • Reduced the need for repeated trial-and-error by 40%.

UI & Navigation Overhaul

  • Reorganized the left sidebar toolbar to make key options more accessible.
  • Moved essential features upfront to reduce confusion.
  • Provided clearer section labels for improved navigation.

User Testing & Iteration

  • Created Figma prototypes and conducted internal user testing before development.
  • Conducted A/B tests comparing the old editor vs. the new one.
  • Iteratively refined interaction flows based on live feedback.

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First onboarding step
Third onboarding step
The final step creates a sense of completion and accomplishment.

Outcomes & Measurable Impact

The feature enhancements led to significant improvements in usability and engagement:

📈 +8.65% increase in newform creation rates after onboarding.

📈 +13.65% increase in payment connection (Stripe, Paypal) conversion rates

📈 +7.24% increase in new users donation conversion

📈 +17.7% increase in confirmed emails conversions

📈 +40.82% increase in Stripe payment connection conversion rates

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These results validated that real-time feedback and better navigation directly improve engagement and donor conversion rates.

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Key Learnings & Strategic Takeaways

Incremental UX improvements drive major business impact: Even small usability refinements led to significant conversion increases.
Agile execution & backlog prioritization streamline development: Sprint planning & Jira workflows enabled faster iteration cycles.
Data-Driven Decision Making is essential: Behavioral insights from Hotjar and GA4 shaped product strategy.
Cross-functional collaboration accelerates product success: Strong alignment with design, development, and stakeholders ensured seamless execution.

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My Product Management Contributions

✔ Led end-to-end product strategy, roadmap execution, and backlog prioritization.
✔ Spearheaded Agile sprint planning, Jira task management, and sprint execution.
✔ Managed cross-functional collaboration between design, development, QA, and stakeholders.
✔ Conducted user research, data analysis, and user testing to optimize the form editor experience.
✔ Defined success metrics, set up funnel tracking in GA4, and drove iterative improvements.

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