Improving the Notebooks Experience for Data Professionals
Project Context
Background & Problem Statement Our team was tasked with enhancing the Notebooks feature within a data analytics platform. Notebooks allow users to create documents containing both code and rich text, enabling interactive data analysis. Despite its potential, user feedback and support tickets indicated that the current experience was confusing, lacked visual feedback, and did not fully replicate the familiar Jupyter Notebook environment. Goals
Identify pain points and usability barriers for core user groups (Data Analysts, Data Engineers, Database Specialists, Data Scientists).
Increase task completion rates and user satisfaction.
Reduce support calls and bounce rates by making the experience more intuitive and reassuring.
My Role
As the Lead UX Researcher, I owned the end-to-end research process:
Designed and executed the research plan.
Created reusable study guides and onboarding materials for the team.
Led recruitment, panel management, and compliance efforts.
Synthesized findings and collaborated with designers and product managers to translate insights into actionable design changes.
Mentored junior researchers and instituted ethical guardrails throughout the project.
Research Methodology
Methods Used
User Interviews: To understand user expectations, workflows, and pain points.
Remote Usability Testing: Observed participants interacting with a live preview of the Notebooks feature.
Heuristic Evaluation: Benchmarked the experience against industry standards (e.g., Jupyter).
Surveys: Collected quantitative data on satisfaction and task completion.
Rationale A mixed-methods approach allowed us to capture both the “why” behind user frustrations and the “how” of their interactions, ensuring a holistic understanding of the problem space.
Research Process
Recruitment & Panel Management
Recruited 4 participants via Respondent.io, representing a cross-section of our target user base (Database Specialist, Lead Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Data Analyst).
Managed panel records securely, ensuring GDPR compliance and participant confidentiality.
Provided fair incentives aligned with industry standards.
Execution
Conducted remote sessions using Zoom and screen-sharing tools.
Used a standardized script and scenario-based tasks to ensure consistency.
Recorded sessions and transcribed key moments for analysis.