
Product Adoption
Optimizing engagement through UX research
Successful product adoption is critical for long-term business growth, yet many products struggle due to poor onboarding, unclear positioning, and low user engagement.
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At McKinsey & Company, an internal change management platform faced low adoption rates due to usability friction, ineffective onboarding, and a lack of compelling engagement strategies.
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As Senior Manager UX Research, I worked with stakeholders to identify adoption barriers, improve user engagement, and refine content strategy—resulting in a 500% increase in digital engagement within six weeks.
SECTOR - Content strategy/ Website development
SETTING - Internal Change Management Platform
MY ROLE - Content Strategy, UX Research, Web Design, Implementation, Stakeholder Management
TIMELINE - Research: 3 weeks | Implementation: 8 weeks
COMPLEXITY - Medium
Challenge
Before the UX intervention, the internal change management platform had:
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Low engagement – Users weren’t utilizing key features
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Confusing UI – Content spread across pages, and unclear navigation
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Unclear value proposition – Employees didn’t understand why the platform mattered
Without improving usability and adoption strategies, the platform risked low long-term adoption, wasted investment, and disengaged users.

Activities
To increase product adoption and digital engagement, I led a UX research-driven strategy focused on three key areas:
User Research & Pain Point Analysis
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Conducted interviews & surveys to uncover barriers to adoption.
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Identified drop-off points where users abandoned the platform.
Content Strategy Optimization
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Conducted interviews & surveys to uncover barriers to adoption.
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Identified drop-off points where users abandoned the platform.
Engagement & Adoption Enhancements
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Introduced in-app guidance to support first-time users.
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Implemented UX-driven engagement loops (reminders, tooltips, and micro-feedback mechanisms).

Strategic UX Initiatives
1. Data-Driven UX Research
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Conducted usability tests & heatmaps to track engagement
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Mapped the user journey from onboarding to retention
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2. Personalized Onboarding Experience
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Simplified onboarding with step-by-step walkthroughs
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Integrated interactive tutorials & tooltips
3. Engagement-Boosting Features
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Implemented automated notifications & engagement nudges
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Added gamification elements to encourage ongoing participation
TRIANGULATE USER BEHAVIOR DATA TO CREATE HYPOTHESIS
SITE VISITORS BEHAVIORAL DATA ANALYSIS
Data showed that there was one audience/persona that used the site in majority (80%). This was also the group that would play a key role in implementing the new way of working the site advocated.
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Testing revealed that the information this group was looking for on the site, was hard to find as it was delivered on multiple pages. The existing site navigation made it time-intensive to retrieve the information.
After triangulating the data and insights, leadership agreed to a new site structure and content.
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The research insights guided the new site design and content development.
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND ITERATIVE PROTOTYPE TESTING
INTERVIEWS AND ITERATIVE PROTOTYPE TESTING
MVP TESTING
DESIGN VALIDATION WITH END USERS
SITE REDESIGN
NEW SITE STRUCTURE PRIORITIZES NEEDS BY PERSONA AND INTERACTION TIME
The impact
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500% increase in digital engagement
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Increased engagement with core information
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The platform now primary information source for the program
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70% of users completed onboarding (up from 20%)​
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Clearer positioning of platform value
"Good site design is not just about making things look visually appealing; it is about creating a seamless and intuitive user experience that enhances engagement, fosters trust, and drives meaningful interactions."
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