Replica Trends

The Trends feature provides close to real-time insights into mobility, economic activity, and land use across specified geographies. At the height of COVID-19, this feature offered users a comprehensive view of evolving trends through an intuitive interface, enabling informed decisions about community status and public policies.

Objective

The goal was to redesign the loose UI/UX framework for this new data product, enhancing user experience and data accessibility to deliver actionable weekly insights for mobility and spending patterns nationwide.

Development Timeline

The redesign began in August 2020 and culminated in a successful beta launch in October 2020, just in time to support pandemic response efforts.

Initial Plan

Joining Replica in August 2020, I was greeted by a feature conceived as an MVP and hastily deployed to users amidst the unfolding pandemic. The development, primarily driven by developers in the absence of a dedicated product design and management team, resulted in a functional yet unrefined user interface. Recognizing the potential impact of this tool, especially in providing critical insights during the pandemic, my task was to transform this MVP into a fully realized, user-centric feature. This required not just a redesign of the interface but a reevaluation of the dashboard's role within the broader context of Replica's offerings and the urgent needs of our users during an unprecedented global crisis.

User Research

With a clear signal on what data Replica needed to provide, I initially worked with PMs and our Customer Success Team as proxies for our users to develop a set of requirements and designs and data science backed visualization standards. Once a beta version was released, I helped run user feedback sessions to inform rapid development and deployment of subsequent iterations.

Changes and Improvements

Rapid Focus on Core Requirements

Enhanced user experience by leveraging a basic framework of product requirements.

Revamping User Experience

Designed, prototyped, and tested a new UI that aligned with user expectations and needs.

Establishing Data Visualization Standards

Developed a comprehensive style guide for charts and maps to ensure clarity and consistency.

Implementing Event Tracking

Introduced event tracking capabilities to mark dates or periods of interest on charts.

Results and User Impact

The Trends Dashboard met the requirements to renew and secure a multi-million dollar contract with the state of New York. Subsequent large-value contracts and renewals followed due to demand for access to Trends data, thanks to its intuitive presentation and controls.