tackling information overload

Malwarebytes Next Gen

As part of an initiative to converge all of Malwarebytes' security offerings into a single product, the consumer product design team was tasked with creating a dashboard concept that served as a launchpad for these features.

tackling information overload

Malwarebytes Next Gen

As part of an initiative to converge all of Malwarebytes' security offerings into a single product, the consumer product design team was tasked with creating a dashboard concept that served as a launchpad for these features.

tackling information overload

Malwarebytes Next Gen

As part of an initiative to converge all of Malwarebytes' security offerings into a single product, the consumer product design team was tasked with creating a dashboard concept that served as a launchpad for these features.

The Problem
When does a product suite become too much?

Currently, Malwarebytes offers a suite of security products that customers can purchase individually or through bundling. However, regardless of purchase method, customers are required to download each product separately and activate each one individually. This caused confusion amongst our customer base, which lead to an overloading demand on our customer support system.

Can you imagine buying all these products from the same company, but maintaining individual licenses and individual subscriptions? What a headache!

Design goals

Create an easy and intuitive experience that motivates users to be proactive in keeping their devices and online behaviors safe

Business goals

Reposition ourselves as a personal security advisor that drives up engagement and maintains retention

DEFINING foundation
How do we unify products created in silo?

In order to understand the overlap in functionality between products as well as prioritize features, it was necessary to create a master architecture. To ensure that all features and functionalities were represented accurately, it was important to define the taxonomy in which to start categorizing. Some of our products were built based on features being objects for users to use (nouns). Others were built based on actionable tasks (verbs).  For the purpose of this exercise, we sorted features as actionable items. Those that were defined as objects were re-labeled so that they fit the verb structure.

Persona
Drawing upon our persona study, we want to ensure that stakeholders don’t get carried away with the excitement of developing new features.
Roadmap
Pillars for decision-making
Drawing upon what we learned about our users and deciding the model of our product, what are the principles that guide our decisions and priorities?
Evaluate MVP vs True North

Knowing that this is a brand new product that requires complete overhaul effort from developers, how do we design in a scalable manner that allows for seamless iterations?

Tight deadlines
Tight deadlines

Because of the aggressive Go-To-Market plan and the monstrous effort required of developers, design was pressured to deliver as early as possible to allow room for iterations and redirections.

Design for all users

How do we address the needs of an average user who is casual about their cybersecurity while also providing enough information and features to our advanced user who is proactive in keeping their (and their loved ones’) devices safe?

first draft
Let's brainstorm
What was our plan
  • Design what we already know

  • Lay out all the information we think needs to be conveyed

  • Functionality first, engagement second

What did not work
  • Having the effort be almost completely design-led forced the design team to make assumptions

  • Lack of strategy and understanding the problem space that the product is trying to solve.

What did work
  • Creativity flourished

  • Revisit and validate personas

  • Exercise a formal design process

What was our plan
  • Design what we already know

  • Lay out all the information we think needs to be conveyed

  • Functionality first, engagement second

What was our plan
  • Design what we already know

  • Lay out all the information we think needs to be conveyed

  • Functionality first, engagement second

What did not work
  • Having the effort be almost completely design-led forced the design team to make assumptions

  • Lack of strategy and understanding the problem space that the product is trying to solve.

What did work
  • Creativity flourished

  • Revisit and validate personas

  • Exercise a formal design process

What really
happened
What really happened
What really happened
Fill in the gaps with a heuristic evaluation
Realizing that there were uncomfortable assumptions the design team was making while brainstorming our first concept, we went back and conducted a heuristic evaluation of our products and how they relate to the direction we are aiming.
Forced non-designers to move through a design-thinking/Jobs-to-be-done process
In order to have a successful concept deliverable, everyone (PMs, engineers, executives) were required to walk through the design thinking process to define the problem space and formalize goals.
Benchmarking and validation
Due to lack of direction, the UX research team was able to take the opportunity to understand the mental model of our users and how they perceive the definition of cybersecurity.
Data-driven decisions
With the combination of Jobs To Be Done requirements formulated by all stakeholders as well as participant testimonies during user testing, the design team was able to make informed decisions.
UX research
Participatory design
Seeing how overwhelming the UI can become, we wanted to explore how users understand their personal cybersecurity as well as what aspects of their device security do they find most important.
Insights on our benchmark
  • Some participants self-reported themselves as “very knowledgeable” about cybersecurity but struggled with expressing their thoughts and needs in detail, suggesting they may be “less knowledgeable.”

  • We did not meet participants expectations to provide additional information and guidance.

Clear direction
  • Personalized recommendations to increase users security and privacy

  • Succinct education on product features and strategies for increasing users’ security and privacy

  • Clear actions for users’ next steps that address recommendations to increase their security and privacy.

Friendly, personable tone of voice
  • A friendly, gentle, and informative guide across the unified application

  • An adaptive and personalized experience across the unified application

Second draft
Making some changes
Pros:
  • Cleaner look and feel informative

Cons:
  • Not scalable

  • Potentially information overload

  • Does not align with the mental model discovered during UX research

Proposed draft
What we proposed in our storyboard
Changes to note:
  • Simplified the information for casual users while still allowing expansion for detail for power users

  • By having rows instead of cards, we allow better scalability through vertical scrolling

  • Recategorized the information to align with how users perceive security

  • Provide a better educational and approachable experience to viewing your device security scores.

Let's create something great!

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luu.jessica@gmail.com

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© 2024 Jessica Luu. All rights reserved

Socialize

Contact

luu.jessica@gmail.com

© 2024 Jessica Luu. All rights reserved

Socialize

Contact

luu.jessica@gmail.com

© 2024 Jessica Luu. All rights reserved