Knowledge Base Re-design

The Problem

Power Users of Sumo logic are in constant need of step by step guidance to solve issues by referencing the documentation site. Their inability to quickly find relevant topics forced the user to depend on the search bar. The other problem we faced was that users felt lost in the vast amount of information that we provided. Our 1400+ articles were great but not optimized for browsing.

Target

Melinda represents the Sumo Logic power user persona. She is highly motivated to learn, in order to find the best solutions for her team. She deals with very complex problems and therefore she needs to efficiently navigate through the documentation site to find relevant answers without the need for search.

Soultion

We needed to re-do the information architecture in a way that mapped to the user’s mental model. The redesign would also provide easier entry points, fewer clicks, and clearer information hierarchy.

Proccess

Our team consisted of Technical Writers, User Researchers, and Product Designers.

Brainstorming: Initial Caterogies and Sub headers. This organization was important to decipher what felt “out of place” before our card sorting stages.

Planning: Honing in to our main objectives and how we were going to tackle these tasks.

Research: I worked with the research team to create a Card Sorting exercise where each user sorted information according to their own mental models.

Before: Documentation site flow from home page “search” header to category page.

After: Flow from home page to sub-header “search” to category page. Sumo Logic was undergoing a rebranding, I worked with the marketing team to ensure the designs reflected the new direction of the new brand.

Prototype: I created a prototype to reflect the findings from our research using a prototyping tool called “Figma” for usability testing. Enjoy this interactive prototype.

Final Outcome

The redesign has been received with very positive feedback from stakeholders. Sumo Logic is now in the process of incorporating this new design to its current platform, helping Sumo Logic Power Users, SE’s and Sales in gathering and presenting information to customers.