SkillsEngine - Skill Profile Creation

Optimizing a core workflow to boost content creation by 40%

Co-led a usability research project for Builder’s core content creation flow to identify friction points. Designed and implemented UX improvements that simplified the process, resulting in a 40% increase in user engagement and content creation.
key outcomes
●
Identified and addressed key usability issues in the search-to-create workflow
●
Prioritized and delivered quick-win design improvements that addressed major user pain points
●
Implemented UX improvements that increased content creation by 40%
Role
Product Designer
duration
2024 Q2
WHAT I WORKED ON
Product Design
Product Strategy
User Research
Usability Testing
team
2 Designers
1 Project Manager
‍Director of Engineering
Director of Design
product context
Builder is an AI-powered data platform that leverages skills data to build, manage, validate, and analyze skill profiles across the workforce and education sectors.
By fostering a shared understanding of skills, Builder aims to bridge the gap between learning and labor market needs, empowering employers, job seekers, and educational institutions with valuable insights for credential validation, curriculum alignment, job analysis, and workforce planning.
THE CHALLENGE
Despite strong user acquisition, profile creation counts and engagement remained low.
Although metrics showed an average of over 20 user sign-ups per month, only 48% of users had created a skill profile. This substantial drop-off indicated a potential bottleneck in the user experience. Recognizing the importance of robust skill profiles as the foundation of the Builder ecosystem, this project focused on understanding and optimizing the main content creation workflow.

By reaching out to users, we hoped to identify and address potential usability barriers and implement solutions that would encourage profile creation.
who are the users?
The primary users of this content creation workflow are individuals who have signed up for Builder with the intent of leveraging its skills data.
These users may include job seekers aiming to showcase their expertise, employers seeking to understand their workforce's capabilities, or educators looking to align their curricula with industry needs. The low profile completion rate suggested that the initial experience was not effectively guiding or motivating these users to invest the time and effort required to build their skill profiles.
creating a user testing plan to gather feedback
Given the limitations of our data analytics tool in tracking user behavior through funnels or flows, we decided to conduct observational task analysis interviews to assess the content creation flow.
As a UX Designer on the team, I played a key role in identifying and addressing usability challenges within Builder's main content creation workflow. Working collaboratively with another designer, my responsibilities included:

1. Co-developing user testing scripts to effectively gather insights into user behavior and pain points.
2. Collaboratively planning and conducting user interviews to understand user motivations, expectations, and frustrations.
3. Designing and implementing user task analysis tests to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing workflow.
4. Synthesizing user research and presenting it to leadership and other stakeholders
what was holding users back?
Insights from users revealed important pain points in searching functionality, search results relevancy, language and navigation confusion, and onboarding gaps.
User testing revealed over 20 pain points and several key themes highlighting usability challenges within the creation flow. Issues with search query accuracy led to overly broad or irrelevant results, reducing search relevance. Unclear navigation in the profile creation process made it difficult for users to track their progress, causing confusion. Additionally, the lack of tutorials and contextual guidance further contributed to user difficulties, underscoring significant gaps in onboarding.
After synthesizing testing feedback, we identified areas of frustration and pain points for each screen in the content creation flow to pinpoint opportunities for improving the user experience.
1
Search tab was heavily emphasized yet lacked any kind of onboarding instructions.
2
85% of testers consistently misclicked Browse instead of Search.
3
The cart language was confusing and users didn't understand the "checkout" to create model.
1
The checkboxes made users feel like they couldn't click on results to preview them.
2
Most users wanted to see more details about each search result to determine relevancy.
creating a roadmap of future improvements
After prioritizing user pain points, we mapped them into a four-quadrant matrix based on complexity and familiarity.
We identified high-impact, low-complexity issues as 'low-hanging fruit' for quick wins. Presenting this to the Directors of Product, Design, and Engineering, we secured their buy-in to focus on these quick wins and investigate more complex areas.
We implemented quick fixes and developed solutions for future product updates
Fortunately, several "low-hanging fruit" solutions were easy to implement, resulting in 40% increased content creation in the following months.
Some key design changes we were able to implement quickly included:
3
Removed Browse button to reduce user misclicks.
1
Switched Translate and Search tab order to prioritize an easier import mental model.
2
Introduced onboarding text to increase usability and process guidance.
3
Removed Browse button to reduce user misclicks.
1
Switched Translate and Search tab order to prioritize an easier import mental model.
2
Introduced onboarding text to increase usability and process guidance.
Although we couldn't address all the user pain points identified during testing, we successfully highlighted key themes and opportunities for leadership and developed design solutions for consideration in future product roadmaps. It also reinforced the value of user testing initiatives, as often and as possible, as a critical tool for informing product decisions and reducing churn risk on future features.
Back to top

Next work

Improving accessibility for Reviewer Surveys
case study
Streamlined the Validation Survey by reducing screens, clicks, and time, enhancing usability with improved onboarding and keyboard shortcuts.
View Showcase Project
Powered by Webflow
LINKEDINInstagram
Want to work together?
Available for full-time or project-based work (remote or on-site in Austin, TX)
Reach out for work inquiries, collaborations, or to chat!
mariasitu.design@gmail.com

Made with ❤️ and lots of ☕

© Maria Situ 2025