Resume

FTUE in “Flow Security Central”

Redesign of the first-time user experience for a B2B SaaS security product

Product:Cloud security management
Team:ME, UX Designer, PM & DM
Role:Intern (Research, design & testing)
Time:May 2021 - July 2021 (2.8 months)
Laptop mockup of "Welcome to Security Central" onboarding carousel + "Lets get started by onboarding your cloud account" (AWS/Nutanix/Azure selection)
Initial client tickets
-30%
Fixed the bottlenecks in onboarding cloud resources, which helped product adoption.

Quick context

Why

  • Get new users to an "aha" moment quickly
  • Help users see value early, adopt the product and keep using it

What

  • First-time user experience overhaul
  • Day 0–2 & Day N guided journeys

Whom

  • IT Security & Virtual Infra Admins
    • Trial & first-time users
    • Users discovering advanced capabilities

How

  • Scalable onboarding framework
  • Progressive disclosure & guided flows
  • Modular UI components

Product

Flow Security Central

Automates Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) across multi-cloud infrastructure.

  • Compliance status
  • Creating custom audits
  • Security planning
  • Inventory view
Security Central dashboard screenshot (Security Overview, Regulatory Compliance, Network & Microsegmentation, VM Security Status, Recent Findings panels)

Why do this?

Reducing initial user drop-off rate

Overhauling friction-heavy legacy onboarding

Supporting a relatively new product line at Nutanix

Demonstrating product value with or without live data

About User & Needs

Users

  • IT Security Admins or
  • Virtual Infrastructure Admins
  • Name: Alex  |  Age: 35
  • Qualification: Security analyst

Qualities

  • Tech-savvy & detail-oriented
  • Multi-dashboard switcher
  • Compliance & audit focused
  • Security-first mindset
  • Hybrid cloud operator
  • Prefers actionable insights

User types

Users exploring the product without any cloud resources

Needs to address

  • Requirement for onboarding cloud resources
  • How to show value of product with dummy data
  • Motivate users to onboard their cloud resource
Users with cloud resources ready to upload

Needs to address

  • Why and how to onboard a cloud resource
  • Where to go next, after cloud resource linking
  • Handling waiting time of onboarded resources
  • How to teach users the product
  • Future directions
Users exploring some features on Nth day

Needs to address

  • Discoverability of new additions
  • Handling long tours
  • Jumping to a specific step within a feature tour

Solution

The solution has three parts:

1. Order in which we show the features to the user

2. Required UI components in the onboarding

3. Full onboarding flow for users with or without data, & advanced users

Solution 1: Determining the order of unfolding, through value analysis

Value analysis

Value analysis sets the order in which each feature appears during value-based onboarding. I ranked the features on three criteria.

I did the same for the supporting features.

Needs solved

The order of features that gives users the most value

Ease of task execution

Effort reduction for the user

Usage frequency

Value analysis sets the order in which each feature appears during value-based onboarding. I ranked the features on three criteria using a weighted matrix.

Value analysis scoring table (Primary Features: Onboarding account, Findings and alert, Compliance, Security planning, Inventory, Dashboard; Supporting Features: Scope, Audit po…

For Primary Features

  1. How to Onboard a Cloud Resource
  2. Explain Dashboard
  3. Explain Findings & Alerts
  4. Explain Inventory
  5. Explain Compliance
  6. Explain Security Planning

For Secondary Features (optional)

  1. Scope
  2. Custom Audits
  3. Rules
  4. Audit policy
  5. Integrations
  6. Threat detection
  7. Reports
  8. History

Solution 2: Supporting UI components

Needs solved

Basic information tooltips, with variants for milestone completion, visual guides on actions, and more.

Adhering to the existing Nutanix design system

Tooltip & milestone popup mockups (hover info, "Product tour complete", "Feature tour complete" with Done/More Help buttons)

Needs solved

A guided-tour pop-up that shows progress clearly, both visually and as a number. The old tour had no progress indicator.

"Tool tip" guided-tour popups with progress bar (1 of 6 / 2 of 6, Skip/Back/Next)

Needs solved

A dynamic guided tour that lets users skip ahead in long tours and go straight to what they need.

It also surfaces new features.

Sequential guided-tour popups with left sidebar nav ("All Issues" 1 of 12, "Scope" 2 of 12, "One click fix" 8 of 12)

Solution 3: Onboarding flow experience

Before

Old "Welcome to Security Central" screen with sticky-note pain points ("Value proposition missing", "What do I need for adding cloud account?", "By Default aws is selected")

After

Redesigned "Welcome to Security Central" + "Lets get started by onboarding your cloud account" screen

Before

Old dashboard screenshot

After

New dashboard with collapsible onboarding pane

New collapsible dashboard pane

For tracking onboarded cloud resources. When a user onboards a cloud resource, this pane appears on the dashboard, collapsed.

Annotated dashboard screenshot: "Please wait while your 3 accounts are getting updated" banner + AWS/Nutanix/Azure trial account status table (Updating Complete / Error encounte…

Old first-time experience  ↓

The redesigned experience, covering the needs above.

Research

Research mindmap (Primary research: User work flow by walk me video analysis, Understanding user by PM & SME interactions · Secondary Research: Product research — Before com…

Primary research

Studying user flows

I analysed user flows from WalkMe videos and conversations with the PM and SMEs.

2 SMEs 2 PM & Manager 6 one-hour WalkMe videos

I also studied each feature’s detailed flows

User flow map (login → onboarding resource → burger menu → dashboard → findings and alert → specific inventory page, plus supporting features sidebar & help links). Legend: …

Pre-product experience research

Pre-onboarding competitor analysis

I compared what competitors show on their product pages:

  • Product video
  • Screen demos
  • Trial version
  • Live demo
  • Signup
  • Supported clouds
Competitor comparison table (Nutaix, Prisma cloud, Cloud checker, Cloud health VM ware, Check point Demo 9 Cloud Gaurd — with Product screenshot, Product Video/Screens Demos/Tri…

Pain points in the experience before entering the product

Pre-product journey flowchart (Website/Ads/Sales team/Referrals → Test Drive → Email sign up → Mail sent → wait time branches → Security central Trial signup/captcha → Purchase …

Product Research

Studying user flows

I analysed user flows from WalkMe videos and conversations with the PM and SMEs.

Feature usage flow map (login → onboarding resource / burger menu → dashboard → findings and alert / security compliance / inventory / security planning, plus supporting feature…

Studying Product

Most used and main features are listed on the right side

  • Dashboard
  • Findings and Alerts
  • Compliance
  • Inventory
  • Security planning

Less used features are listed on the left side

  • Scope
  • Custom Audits
  • Audit policy
  • User management
  • Add accounts
  • Integration rules
  • Suppression rules
  • Threat detection
Feature/Task mindmap (Security central login → Add Accounts / Dash board & burger menu / Setting → per-feature task breakdown). Legend: Features (blue) / Task (light blue)

Analysing current experience

"New feature onboarding" grid of ~15 grayscale UI screen thumbnails showing the existing dashboard flow FTUE in Trial product — annotated flow diagram with screen thumbnails

Pain points in the existing first-time experience

  • I evaluated each screen against the checklist I prepared.
  • Value proposition is missing in the welcome page.
  • In most parts “where I landed, and what value it gives” is not clear.
  • No clear flow; every path ends on the resource onboarding page.
  • Some pages are blank and don’t deliver any value.
  • Initially it’s very difficult to find the dashboard.
  • User has no freedom to explore the product beyond the dashboard.
  • No specific feature tour exists.
  • Initial navigation is very difficult.

Pain points in the existing advanced-user experience

  • Started from a Guided tour option that has poor visibility.
  • The tour takes full control; users need time to explore.
  • No progress indication.
  • A long walkthrough (13 steps) that can overwhelm users.
  • Lengthy text reduces engagement.
  • Only a few walkthroughs have back options.
  • Skip and close are hard to find.
  • The ending is abrupt and doesn’t lead anywhere.
  • Flow doesn’t deliver the value first.

Competitor Analysis

Every framework I read covers three things: strategies, order of unfolding, and supporting UI elements.

1. Strategies

  • Help
  • Contextual onboarding
  • Progressive Disclosure
  • Assistance based onboarding
  • Degree of user control
  • Documentation and Support

2. Order of unfolding

  • User value based flow
  • Function based flow
  • Feature based flow

3. UI elements

  • Signup
  • Welcome message
  • Product tours
  • Progress bar
  • Checklists
  • Hotspots
  • Action driven tooltip
  • Milestone celebration
  • In app and out app connection
  • Ending message

I checked competitors against these points. Most of the products come from articles on first-time user experience best practices.

No. of products considered for analysis: 15

Enterprise product (8)

  • Robin
  • Ninox
  • Mailchimp
  • IBM Cognos
  • Salesflare
  • Productboard
  • Userpilot
  • FullStory

Consumer product (4)

  • Grammarly
  • StoryChief
  • Evernote
  • Typeform

Mixed product (3)

  • Conversion XL
  • Box starter
  • Slack
Screenshot grid of all 16 competitor products, annotated "Analysis of best strategies followed in all 16 products"

Competitive Analysis

Bubble-size comparison matrix across 14 competitors (Robin, Ninox, Mailchimp, IBM cognos, Salesflare, Productboard, User pilot, FullStory, Grammarly, StoryChief, Evernote, Typef…

Insights from competitor analysis

Various strategies and frameworks discovered in competitor analysis

Tour initiation strategies

  • Completely skippable tour?
  • Showing gist/contents of the tour.
  • Mock images to explain the features
  • Use of dashboard framework
Tour initiation strategy examples from competitor analysis

For advanced use

  • Access to Help
  • Jump in between tours to a specific point
  • Visibility & learnability of new features
Advance-use patterns from competitor analysis

Attention grabbers

  • Points and label based hotspots (animated)
  • Right color and contrast, matching labels
  • Usage within sub-levels of the product.
Attention-grabber patterns from competitor analysis

Information delivery

  • Context-based tooltip (text button, Image /GIF based)
  • Progress indication, back, skip and next controls if needed
  • Compulsory Skip
Information delivery patterns from competitor analysis

Encouragement strategies

  • Subtle celebrations using image and text increase engagement.
  • Micro-animations in the celebration?
  • Extra trial extension?
Encouragement and celebration patterns from competitor analysis

Help initiation

  • Easy visibility. Floating icon.
  • Ability to invoke tour whenever needed.
  • Contextual messaging, and Quick access
Help initiation patterns from competitor analysis

Ending directions

  • Directing to help and support.
  • A small sum-up
  • Celebration and Where to go Next.
Ending direction patterns from competitor analysis

Defining must-haves

Ideal FTUE framework

What the research showed

  • Show users what they can do and what to expect.
  • Deliver value as soon as possible, with minimum user effort.
  • Make things clear, visible, and easy to learn.
  • Improve engagement and encourage the user to investigate the available options.
  • Give the user a reason to come back.

Evaluation check-list for my solution

  • Where I landed
  • What I can do
  • Where I can go next
  • What value it gives
  • Clear navigation
  • Minimum effort
  • Engagement
  • Delightful
  • Progressive disclosure
  • Control to the user
Where am I
Let the user know where they are and leave them in no doubt that they are at the starting point of their explorations.
What user can do
Let the user know, within reason, the things they can do within the product
Where user can go
Once you have conveyed their current location and some of the things the user is able to do, you must make it apparent to them where they can go next.
Navigation methods
Show users what they can do and where they can go, but if there is no clear, visible, and logical navigation structure the user may struggle to find their desired point
Value first
Users don't care about features, they care about how it will make their lives better. Show them the value they can get.
No explanation
No one has time for trying to understand what the product can offer. Let the user do something instead of instructing them how to do it.
Progressive disclosure
People feel overwhelmed when they get too many options or complex functionality. Give them only a taste of what the product can offer. Let them discover more naturally
No friction
Reduce effort to a minimum by using common patterns, pixel perfect UI and flawless flow. A small detail can make a big difference.
Engagement
Activate your users and show them what they can do next. Keep them engaged so they don't feel bored or pointless.
Trust
Be careful about permissions and sensitive information, especially if people don’t recognise the brand. Build trust instead of privacy concerns.
Delightful moments
Add any celebration, micro-interaction, funny illustration, animated loader or smart UX copy, to add a little pleasure or unique feel.

User Personas

VI Admins & IT Security Admins

Alex, IT security and virtual infrastructure admin
AlexAge: 35 · Experience: 10+ years in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity. · City: Bangalore

Qualities

  • Tech-savvy and detail-oriented, often switching between multiple dashboards.
  • Prefers streamlined tools with actionable insights and automated options.
  • Relies on reports for audits and stakeholder communication.

Goals

  • Ensure compliance with security policies across on-premises and cloud resources.
  • Gain real-time visibility into the organisation’s security posture.
  • Keeping cloud resources in good health

Pain points

  • Managing and scaling security for hybrid cloud environments.
  • Identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities efficiently.
  • Balancing operational efficiency with strict compliance requirements.

Wants

  • Centralized dashboard for managing multi-cloud security.
  • Automated vulnerability detection and remediation.
  • Real-time compliance tracking and easy report generation.
  • Simplified workflows to reduce manual effort and human errors.

Tools / Products

  • CloudHealth by VMware, Prisma Cloud, CloudCheckr

User need

Major user need

Provide value of product as soon as possible
Handling wait time & errors after linking cloud.
Motivation to onboard cloud resources
Clear navigation, and access to help

For first-time use

  • Redesign of end to end user flow
  • Where to go next after a cloud resource is onboarded
  • Handling waiting time of onboarded resources
  • Let users know about all features
  • How to provide value with dummy data

For advanced use

  • Access to Help
  • Jump in between tours to a specific point
  • Visibility & learnability of new features

Iterations: formulating the solution

Iteration on onboarding flows

4-panel flow iteration grid (Existing Flow, Version 2, Initial flow iteration, Iteration 3)

Top-level onboarding flow

Top-level onboarding flow (Welcome → Onboarding Resource with real data → Steps in Security Central → Steps in external products (Azure/AWS) → Onboarding cloud resource complete… Detailed iteration diagram with per-node "User need/expectation" (yellow), "Challenges faced" (white), "possible solution" (orange) callouts for Welcome → Onboarding Resource → …

Wireframing

Low-fidelity wireframe grid (full onboarding screen set)

Testing iterations with prototypes

Figma prototype flow-connector map (Feature tour first time, Feature tour advance, Guided tour menu, Feature tour dummy data, Product tour dummy data)

Go to solution

Evaluation

Points identified in user testing

We addressed these in the review sessions below.

Co-creation sessions

6 When: 2nd instance of prototype testing
  • Position flicker of options in product tour
  • Login screen and first screen have almost the same layout
  • The hover on the product overview link may surprise users
  • Overlap of tooltips, with background screenshots
  • CTAs in the dummy-data tour and the real-data tour could be confused
  • Emphasis on dummy data in the dashboard is too low
  • The ‘Onboard Resource’ copy may confuse users; change it
  • Repeating the onboarding success dialog may look inconsistent.
  • Motivation in the first screen is missing

Manager reviews

4 When: 3rd instance of prototype testing
  • Set expectations for how long a resource takes to fully onboard. Users were raising requests about it, so it’s a big problem.
  • Show the user what they can do next after onboarding, in the dashboard.
  • Advanced user accessing help.
  • Using a disabled screenshot in the dummy tour, as the old flow did, seems efficient.
  • Data comes in two types, network traffic and inventory info. Check how each one populates.

Evaluation with Ideal FTUE checklist

Evaluation of Onboarding a Cloud Resource

  • Where I landed
  • What I can do
  • Where I can go next
  • What value it gives
  • Clear navigation
  • Minimum effort
  • Engagement
  • Delightful
  • Progressive disclosure
  • Control to the user
"Welcome to Security Central" onboarding + "AWS Cloud Onboarding Success!" dialog screenshots

Evaluation of Dashboard

  • Where I landed
  • What I can do
  • Where I can go next
  • What value it gives
  • Clear navigation
  • Minimum effort
  • Engagement
  • Delightful
  • Progressive disclosure
  • Control to the user
Dashboard screenshots with onboarding progress banner (updating / complete states)

During Tours

  • Where I landed
  • What I can do
  • Where I can go next
  • What value it gives
  • Clear navigation
  • Minimum effort
  • Engagement
  • Delightful
  • Progressive disclosure
  • Control to the user
"Findings and Alerts" screen with guided tour tooltip screenshots

Thank you

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