The Problem
I learned from user research that Basecamp’s “Send a copy to the client...” feature is not easy for users to discover. Can we improve on the design?
My Role
Designer
First We Listened to the Users
This summer I researched a Basecamp feature designed to make it easier to share information with clients. One thing we heard over and over was that users had not discovered the feature that allows them to share Basecamp documents and To-dos with clients. We hypothesized that it is because the feature is not explained and the link to use it is under a button.
Ideation and Mockup
Once we discovered this issue, we brainstormed some design solutions. I met with my mentors and we selected five designs. I mocked up the five designs with low fidelity prototypes so we could get a feel for each design. First, I sketched the basics with pen and paper, then used a combination of Axure, Rails and Photoshop to create the simple mockups.
Once we played with the designs a bit, it was clear that the best option was to provide an easy way to attach the Basecamp item (such as a To-do list) to a message to the client. Time to build it out.
With some feedback on the design, I got to work staking out the interface for attaching items. For this task, I worked directly with Ruby on Rails and Basecamp’s app.
I also mocked up a page that would show users how to share items with clients in the current interface.
Once I completed the mockup, I pitched it to the company.
Lessons Learned
- I need to get a digital sketch pad. It would have been nice to just share my sketches rather than having to do the in-between steps of creating the low fidelity mockup in Axure.
- So much more git. I used git to share my code with a team for the first time on this project.
- Prototype with code. Basecamp is a complicated app, but I could figure out how to create a mockup that demonstrated the flow I designed. No excuses, prototype in code!
The Final Product
In the end, I pitched my redesign to the company via Basecamp, natch. Unfortunately, I can’t share the pitch, but if you would like to send me an email at I would be happy to talk about it!