A Better Mass Action Experience
As this was already a feature within the application, the first step was to analyze the existing task flow. Based on this analysis, I was able to re-shape the process to make it more modern and refined as well as exceptionally intuitive.
Pinpointing the problem.
To determine what changes were necessary, the first step in this process was to evaluate how a user currently made changes to multiple records. Not long after I began interacting with the menu and the steps involved in taking an action, it was evident the implementation was something that could easily cause confusion.
The most problematic issue with the task flow was, when trying to take an action without having selected any records, the user would actually be taking that action on every record of that type. Though the number of records the user would be acting on was shown when hovering over an action in the menu, the flow seemed very unintuitive. The menu in its entirety was something that was clearly in need of a better experience.
Coordinating a better solution.
After being tasked with updating this portion of the application, research was started on user/task flows and how other teams went about implementing similar systems in closely-related products. Findings from that research as well as flow-mapping the necessary steps of the process showed that, to take action on all records, the user should first need to select all records. This would both:
Increase intuitiveness by adding a step that proves the user is intent on taking action on the selected records.
Create a barrier that would prevent accidental actions.
Those items, coupled with a more familiar sequence for performing an action on one or more records on a page, would provide a superior and more intuitive task flow.
Creating something meaningful.
The next step was designing the experience. This portion was started by creating rapid iterations of low-fidelity wireframes that included and explained each step of the system. These gave a simple visual representation of the user interaction with the new process.
After the wireframing was approved, creating high-fidelity prototypes was next. When finished, these allowed the full task flow to be tested and viewed as if it were a part of the product itself. This provided a clear and concise view of how the user would interact with the feature in its entirety.
Explaining the change.
Finally, to explain the change, the decision was made to create a closeable pop-up that included four important elements:
A striking heading that was succinct, simple, and informational.
A short sentence that told the user how the update worked with a link to a longer and more in-depth explanation.
An eye-catching looping video with precise actions that visually depicted how the new implementation worked.
An easy way to close the pop-up after reviewing the information.
The pop-up would be attached to an informational tooltip button placed in the same location as the previous actions menu which would remain available after the pop-up was closed so the user could review the information again, if necessary.
After the implementation of the improved process was released, our team heard nothing but positive feedback, received very few support calls or tickets regarding the change, and the accidental actions had ceased. This reaction from our users solidified the need for an update to this feature and the intuitiveness of the new task-flow.