Optimising Sano's onboarding flows
Overview
We saw a significant drop-off when asking eligible study participants to upload their genetic reports during onboarding.
Research revealed that a confusing, jargon-heavy experience was the main barrier. Drawing from user insights, I redesigned the screening and onboarding journeys to be more accessible and user-friendly. I simplified the report upload process and overhauled the messaging to ensure a visually and tonally consistent end-to-end experience.
My contribution
- Research (analytics tools + user interviews) - Messaging strategy and copywriting - Product design (mobile/desktop)
The team
- Lead product designer (me) - Product manager - 2x engineers
Year
2024
Process
Discovery
User interviews and analytics revealed that the report upload page saw the most user drop-off, and 12% of users uploaded insufficient documents. To address this, I collaborated with my product manager to map current and desired flows. I also conducted cross-disciplinary workshops with teams from medical, legal, support, marketing, and engineering to ensure clinical and legal accuracy, brand alignment, and technical feasibility.
Development
Each participant had unique needs and different entry points—some arrived via ads, while others were guided by their GP or healthcare practitioner. With Sano running 15+ complex studies across multiple markets, consistency was critical.
I designed wireframes that accounted for diverse user journeys, considering entry points and follow-up communications. Taking a holistic approach ensured a seamless experience across studies, markets, and participant needs.
The redesign focused on:
- Simplifying language
- Improving the usability of the report upload screen
- Refining all associated touch-points, including follow-up emails and personalised portal communications
This approach improved clarity, usability, and engagement, creating a more accessible experience for all participants.
Outcome
My holistic approach enhanced not just the report upload flow but the entire onboarding journey, boosting onboarding completion by 32% and reducing insufficient document uploads by half. This streamlined experience saved time for both clinical and support teams while helping Sano recruit more eligible participants for its pharmaceutical clients—ultimately triaging more candidates for life-changing clinical studies.
Business Impact
Onboarding Flow:
- 32% boost in onboarding completion rate
Testimonial
"Jess built many strong professional relationships across the Sano team in a short amount of time and established herself as a smart and empathetic collaborator. She worked closely with product management to fine tune our study operations processes where she displayed talent in product strategy, communication and aligning senior stakeholders. Jess also showed excellent design intuition and curiosity in seeking high impact problem areas to explore. Jess delivers quality design work (with enthusiasm) whether the project is fast and tactical or complex and strategic. Jess is an asset to any team she joins and given the opportunity, I would hire her again in an instant."
Lee Skinner
Product Design Lead, Sano