Onboarding aims to introduce the what the app does to the user or  teaches them how to use the app by explaining the most used functions.

Some tutorials are swipe-through (click-through) screens
- Swipe through screens don't represent real user interactions. Users want to experience the product not read about experience
- People don't read instructions first before use, they want to complete a task in as a short amount of time as possible

Avoid Static Tutorials

Having a tutorial shown when a user first opens the app forces the user to remember a lot of information in a short period of time. This is not effective because of short term memory
- 90% of knowledge users obtained is from experiencing the product. Therefore learning by doing is the best way to learn.

Provide helpful information at the point of user interaction and make sure that information is specific to the user's point in the journey

Provide focused tips that direct user's attention on a single primary action. 
- Can be an overlay screen to explain an unfamiliar interaction.
- Use hints that will appear on first use to guide users one-step- at a time to their destinations.

Implement a user-guided tour where hints are only provided when the user reaches the appropriate destination.

Provide Assistance as the User goes Along

Empty states are places that have limited content where it is easy to introduce incoming users to the platform.
- Will help them explore and familiarize themselves with the app

Incorporate Empty States

If a user has a positive first experience with the interface then they are more likely to return. The platform must create an emotional connection to the user


Celebrate Success with the Users

Babich, Nick. “Best Practices for Onboarding.” Medium, UX Planet, 23 July 2020, uxplanet.org/best-practices-for-onboarding-92f3a9f0b21a.

Best Practices for Onboarding (Babich)

Convincing people to sign up for a product is hard but keeping them after the first use is harder. 
An "app" loses 77% of its active users within the first three days after signing up for the app. 
To prevent this, an "app" needs to have a great on-boarding process

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

UX and UI Design of 1Cademy

Experiments have shown that text that is bolded is more likely to be trusted than non-bolded text. This is due to the cognitive strain involved in trying to read non-bolded text compared to bolded text

Cognitive effort of bolded text vs non-bolded text

- Find platforms similar to 1Cademy
- Summarize interesting features that could benefit 1Cademy
- Using these findings, come up with solutions to make 1Cademy a better platform

Comparative Analysis of 1Cademy

Part of what makes a video tutorial engaging is the style of its graphics.  The following are some examples of a lower third (the little text pop-up in the corner with the section title) design.  Exact colors are subject to change.

1Cademy Video Tutorial Lower Third Ideas

Best Practices for On-boarding Article from UX Planet

Wikipedia launched an interactive tutorial that has both a structure and video game elements that helps new editors get accustomed to Wikipedia's technical requirements and rules/policies

The Wikipedia Adventure (TWA): Field Evaluation of an Interactive Tutorial for New Users

The purpose of this team is to discuss and develop design improvements throughout the interface of 1Cademy, alongside the UX Research team, with the goal of making the 1Cademy platform as intuitive and user friendly as possible.

UI Design Team for 1Cademy

The UX Research team brings together theory and research practice by ideating research questions and design ideas based on concepts and theories from human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). Our research informs the design of 1Cademy by addressing the needs, pain points, and motivations of users.

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