Enter password to view project
Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio: Quick Setup
Simplifying on-boarding to improve user uptake
Role
Lead UX Designer
Industry
Data Analytics
Duration
3 months
Problem and Background
Our product had a deep set of capabilities, but we were having trouble demonstrating that to new users. Each major feature required significant setup, which was more effort than most individual users were ready to take on, just to test the product out. As a result, many users struggled to experience the product’s value early, slowing adoption
Problem and Background
Our product had a deep set of capabilities, but we were having trouble demonstrating that to new users. Each major feature required significant setup, which was more effort than most individual users were ready to take on, just to test the product out. As a result, many users struggled to experience the product’s value early, slowing adoption
Refining the problem space
In partnership with the PM, I identified three core UX problems affecting customers’ ability to onboard and explore the product:
Authentication — even enabling a single user to access the portal requires several steps.
Authorization — understanding and configuring the policies that allow users to perform actions (such as creating a project) is difficult.
Partner tooling — getting started with tools like Amazon Athena for querying data or with Gen AI models involves a multi-step process that depends on understanding core product concepts.
Refining the problem space
In partnership with the PM, I identified three core UX problems affecting customers’ ability to onboard and explore the product:
Authentication — even enabling a single user to access the portal requires several steps.
Authorization — understanding and configuring the policies that allow users to perform actions (such as creating a project) is difficult.
Partner tooling — getting started with tools like Amazon Athena for querying data or with Gen AI models involves a multi-step process that depends on understanding core product concepts.
Persona development
To guide design decisions, I first established a clear, well-defined persona that reflected the needs and behaviors of the customer.
Persona development
To guide design decisions, I first established a clear, well-defined persona that reflected the needs and behaviors of the customer.
Persona development
To guide design decisions, I first established a clear, well-defined persona that reflected the needs and behaviors of the customer.
Initial Exploration
I explored multiple layout directions, both with and without images, to understand what styling best communicated the product intent: enabling users to test-drive all of the functionality before committing to production set-up.
High-Fidelity Iteration
Once the interaction patterns were defined, I developed full-page high-fidelity mocks to visualize the complete experience. I reviewed these with PMs, engineers, design partners, and leadership. Their input highlighted edge cases, clarified requirements, and surfaced improvements to the overall hierarchy. Based on this feedback, I removed imagery in favor of a text-first approach, allowing users to clearly compare bullet-pointed differences between Quick Setup and Manual Setup.
High-Fidelity Iteration
Once the interaction patterns were defined, I developed full-page high-fidelity mocks to visualize the complete experience. I reviewed these with PMs, engineers, design partners, and leadership. Their input highlighted edge cases, clarified requirements, and surfaced improvements to the overall hierarchy. Based on this feedback, I removed imagery in favor of a text-first approach, allowing users to clearly compare bullet-pointed differences between Quick Setup and Manual Setup.
Launch and Impact
The feature launched in March 2025. Early metrics showed that 27% of new users adopted “Quick Setup” for their first domain creation, hitting our goal. Sales engineers also highlighted that the streamlined flow made their 1:1 demos smoother, faster, and easier for customers to understand.
Launch and Impact
The feature launched in March 2025. Early metrics showed that 27% of new users adopted “Quick Setup” for their first domain creation, hitting our goal. Sales engineers also highlighted that the streamlined flow made their 1:1 demos smoother, faster, and easier for customers to understand.
