Optimizing navigation and information hierarchy in Pulumi documentation
Overview
In this project, I transform Pulumi’s product documentation. The project aimed to increase content discoverability in a unified documentation experience. I took a strategic approach to breaking down the design vision into discrete parts, allowing our small team to flexibly implement changes and gauge impact.
Problem
User feedback highlighted unclear content architecture and inadequate cross-linking in Pulumi's documentation. Users not only struggled to find the information they were looking for, but were often unaware of the extent of the content offering. We wanted to improve discoverability while catering to users with varying levels of product familiarity.
Solution
I unified far flung documentation into a singular experience with tabbed navigation organized by doc type. The navigation allows users to easily transition between content and makes the scope of content offering visible from every page. I standardized layouts between doc types with attention to readability and a11y and laid the foundation to scalably introduce new content types.
Result
[The new experience] is much better for a nerd like me that is typically trying to get to API reference documentation, not the overview stuff.
User feedback, Summer 2023
Process
My design approach models Design Council's double diamond, emphasizing the divergent and convergent thinking of design. The artifacts featured in this case study are highlighted in the list below.
Discover
Landscape analysis
Feedback collection
Internal interviews
Define
Insights report
Stakeholder review
Develop
Wireframes
High fidelity prototypes
Design critique
Deliver
Instrumentation
Metrics tracking
Retrospective
Breaking down pain points into actionable insights
Affinity mapping feedback to visualize thematic groupings of user feedback.
Translating user needs into business value
Early wireframes proposing a navigation structure to unify existing documentation experiences in the Pulumi ecosystem.
An anatomical diagram of the proposed page layouts to facilitate discussion with stakeholders.
Refining the design vision with readability and accessibility in mind
Exploring an adjusted type ramp to compliment the new page hierarchy.
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Design specifications for responsive break points.
Launching improvements to the documentation experience
A before and after comparison of the same documentation page after introducing new navigation and standardized page layouts.
Demo of the doc type navigation highlighting how the overall page layout persists between categories.
Page views to the Pulumi Registry over the course of a year- changes to navigation and layouts correspond to a jump in May 2023.
