An e-mail link that threw off the UX flow — on launch day

By Bhawna Gulati

Product Manager

Podme

Stockholm, Sweden

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It's deadline day.

Users who have not moved to the new log-in system cannot access Podme services. They must follow the on-screen instructions to transition to the new system.

This affects about 70,000 users. While this seems low compared to our 1 million users, it becomes significant when senior management reports they received e-mails about the new log-in system but got stuck in a loop when clicking the provided link.

The team at Podme thought it had considered all possibilities, but there was still a hiccup that needed to be resolved.

Let's take a step back: Exactly 30 days ago, we released an update on our Web site and apps urging users to start using the new log-in system. They were also given a deadline in the app, but that's how deadlines work for humans, isn't it?

What we did as a product team to ensure a smooth implementation

• Design: The project manager and user experience designer held numerous sessions to create an approach that was intrusive yet gave users enough time to act. We recognised not all our users engage with our services daily, so we gave them a month.
• Development: The tech team diligently implemented the flow to ensure it worked seamlessly on both apps and the Web.
• Testing: The test team thoroughly tested the flow at each step, separately for Web and the apps as well as together in various mob-testing sessions. These sessions are invaluable, uncovering many edge cases in every release. At Podme, we love our mob-testing sessions!
• Data and insight: From day one, we collected data on users transitioning from the old log-in system to the new one, continuing until after the deadline.
• In-product communication: We meticulously designed on-screen pop-ups and banners. We also created a special FAQ area to address any user questions about the change.
• E-mail communication: To avoid surprises on the deadline day, we sent e-mails on launch day, 14 days in, and on the deadline day. These e-mails were carefully crafted with a link directing users to the on-screen instructions for the new system.

As a project manager, I believed we had covered all bases, especially with the planned e-mail communication. I expected we would transition 50%-60% of users, acknowledging there are always inactive users and late adopters. We were all set to launch and succeed!

Until deadline day …

What happened?

The flow worked on the Web and in the app as intended. However, when users clicked the e-mail link, the only thing they got was an anti-climactic state of an infinite spinner.

But we tested everything before the launch, right? Yes, we did. We tested the flow on the Web and apps, and we did integration tests. We tested the e-mail link, and it directed us to the screen where the Web flow initiates. It was the same link we agreed on with the marketing team.

Everything seemed in place … but was it? After digging through the code and multiple scenarios, and almost on the verge of deciding to roll back, we found the culprit. The e-mail link!

What we had missed was testing the entire flow from the e-mail. While the e-mail link did initiate the Web flow, the moment the user clicked on the preferred log-in method, the screen went into an infinite loop.

For my tech nerds, the problem was that our Web recognised the suffix as a routing parametre, which obviously had no page mapped leading to an infinite loop. Eventually, we fixed it. I love my team for their perseverance on this.

The real issue wasn't just a missed test - it was a communication gap

Surprise, surprise!

While the marketing team and I discussed the link to be added, we never discussed what happens when it's in an e-mail. The customer relationship management (CRM) programme we use to send e-mails adds a tiny suffix for tracking. It was routine for the marketing team and for us, but together it created an issue.

While we quickly resolved the issue and it sounds petty, it could have meant users wouldn't be willing to try it again. So, a petty-looking issue could have become a huge pain.

What we learned

While this wasn't the only challenge in moving our users to a new log-in system (I'll perhaps write many more learnings from this project), it provided a significant learning experience.

Test the flow from all platforms, end to end, even from an e-mail that appears to use the same URL as the Web/app flow.

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About Bhawna Gulati

Bhawna Gulati is product manager at Podme in Stockholm, Sweden. Bhawna can be reached at [email protected] or @bhawnabhanu.

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