Developer platform onboarding

Reducing developer friction in a complex platform onboarding process



Background

At Capital One, it’s the centralized AI and machine learning platform for building AI-powered financial applications (e.g., chatbots).

What is the Generative AI developer platform?

  • 60+ steps to currently access and use enterprise development tools

  • Multiple risk and approval processes

  • Long time to production

  • Limited self-service

Problem


UX challenges and solutions

Challenge one: Previous process involved platform hopping and unclear progression.

Solution: Structured, self-serve onboarding flow using progressive disclosure

Challenge two: Highly technical steps felt overwhelming to design.

Solution: Hub and spoke UX pattern; clear instructions and content design at each step

Progress tracking state changes

A single step comprises of a form submission


Research

Approach

  • Evaluative concept testing

  • Users understood the new designs; progression and flow felt logical and achievable from beginning (create a project) to end (onboard to QA).

  • Additional opportunities were identified:

    • clarify terminology around projects and teams

    • improve content design to emphasize what to do and why for each onboarding step.

  • “I think the flow makes sense. It’s previously been all manual steps; we need this self-service experience.”

Findings


Results and impact

  • Currently being implemented

  • One of the first experiences built for a new, unified developer platform

  • Aimed to reduce friction at a crucial stage in application development

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