My Role -&nbsp;

Product Designer, User Research and Insights, Ideations, Design

Platform -&nbsp;SaaS based application

Design a polished, intuitive onboarding experience for first-time users of a cold-email outreach platform. Starting from signup, guide users through a brief welcome tour, connection of their email account, contact import (or sample data), profile setup, and a one-click test email send, culminating in a success confirmation and optional feedback survey. Deliverable should include high-fidelity Figma screens for each step plus 2–3 bullet-point rationales explaining UX decisions.

First-time users must connect their email, import contacts, and send a test outreach quickly, but lengthy surveys, confusing import steps, and lack of real-time guidance introduce friction, preventing them from experiencing their first win and driving high abandonment

I started by compiling insights from published UX research, industry articles, then focused on questions like:

As a result, I identified exactly where users abandoned the setup, the main frustration points, and their ideal onboarding journey.

I recognized that first-time users naturally break onboarding into 3 must-do tasks they can check off:

Connect their email account (the essential first step, without a sending address nothing else is possible)


Import or add contacts (bringing in recipients is the bridge from setup to action)


Send a test email (the “Aha!” moment when they experience real value)


By structuring the flow around these clear, incremental chunks, mirroring proven UX patterns and the Intercom-defined activation moment, I aligned the design with users’ expectations and guided them straight to that first win.

I decided to focus on the following targets based on the key findings:

To proceed further, I had to stick to the design guidelines and brand identity of Saleshandy while crafting any experience.

Translating research insights into design opportunities that reduce friction and support faster activation.

To guide my decisions, I listed what I believed might be true about user behavior and checked each one against industry research and proven UX patterns.

Users drop off when onboarding feels long or complicated 

Clear reassurance reduces fear around email connection 

Sample data helps users experience value without friction 

Tooltips and microcopy remove confusion during setup 

Checklists motivate users by showing progress 

Users expect a simple connect &gt; import &gt; send flow

40% quit onboarding when forms feel too long (Ping Identity)


Fast time-to-value increases activation up to 2× (Appcues)


Tooltips deflected 20,000 support tickets (Chameleon)


Users form trust impressions in 2.6 seconds (NN/g)


Checklist-driven onboarding increases completion by 21% (Product Fruits)


Mental models show users expect linear, task-based setup (NN/g)

Using the validated insights, I framed opportunity areas as “How Might We” questions to guide the ideation and find focused, user-centered solutions.

HMW simplify the early steps so users don’t drop off? 

HMW reassure users when connecting their email account? 

HMW make importing contacts easier, even when users don’t have data ready? 

HMW help users experience value quickly through an instant test send? 

HMW use guidance and microcopy to reduce confusion during setup? 

HMW give users flexibility to skip non-critical steps without losing progress? 

HMW align the flow to the natural connect - import - send mental pattern?

Identifying which information was truly essential for onboarding was harder than expected

Almost every step felt important initially, which made reducing the flow challenging

I used the user’s mental model to distinguish “must-do now” from “can-do later” 

Research insights helped validate what should stay and what should move out of the critical path

This process led to a cleaner, lighter, and more focused onboarding flow

With the design directions in place, I began shaping the actual onboarding flow.


My goal was to translate each insight into simple, supportive, and intuitive screens that help first-time users move forward without friction.

Enable first-time users to connect email, import contacts, and send a test in 3 minutes—cut onboarding drop-off by 40% and double first-win activation.



Product Designer, User Research and Insights, Ideations, Design



Reducing onboarding friction to improve early activation

Redesigned 3 core apps (Demand, Partner, and Onboarding) improving engagement by 56% and retention by 12%.
Conducted 50+ user interviews to identify pain points, reducing user friction by 68%.
Redesigned interfaces leading to a 30% boost in engagement and 35% efficiency improvement.
Collaborated cross-functionally to create partner incentives, increasing partner engagement by 20%.
Optimized user interface elements following initial launch, incorporating user feedback and A/B testing to elevate overall user satisfaction scores by 12% and improve key business metrics.
Established a scalable design system from scratch, standardizing UI components and interaction patterns across 3 platforms, which reduced design-developer handoff time by 40% and improved visual consistency.

1. Led the development of Travel Portals for HelloGTX clients, increasing user engagement by 50% and decreasing bounce rates by 30%. 

2. Conceptualized wireframes and mockups for web applications, improving user retention by 20% and conversion rates by 15%. 

3. Generated design assets aligning with brand identity, receiving positive client feedback. 

4. Articulated design rationales to the managerial team, reducing decision-making time and increasing design adoption. 

5. Implemented iterative design with user feedback, reducing usability issues by 40% and boosting satisfaction by 25%. 

6. Delivered design sites with a 100% client approval rating.

Platform - HRIS, SaaS based application

Task - Design a Leave management system integrated with calendar module for efficient tracking and management of employee leaves within an organization.

How did I approach that guides the design process to ensure that end solutions meets the needs of users.&nbsp;

Busy employees, managers, and HR professionals need a streamlined and integrated leave management system to eliminate inefficiencies, miscommunications, delays, and errors. The current fragmented process hampers productivity, employee satisfaction, and effective workforce management.&nbsp;

Common types of leave that are available / given as per company leave policy

Assumptions that may create issue in Leave Management&nbsp;

Essential features that can enhance user experience and operational efficiency in the leave management system.

A rapid sketching exercise to generate a wide variety of ideas for the leave management system, helping to explore different solutions and identify the most effective design concepts.

A user-friendly leave management app with a calendar module for efficient tracking and management of employee leave within an organization.

Design a Leave management system integrated with calendar module for efficient tracking and management of employee leaves within an organization.

How did I approach that guides the design process to ensure that end solutions meets the needs of users. 

Busy employees, managers, and HR professionals need a streamlined and integrated leave management system to eliminate inefficiencies, miscommunications, delays, and errors. The current fragmented process hampers productivity, employee satisfaction, and effective workforce management. 

Identifying primary and secondary users clarifies who uses the leave management system and how

Pain Points were identified from articles, industry reports and data analytics provided on leave management

Assumptions that may create issue in Leave Management 

Reducing onboarding friction to improve early activation

Mayuri Gupta