Led a product design overhaul that removed friction, increased user trust, and accelerated time to value.

The Challenge: Increase Conversion by Delivering Value Sooner

TriDot’s original onboarding created user drop-off at nearly every stage—over 20 steps stood between new users and their first workout. I led a cross-functional initiative to reimagine onboarding from the ground up, reducing it to just 5 essential steps. By combining product analytics, user testing, and a re-architected flow, we increased conversion by 275% and dramatically shortened time-to-value for new athletes.

TriDot uses AI to personalize training for endurance athletes, adapting daily workouts based on inputs like age, weight, race distance, and fitness level. A core part of this is the “Dot Score”—a personalized fitness metric for swim, bike, and run. But the original onboarding failed to explain its value or help users calculate it confidently. If athletes entered the wrong info, their score would be off—risking injury due to overly intense workouts. Confused and unprepared, many new users churned early.

Finding the Real Problem: It Wasn’t Just the Length

Using FullStory funnel analysis, I discovered something surprising: although ~90% of users completed onboarding, only ~4% actually converted. The issue wasn’t form fatigue—it was a lack of clarity. Users didn’t understand what the app did or why they should trust it.

The experience demanded detailed performance data—like times, distances, and FTP—before showing any value or explaining why it mattered. For beginners, this was a non-starter. The UX was skewed toward experts, leaving novices confused or misinformed.

Before the Fix: A Long, Confusing Path to the Home Screen

The original experience lacked basic UX standards like a progress bar or clear explanations. Most critically, it never answered the user’s silent question: “Why am I being asked all this?” Yet, the fact that users powered through such a burdensome flow signaled one thing—they believed in the product’s potential.

Designing a Streamlined, Trust-Building Onboarding Flow

We started by collapsing the process into five clear steps:

We frontloaded onboarding with brief educational screens, introducing key concepts and reassuring new users that they could onboard at their own pace. This gave beginners breathing room while reducing anxiety and confusion.

Introducing the Dot Score Assistant: Onboarding Without the Overwhelm

To further reduce friction, I designed the Dot Score Assistant—a chatbot-style guide that helped users estimate their fitness metrics through simple choices, not calculations. This allowed beginners to stay in flow without the stress of missing data or uncertainty.

Instead of requiring users to think and calculate, the Assistant prompted intuitive decisions—keeping users moving forward without hesitation.

Redesigned Dashboard: Show Value Sooner

We removed gating. Now, users could land in the app, explore their dashboard, and onboard at their own pace—with guidance and progress feedback to give them a sense of accomplishment.

This small shift from forced completion to progressive onboarding was key in improving user satisfaction and retention.