QuillBot: Gmail extensions success
Our project aimed to integrate a paraphrasing feature into Gmail, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word, allowing users to select various modes to find the right style and tone for their writing. Users can access 2 modes for free or upgrade to use all 10 modes. Initially, the adoption of this feature struggled due to a poor user experience and a rushed release without internal testing. To address these issues, we replaced the waterfall development process with an agile approach, breaking large projects into smaller, manageable tasks. This transition significantly improved project delivery and quality, resulting in Google choosing the QuillBot extension as one of it's 2023 favorites.
Responsibilities
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Designed the original modes for Gmail
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Oversaw 1 manager and 1 IC
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Collaborated with PM to chunk epics into smaller projects
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Drove execution
Impact
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Steady increase in user adoption
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4.4 star rating on Google Chrome
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3mm downloads
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Recognized by Chrome as a top productivity app
Challenges
When a new product manager with limited experience in user-centered design joined our team, the project faced significant challenges. The manager underestimated the complexity involved and focused on output rather than outcomes, leading to a rigid waterfall methodology. This stifled adaptability and iterative improvements. The team struggled with the project's intricacies, realizing the need for an agile approach. Transitioning to agile was arduous, requiring extensive rework, but it eventually allowed the team to better respond to user needs. This case highlights the importance of user-centered intelligence and adaptive methodologies in successful product development.
Solution
Launching grammar correction
I spearheaded a project to enhance our Gmail integration. This move was prompted by similar offerings from competitors—Outwrite, Grammarly, and Wordtune. Our objective was to improve the web experience, make QuillBot top of mind using Gmail and lastly encourage users to explore premium services.
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The plugin was developed in three phases, all to make writing painless and efficient:
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Develop a comprehensive grammar correction system
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Integrate AI-based sentence suggestions
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Quick Reply feature
Phase 1: Grammar correction
The grammar correction cards were kept similar to Grammarly and Wordtune for a sense of immediate intuitiveness, enabling users to jump right in, eliminating all learning hurdles, and accelerate adoption.
Design complexity came with mapping the different grammar errors and reproducing the same errors in the Google Doc's sidebar that's also part of extentions, but not a focus in this case study.
Grammarly
QuillBot
Phase 2: AI sentence suggestions
Users sought various text styles, from formal to creative to simple modes. Premium subscribers appreciated the ability to switch between these styles. However access to the modes required a click to view and select-too many clicks. Adoption was below expectations and added we ended up adding icons to the sentence suggestions panel. The improvement significantly increased frequency of use and most importantly retention. The visibility of the icons I feel was a major contributor to Google choosing QuillBot as a top productivity app.
This is the original modes and sentence suggestions experience I designed in 2022.
This is the latest modes and sentence suggestion design my team from 2023-2024.
Phase 3: Quick reply
Our AI-powered sentence suggestions were developed within a 30-day window, using lean and agile design principles, replacing waterfall as our initial product development approach. Iterative UI enhancements, supported by weekly critiques and asynchronous squad reviews, improved the visibility of paraphrase modes. These enhancements were made possible by QuillBot's advanced AI language models. Subsequently, we integrated ChatGPT to provide quick reply email responses. Quick reply appears when a message is responded to. A grammar checker card also appears to aid in grammar correction.
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While integrating the Quick Reply feature, we encountered technical limitations that hindered full automation and required users to enter prompts to generate the replies, whereas Grammarly’s prompt feature is fully automated. Additional tech issues plagued Quick Reply by it overlapping text, feedback was unpleasant.
Despite our best efforts to resolve the overlap issues, we couldn't prevent it from interfering with the text. Ultimately, we decided to move the Quick Reply option under the AI button, as shown below.
Outcome
The synergy between our engineering and design teams bore fruit—an impressive 4.4-star rating, a bustling 3 million user base, and Chrome's recognition as a standout 2023 productivity tool. These achievements are rooted in a persistence and a dedicated effort to iterate until we can surprise and delight our users and make extensions a daily writing product.
Reflection
This project underscored the power of meticulous planning over rushed rollouts. Iterative design methods and cross-functional collaborations emerged as our winning formula. Future endeavors will spotlight rigorous testing, responsive UI tweaks, and a knack for breaking big tasks into bite-sized projects, supercharging design excellence across our product, engineering and design teams.
Premium conversion rates on QuillBot.com correlate with the academic calendar, peaking at the start of the school year and dipping during summer breaks and holidays (chart). Similar usage patterns are observed with extensions. Moving ahead, conducting UX research becomes imperative to comprehend how extensions integrate into users' daily routines. This understanding will facilitate the creation of an experience that retains daily relevance, effectively breaking the seasonal cycle observed on QuillBot.com.
Strategic Design Leadership
Design Intrapreneur
Advocated for continuous iteration, fostered cross-functional collaboration, and promoted user-centric design, driving innovation and excellence despite setbacks and failures.
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Design visionary
Pioneering the design strategy, I originated the extensions and ensured our product surpassed competitors with a customer-centric approach driven by our powerful AI-engine.
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Strategic Unifier
Collaborated with product management and engineering leaders to transition from waterfall to agile product development, fostering broad ideation and improving outcomes to meet OKR expectations.