LXR Insights Dashboard Redesign

UX Audit of Internal Marketing Dashboard for NetElixir

Project Type
UX Audit
Redesign of Dashboard
Duration
4 Months
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Deliverables
Heuristic Evaluation
Affinity Diagram
Information Architecture Map
Competitive Analysis
User Journey Map
Persona
Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
Scenario
Marketing teams rely on dashboards like LXRInsights to quickly understand performance and guide strategic decisions.
Problem
The platform’s interface had usability issues that made it difficult for users to navigate, interpret data, and act efficiently, resulting in slower insights and reduced clarity.
Solution
During my NetElixir externship, my team performed a full UX audit of LXRInsights, identifying pain points and recommending improvements through heuristic evaluation, user research, and wireframing. Our redesign concepts focused on simplifying navigation, improving data clarity, and creating a more intuitive, user-centered experience.
PROJECT CONTEXT
WHAT FRAMED OUR WORK
Timeframe
As part of an 8-week externship program, our project operated under a tight academic timeline, requiring rapid research, synthesis, and delivery of actionable UX recommendations.
Team Structure
Our group consisted of UX designers and researchers collaborating with a NetElixir mentor. We did not have direct access to developers or product managers, which influenced the depth of technical insights available.
Research Boundaries
Due to limited access to real LXRInsights users, we relied on stakeholder interviews, heuristic evaluation, and publicly available competitor data to identify patterns and pain points.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
Why This Dashboard Needs Attention
LXRInsights is NetElixir’s analytics platform, designed to help marketers understand customer behavior and campaign effectiveness.
Early exploration revealed:
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A steep learning curve
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Overwhelming information density
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Confusing navigation labels
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Minimal onboarding or context
To confirm these issues were meaningful, we conducted foundational research:
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Stakeholder interviews
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A full UX audit
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Competitor benchmarking
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Industry best-practice review
OUR GOAL:
Identify core friction points affecting learnability, comprehension, and day-to-day usability.
DOMAIN + INDUSTRY REVIEW
What We Learned Up Front
We examined analytics dashboard principles and UX best practices, focusing on:
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Information hierarchy
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Reducing cognitive overload
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Dashboards for non-technical users
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SaaS onboarding patterns
Key Insights
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New users struggle most during the first session → onboarding matters.
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Clear hierarchy reduces scanning time → prioritize visual weight and spacing.
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Contextual messaging helps users interpret data → introduce tooltips and explanations.
These insights helped guide the audit.
RESEARCH + INSIGHTS
STAKEHOLDER CONVERSATIONS
Goals Behind The Interviews
Understand:
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How clients currently use LXRInsights
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Which parts are most valuable
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Which areas require additional support or explanation
What We Heard
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Users often rely on account managers to interpret dashboard insights.
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Some metrics are difficult to understand without definitions.
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Navigation doesn’t always match user expectations.
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Beginners frequently feel overwhelmed.
Heuristic Evaluation
We carried out a structured UX audit against usability heuristics, focusing on:
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Navigation clarity
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Information density
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Terminology
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Accessibility
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Error prevention
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Consistency
Findings were synthesized using affinity mapping to identify recurring themes.
Major Patterns Identified
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High cognitive load → Users struggle to identify which data matters most.
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Limited guidance → No onboarding system explains key features or metrics.
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Cluttered navigation → Information architecture could be more intuitive.
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Mixed terminology → Inconsistent labeling impacted learnability.

ALIGNING WITH BUSINESS NEEDS
What Matters For NetElixir
From a business perspective, improving LXRInsights supports:
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Higher user adoption
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Reduced onboarding burden for account managers
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Stronger perceived value of the dashboard
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Competitive positioning in the analytics tool market
These priorities shaped how we approached recommendations.
Market & Competitor Review
We compared LXRInsights with 3 publicly documented competitor dashboards.
We analyzed:
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Navigation approaches
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Chart organization
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Onboarding features
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Insight presentation styles
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Visual hierarchy
Key Findings
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Competitors heavily emphasize first-time user guidance.
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Many tools employ cleaner, simpler layouts for data-heavy pages.
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Competitors highlight actionable insights, not just raw data.
This helped us identify opportunity areas for LXRInsights.

USER DEFINITION
Primary Persona: Marketing Manager
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Needs fast access to key insights
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Doesn’t want to decipher complex layouts
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Struggles when terminology is unclear
Personas Informed By Research

EXPLORATION + IDEATION
Generating Opportunities
We began brainstorming potential refinements, such as:
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Guided onboarding
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Navigation simplification
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Improved visual hierarchy
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Contextual help and tooltips
INFORMATION STRUCTURE
Refining How Content Is Organized
We created:
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A revised information architecture diagram
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A reorganized navigation model
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Clearer category groupings
This allowed us to eliminate redundancy and improve scanability.

*email/message me for a link to our Figma file*
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
From Concepts To Wireframes
We progressed from:
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Quick concept sketches
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Low-fidelity wireframes
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Mid-fidelity mockups
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Walkthrough-ready designs
Everything was built collaboratively in Figma.
Our design improvements focused on clarity, spacing, consistent terminology, and guided actions.


BEFORE
AFTER
VALIDATION + ITERATION
Feedback and Refinement
We shared redesigned flows with stakeholders to validate usability.
What We Learned
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Some labels still felt ambiguous → refined terminology.
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Onboarding should be skippable → added flexible entry points.
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Chart spacing needed breathing room → increased padding and contrast.
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Tooltips were highly appreciated → expanded tooltip scenarios.
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Insight cards needed more visual priority → updated hierarchy and layout.
Final Outputs
We delivered:
✔ A full UX audit report
✔ Stakeholder synthesis document
✔ A competitor comparison matrix
✔ A user journey map
✔ Revised IA and redesigned flows
✔ Mid-fidelity wireframes for proposed improvements
✔ A polished research summary deck
Key Project Outcomes
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Identified major usability and onboarding gaps
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Proposed design changes to reduce cognitive load
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Improved the clarity and structure of navigation
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Created an actionable competitor benchmark
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Provided Figma-based mockups showcasing 2–3 prioritized UX improvements
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Strengthened alignment between user needs and the platform’s business goals
Personal Reflection
This project deepened my experience with:
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Enterprise SaaS UX analysis
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Evaluating information-heavy dashboards
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Performing heuristic evaluations
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Structuring research into actionable insights
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Designing onboarding systems and intuitive navigation
Next time, I would incorporate direct user testing with marketing teams to observe real-world dashboard usage.
Future Opportunities
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Explore customizable dashboard layouts
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Develop a full onboarding wizard with progressive learning
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Introduce role-based personalization
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Add an insight library with recommendations
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Conduct additional research with real LXRInsights clients
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Expand accessibility compliance across the platform
