Zenhub
The Epics and its Issues
We prevented an epic failure while evolving Zenhub into an all-in-one platform for developers and managers by using user research, data analysis, and scalability.
Summary
How Zenhub expanded its platform to drive growth by enabling non-technical users to collaborate without needing a GitHub account, removing a major barrier to adoption. This evolution not only improved user experience but also helped convert trial users to paid customers, as decision-makers could now see the value of Zenhub across entire organizations.
ROLE
Senior Product Designer
YEAR
2023
TOOLS
Figma, User Interviews, Lyssna, Optimal Workshop, Miro, Mixpanel, Notion
DIRECT CONTRIBUTION
I shaped this vision into clear, achievable goals to test our ideas and improve the product. I ran workshops, created wireframes and prototypes, and kept up with user research. By collaborating with stakeholders, I ensured our business goals matched user needs and tackled their challenges.
Solution
In just 5 months, I played a key role in transforming Zenhub from a tool that only integrated with GitHub to a versatile platform that allows users to sign up with or without a GitHub account. Now, users can create and plan roadmaps using Projects, Epics, and child issues, even if they don’t have a GitHub account. Achieving full feature parity took time, and we encountered several roadblocks that delayed our migration from legacy to new Epics. However, this process helped us learn about the backend and how to structure our infrastructure for more impactful decisions. We successfully aligned Zenhub's features with the old GitHub Epics while enhancing usability and showcasing Zenhub’s unique offerings through thoughtful design.
Challenge
Since 2015, Zenhub has been known for its strong integration with GitHub, helping teams manage their project workflows seamlessly. However, not everyone in an organization uses GitHub, especially non-technical users like stakeholders and managers. This lack of access and visibility for these users made it hard for decision-makers to see the platform's value, resulting in higher churn rates and lower conversion from trial to paid subscriptions.
01.
Intentional design
Create a cohesive, thoughtful experience that drives engagement, satisfaction, and long-term value.
02.
Scalability and consistency
Ensuring future features can be integrated without disrupting the current workflows
03.
Simplicity and uniqueness
Reduce complexity in the UI while keeping it powerful for technical and non-technical users alike.
Goals
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION
New Zenhub Epics
Ensure that Zenhub-native epics provide the same core functionality as GitHub-backed epics. Users needed a seamless transition between GitHub and Zenhub, preventing any loss of key features like comments, labels, or nested epics.
STREAMLINE PLANNING
Planning experience
Removing Epics from the board and keeping them on the roadmap helped reduce clutter and made the board easier to manage. It allows users to focus on daily tasks on the board while using the roadmap for high-level planning, keeping things clearer and more organized for large projects.
SCALABLE & REUSABLE
Zenhub Epics & Issues
The goal was to achieve scalability by using an atomic design approach, allowing us to create reusable components. This made it easier to roll out Zenhub Issues efficiently while maintaining consistency across the platform.
THE MVP THAT GIVES VALUE TO DECISION MAKERS
Ensuring Zenhub onboard users and adds value for C-level executives and managers
We gained valuable insights into how our users interacted with Epics, particularly in their roadmaps. They faced challenges in managing Epics on the board, including visual complexity when trying to identify them. Since Epics significantly influence user retention, addressing these issues became a priority for us.
The process
ONCE UPON AN EPIC TIME
Never underestimate a platform and feature migration
As a holistic designer, I was involved in every step of this project. We thought we had everything figured out as designers, and user testing showed that people were happy with the experience. But when it came time to migrate without full feature parity, we hit a lot of unexpected bumps in the road. It turned out there were way more challenges than we initially thought!
01. Research & Strategy
Involved on the co-facilitating of workshops to increase trial conversion and shape the new strategy to reduce churn due to decision-makers selecting other tools. Gathered all the information I had from customer feedback about. users using GitHub Epics.
02. Prototyping & Iterations
Next, we mapped user stories and identified key features like status, labels, timeline and estimates. To support both GitHub and non-GitHub users, we created a new entity in Zenhub. We tested our initial designs through first-click testing and surveys, then made improvements based on user feedback.
03. Usability Testing
We ran several rounds of usability testing, identifying issues with feature parity, like missing comments, nested epics, etc. Also, the visual complexity on the board was another area we addressed.The MVP testing helped us see how both non-GitHub and GitHub users interacted with the new Zenhub Epics.
04. Development Hand-off & Launch aftermath
On launch day, we received significant feedback from users about missing features and lack of full parity, particularly regarding permissions, comments, and GitHub integration. Frustrated, we decided to pause the full migration and prioritize achieving complete feature parity. This approach allowed us to better meet user expectations and address their concerns before moving ahead.
05. Feature Parity
We ensured Zenhub Epics matched legacy GitHub epics in key functionalities, like project creation and permissions. We launched Zenhub Issues, securing fundraising and allowing users to group Epics with Issues. This update improved visibility for C-level executives and non-technical users by enabling GitHub connections.
06. Migration to be defined
The migration of Zenhub Epics is still in progress. Currently, we have both Legacy and Zenhub Epics. Users who understand Zenhub Epics have asked for a manual migration, but backend challenges remain. Since Zenhub Epics are scoped to an organization, this complicates team privacy for individual teams, fingers crossed!.
The impact in numbers
$10M
Series A funding
22%
Increase Trial-To-Paid rate
56%
DAU on ZenHub Epics and Issues
Adapting to feedback with data
User and peer feedback on Epics and Roadmap usage helped shape future iterations and prevent churn by making Zenhub more accessible to non-GitHub users.
Speak up when risks are crystal clear
When something doesn’t seem right, it’s critical to push back, even if it requires more time. Advocating for a better user experience is worth the effort.
Prioritize feature parity
The importance of not rushing feature launches without ensuring proper parity with existing features became evident. Delays in migration led to user frustration and data loss.