Cloud Networking — Turning Onboarding Complexity into Clarity
Making the first interaction with multi-cloud networking understandable and guided
Enterprise cloud networking onboarding is fragmented, opaque, and error-prone. Users face multiple disconnected tools, unclear system states, and steep learning curves that delay adoption and erode trust. This work focused on making the first interaction with the system understandable and guided—transforming confusion into confidence through visual clarity and step-by-step guidance.
95%+ retention once in funnelReduced onboarding timeImproved confidence in first deployment
The Challenge
Users faced multiple tools, unclear system state, and steep learning curves when onboarding to multi-cloud networking. The fragmentation across platforms created confusion about where to start, what assets existed, and how to proceed. Early confusion led to delayed adoption and mistrust—users abandoned the process or required extensive support to complete onboarding.
The Goal
- • Make cloud assets visible and understandable
- • Guide users step-by-step through onboarding
- • Reduce cognitive load without hiding power
My Role (Leadership Lens)
- • Set UX direction for onboarding flows
- • Defined mental models and hierarchy
- • Led stakeholder alignment across PM, engineering, leadership
- • Made tradeoffs on what complexity to expose vs. defer
Discovery: Competitor Analysis
The landscape revealed a market optimized for technical flexibility and comprehensive feature sets. Platforms prioritized exposing every configuration option, every system detail, and every possible workflow path. This approach served power users but created significant friction for teams trying to get started.Where users struggled: dense tables that required mental parsing, terminology that assumed domain expertise, and workflows that expected users to navigate complexity independently. The consequence was delayed adoption, increased support burden, and teams abandoning onboarding before reaching value.This informed a deliberate choice to differentiate through visual clarity and guided progression. Visual grouping replaced tables. Geographic mapping provided spatial understanding. Step-by-step guidance reduced cognitive load while preserving access to advanced capabilities. The tradeoff: less immediate flexibility, more confident onboarding.
UX Laws in Practice
- Hierarchy: Visual grouping and geographic mapping established clear information hierarchy, making asset relationships immediately understandable.
- Progressive disclosure: Guided steps revealed complexity incrementally, showing essential information first with advanced options available on demand.
- Cognitive load reduction: Replaced dense tables with visual representations, eliminating the need for users to mentally parse and organize information.
- Error prevention: Preview and validation before network creation prevented costly mistakes by showing impact before committing to changes.
Process: From Complexity to Clarity
Domain mapping & mental models
Mapped the technical domain to establish clear mental models for cloud assets, networks, and relationships.User journeys and edge cases
Documented user journeys across onboarding scenarios, identifying edge cases and failure points.Early explorations and storyboards
Created storyboards and early explorations to visualize guided workflows and progressive disclosure patterns.Iteration through 2–3 design cycles
Refined designs through stakeholder reviews, user feedback, and alignment sessions across multiple cycles.Solution: Guided Onboarding Flow
Discover cloud accounts and assets
Visual inventory of multi-cloud resources with clear categorization, geographic mapping, and grouping capabilities. [Placeholder for annotated image]Group VPCs and subnets
Intuitive grouping interface for organizing network components across cloud providers with visual hierarchy. [Placeholder for annotated image]Create networks with clear hierarchy
Guided workflow for establishing secure network connections with visual feedback and clear system state. [Placeholder for annotated image]Preview impact before committing
Review and preview network changes before deployment, showing impact and dependencies clearly. [Placeholder for annotated image]Outcome
The guided onboarding flow achieved faster onboarding, fewer errors, and increased user confidence. Users moved through the pipeline from demo to production more quickly, with 95%+ retention once they entered the funnel. The visual clarity and step-by-step guidance reduced cognitive load while maintaining access to advanced capabilities for power users.
What This Work Demonstrates
- • Systems thinking: mapping complex domains into clear mental models
- • UX laws in practice: progressive disclosure, visibility of system status, reducing cognitive load
- • Design as a leadership and alignment tool: bringing stakeholders together around clear direction
Leadership Reflection
- • Designing clarity is about choosing what not to expose—progressive disclosure required deliberate decisions on what to hide initially.
- • Alignment happens when design makes complexity discussable—visual models enabled stakeholders to see tradeoffs and make informed decisions together.
- • Systems UX must scale beyond first-time use—onboarding patterns established mental models that support ongoing operations and advanced workflows.
Leadership Lens
InfluenceDesign shaped product direction by establishing visual-first onboarding that replaced technical complexity with guided asset discovery and network creation.
TradeoffsMade strategic decisions on what complexity to expose vs. defer, prioritizing user confidence in onboarding over exposing every system detail upfront.
AlignmentLed stakeholder alignment across PM, engineering, and leadership, bringing teams together around clear onboarding direction and tradeoffs.
SystemsOnboarding patterns scale beyond this project through reusable asset discovery components, network creation workflows, and mental models applicable to other complex setup experiences.