With nearly 932 billion human interactions on their platform every year, Twilio and its engineering teams uphold high standards for the performance and impact of their new features on developers. Here is Jacob Surber, product manager at Twilio, discussing his experience launching a product.
About the Twilio Console:
A front door for developers accessing Twilio services. It handles configuration, monitoring, error management, billing. Originally launched in 2008, now undergoing significant redesign due to product growth.
Redesign Goals:
Addressing outdated aesthetic and scaling issues. Reevaluating information and technical architecture. Aim to improve performance, testing, quality, and user experience.
New Console – Project Zen:
Redesigned left-hand navigation and reorganized into four major areas: account/billing, develop, monitor. Initiative named “Project Zen” to evoke a sense of calm and ease of use. Focus on recombining existing elements for a more streamlined user experience.
Rollout Strategy:
Follows Twilio’s principles (Twilio Magic), emphasizing documentation and communication. Four rollout gates: internal beta, private beta, public, general availability. Documentation includes goals, requirements, and metrics for each phase.
Rollout Tools:
Utilizes various tools for rollout and monitoring: Split, Rollbar, Datadog, Segment, Hotjar, Coralogix. Split used for feature toggling and targeting rules for rollout phases. Segment provides insights into user behavior and personas.
Launch Metrics:
Focus on understanding customers, adoption rates, instrumentation, and customer feedback. Importance of feedback collection, both proactive and reactive. Key metrics include opt-in rate, user feedback, error monitoring, and task success rates.
Public Beta and Research Plan:
Shifts focus on output metrics, including happiness, engagement, adoption, retention, and task success. Implements targeted surveys, customer advisory boards, and HART framework for evaluation. Emphasizes the need for iteration and responsiveness to feedback throughout the process.
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