Reporting Clarity · Nielsen

Overview

RoleUser Experience Architect

UsersBrand, category & space managers · Analysts · Client service

ConstraintsShort timelines · Limited user access · New codebase

ScopeEnd-to-end reporting: launch, data selection, custom data, results, saved work

ProblemLow adoption: the reports existed, but users couldn't find, choose, or create them.

OutcomeUsage of the new UI tripled week over week at peak, and sessions ran 5.4 minutes longer.

01Problem

Powerful data isn't enough if people can't find their way to it.

Product metrics showed low adoption of Nielsen's reporting. Reports were color-coded tiles with little context and no clear entry point.

The original Nielsen reporting home: applications shown as large color-blocked tiles with dated icons and placeholder text, and no clear entry point for launching or comparing reports. — Before: color-blocked tiles, no clear entry point, and little guidance on which report to choose.

02What I found

Not a data problem. A clarity problem.

Low adoption was the signal, not the problem. The experience didn't tell users where to go, what to choose, or what to do next.

Access

No central place to launch reports

Consistency

Apps evolved separately, with dated, mismatched patterns

Discovery

Users couldn't tell which report fit their question

Creation

Building the right report was hard

Collaboration

No personal space, custom data, or sharing

03Approach

Start from what users were trying to answer.

Brand managerCompares sales across new brands within a demographic.

Space managerFinds ways to improve product placement on shelves.

Business analystCompares promotions across seasons.

Category managerShares reports and insights with colleagues.

With short timelines and a new codebase underway, I improved the existing ecosystem instead of rebuilding it.

04Solution

Reports organized around tasks, not internal systems.

One reporting system, end to end

Launch → Select data → Create custom data → Results → Save & reuse

Creating custom data is its own case study →

Launch categories

Assortment · Category Review · Joint Business Planning · Loyalty · Promotion · Pricing · My Saved Work

The redesigned reporting experience: a persistent Launch Points sidebar with categories, and report cards grouped by category that show names, descriptions, preview imagery, and clear actions. — Clear launch points, and report cards with names, descriptions, and previews. Users no longer needed to know Nielsen's internal structure.

Brand Planning: not more data, but data that's easier to understand.

05Results

We measured what happened after launch.

3×

Users in the new UI vs. the previous week, at peak

11.5 min

Average session in the new UI

+5.4 min

Longer than the old UI

Google Analytics, measured launch period: 266 users in the new UI vs. 255 in the old.

06What I learned

Metrics tell you where to look.UX investigation tells you what to fix.
Enterprise complexity shouldn't become user complexity.Users shouldn't need to know the architecture to do their work.
Design outcomes should be measurable.Keep evaluating after release, not just in usability testing.