Improving the ‘Recover Password’ Functionality in Ubisoft’s Uplay through UX Research
Uplay is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications service developed by Ubisoft. It offers a similar experience to the achievements/trophies offered by other game companies and was launched in June 2012. According to recent statistics, Uplay has over 90 million users.
I have noticed a large number of individuals expressing their frustration with Uplay’s “Recover Password” feature on various social media platforms and forums. This motivated me to conduct a UX Research project to improve this aspect of the platform.
Problems:
- Users are expressing frustration with Uplay’s “Recover Password” feature, indicating issues with the password recovery process.
- Users find the process of being redirected to Ubisoft’s official website during password recovery inconvenient.
- The password recovery process on Uplay is deemed confusing and time-consuming, leading to user dissatisfaction.
- Users encounter issues with understanding the password recovery process, suggesting a need for clearer UX writing and instructions.
- Some users face technical issues during the password recovery process, impacting their overall experience.
Solutions:
- Implement an in-app password recovery process within Uplay to eliminate the need for users to be redirected to the Ubisoft website. This would simplify the process and reduce user frustration.
- Enhance the UX writing within the app to make instructions shorter, more understandable, and user-friendly. Provide clear and concise guidance throughout the password recovery process.
- Redesign the password recovery process to be more user-friendly and efficient. Make it easy for users to reset their passwords within the Uplay app without unnecessary steps.
- Simplify the verification steps required for password recovery. Users should find the process straightforward and easily understandable.
- Address and resolve technical issues that users encounter during the password recovery process, ensuring a smoother experience.
- Implement a real-time password reset feature, allowing users to confirm their email address, and then immediately proceed to reset their password within the Uplay app.
- Prioritize the user’s needs and expectations when designing the password recovery process. Ensure that it is fast, secure, and user-friendly.
The steps in a UX Research process can generally be as follows:
1) Defining the user target and objectives
2) Conducting research to understand user needs and pain points
3) Formulating hypotheses
4) Examining user behaviors
5) Generating solutions to meet user needs
6) Evaluating alternative solutions
7) Selecting the best solution and developing the design
8) Testing the design with users and receiving feedback
It is known that this process may change depending on the project.
1- Defining user targets and objectives 🐱🏍 is crucial in UX Research as it helps align the design with the users’ needs, motivations, and goals. This step involves understanding the target audience and their expectations from the design, ensuring that the end result meets their needs. In the case of the “Recover Password” feature in Uplay, defining user targets and objectives could have helped improve the user experience by making the password recovery process more straightforward and user-friendly.
Based on my research, Uplay account holders have the following goals, objectives, expectations, and requirements when it comes to recovering their passwords:
Goals: To easily recover lost passwords and regain access to their Uplay accounts.
Objectives: To retrieve the password necessary for accessing their Uplay account and re-enter it.
Expectations: A simple, easy, and fast password recovery process, a secure and user-friendly platform.
Requirements: The password recovery process should be located within Uplay, the verification steps should be simple and understandable, and secure and up-to-date technology should be used.
2- As a UX Researcher, I believe that conducting research to understand user needs and pain points 🤦♂️is key to addressing this issue.
User research helps to uncover the root causes of user complaints and determine what needs to be improved in the design. By gathering data and feedback from users, designers can gain a better understanding of the users’ expectations and what they find to be problematic in the password recovery process.
Research Objective: To understand the user needs and pain points regarding the password recovery process in Uplay and find ways to enhance the user experience.
Methods:
- Surveys and online questionnaires to gather information on user experiences and opinions about the password recovery process in Uplay.
- User testing to observe and receive feedback from users as they go through the password recovery process in Uplay.
- User interviews to have in-depth conversations with Uplay users to gain a better understanding of their needs and challenges regarding password recovery.
Expected Outcomes:
- A comprehensive understanding of the user needs and pain points regarding password recovery in Uplay.
- Recommendations for improving the password recovery process and overall user experience in Uplay.
As a UX Researcher, I wrote the 8 questions with the aim of gathering information and insights from the users about their experiences with the “Recover Password” process in the Ubisoft’s Uplay app. The objective of these questions was to understand the reasons behind the complaints and to identify the users’ pain points and needs. By gathering this information, it becomes possible to come up with solutions that can enhance the overall user experience in the Uplay app. These questions were written with the intention of providing valuable data that can be used to create a more efficient, user-friendly password recovery process within the app.
Questions:
1- Did you find any aspect of the password recovery process in the Uplay app confusing or unclear?
A: Yes, I found the password recovery process in the Uplay app confusing and unclear.
B: Absolutely, the password recovery process in the Uplay app was extremely confusing and lacked clear instructions.
2- How would you rate your overall experience with the password recovery process in the Uplay app?
A: I would rate my overall experience with the password recovery process in the Uplay app as a 2 out of 5.
B: Maybe 1 out of 5.
3- Did you encounter any technical issues during the password recovery process in the Uplay app?
A: Yes, I encountered technical issues during the password recovery process in the Uplay app.
B: Definitely, the technical issues I encountered during the password recovery process were frustrating and made the experience even more difficult.
4- How would you rate the speed of the password recovery process in the Uplay app?
A: I would rate the speed of the password recovery process in the Uplay app as a 3 out of 5.
B: The speed of the password recovery process in the Uplay app was unacceptable and I would rate it as a 2 out of 5.
5- Was the app redirecting to the Ubisoft website during the password recovery process a concern for you?
A: Yes, the app redirecting to the Ubisoft website during the password recovery process was a concern for me.
B: Yes, unnecessary step..
6- Have you used the password recovery process in other apps before? If so, how does the Uplay app compare in terms of the password recovery process?
A: When I click on the “Recover Password” button in the Uplay app, I’m redirected to the Ubisoft website, which requires me to go through multiple steps and pages in order to recover my password. This is in contrast to other applications, such as Epic Games or Origin, where I can enter my email and reset my password within the app itself. I find the process with Uplay to be inconvenient and time-consuming, and I feel that it could be improved by allowing users to reset their passwords within the app.
B: The password recovery process in the Steam app is very user-friendly and efficient according to my experience. The option to use either an email address or a mobile phone number to reset the password is a great feature. The process of resetting the password through a mobile phone number via SMS is quick and easy. On the other hand, resetting the password through email is also straightforward and fast. I think the Steam team’s UX team has done a great job in making the password recovery process easy and efficient. However, the same cannot be said about the Uplay app.
7- In your opinion, what could be done to improve the password recovery process in the Uplay app?
A: In my opinion, the password recovery process in the Uplay app needs to be completely overhauled to improve the user experience.
B: In my opinion, the Uplay app needs to re-design the password recovery process to be more user-friendly and efficient.
8- Would you recommend the password recovery process in the Uplay app to others? Why or why not?
A: No, I would not recommend the password recovery process in the Uplay app to others due to the confusing and slow experience.
B: No, confusing instructions and technical issues.
3- Formulating Hypotheses:✨
- The confusing navigation within the “Recovery Password” section of Uplay may be causing frustration and dissatisfaction among users.
- The requirement to log out of Uplay in order to access the password recovery process is causing inconvenience for users.
- The lack of a clear and easy-to-use password recovery process on Uplay is negatively impacting the overall user experience.
- There may be alternative solutions to the password recovery process that would provide a better user experience for Uplay users.
Expected Outcomes:
By testing these hypotheses, we aim to better understand the root causes of user frustration and dissatisfaction with the password recovery process on Uplay. The outcome of this research will inform the development of solutions to improve the overall user experience on Uplay.
4- Examining user behaviors 👆 — By examining user behaviors, we can gain insight into how they interact with the app and identify the root cause of their frustration. In this case, we can see that users expect the password recovery process to be straightforward and within the app. However, the redirect to the Ubisoft website creates an additional step in the process, making it more time-consuming and confusing for users.
Step 1 — We enter Uplay and click on the word “Recover Password”.
Step 2 — Uplay redirects us to Ubisoft’s official website. I also want to mention that I think the writing is not successful in terms of UX Writing. You should pay attention to shorter, understandable, and friendly posts. You could just “Write your e-mail address”. After writing the email, it might say “Check your mail address”.
Step 3 — After writing our e-mail address, we enter our e-mail address and click on the “click here”.
Step 4 — Now we write our new password and after writing a password according to Ubisoft’s password policy, we click on change.
Step 5 — Oops.. It says we didn’t accept the password we used before. Below, we look at what is written in the “Also remember” section, and we do not find an article about remembering the password you used before.
Step 6 — Finally, our password is accepted.
After all this process you go to Uplay and open your account.
During the research, in addition to surveys and interviews, I read user complaints about this topic from Reddit, Twitter, and discussions.ubisoft
Many users on Twitter Common complaints of the Uplay application include not receiving password reset emails, being unable to reset passwords through the app or website, and difficulty accessing account information. Some users have also expressed frustration with the lack of responsiveness from Ubisoft customer support on these issues.
On Reddit, many users have also expressed frustration with password recovery issues on Ubisoft’s Uplay app. In addition to the complaints mentioned above, some Reddit users have reported problems with verifying their email addresses or phone numbers, making it difficult to reset their passwords. Some users have also raised concerns about the security of their accounts, and have called for improvements to Ubisoft’s account management and password recovery processes.
5- Generating solutions to meet user needs 🚑— The main purpose of user research is to find out what users are concerned about and give them what they want. Users want a “user-friendly” product. They want to reach their goals with fewer clicks.
The solution to this is that the password change should happen inside the Uplay app. When “Recover Password” is clicked, the e-mail address should be written in Uplay. We confirm that our account is ours by entering the number (or symbol) received in our e-mail address and going to the next page to change our password.
6- Evaluating alternative solutions ✌— I evaluate different solutions in the stage of evaluating alternative solutions. I compare their strengths and weaknesses, considering user research and technology/design limitations. I use methods such as user testing and design evaluation methodologies to choose the best solution that meets users’ needs and improves the user experience.
The main difference between the alternative solution from the first solution is that instead of writing numbers or symbols in the message to the e-mail address, by clicking on the confirm e-mail button, Uplay automatically redirects you to the new password selection page.
Thanks for reading my research🎉.
