PALIGO DISCOVERY
This discovery focused on understanding how users interact with Paligo’s content manager, a central tool for creating and organizing structured content. Led by me, the work aimed to uncover usability issues and build a foundation for future improvements.
CLIENT
Paligo
YEAR
2025
CATEGORY
Discovery, UX Research
Paligo content manager discovery
GOALS & SCOPE
The primary goal of this discovery phase was to evaluate the usability and efficiency of the content manager, which is a critical component of Paligo's CCMS platform. My specific focus was on studying how technical writers engage with the tool, identifying points of friction and investigating ways to improve key workflows including navigation, content management and categorization.
The scope was limited to research and analysis, which included planning, execution, and synthesis. No design solutions were proposed at this stage.
THE PROCESS
To better understand how users interact with Paligo's content manager, I conducted a structured discovery phase that used qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The purpose was to identify usability difficulties and generate insights to help guide future design decisions.
Key activities included:
Internal surveys to collect and consolidate knowledge from within the company about the product, its users, and known pain points
Observation studies to see how users interact with the content manager in real-world contexts, revealing behaviors that don’t always surface in self-reported data
Heuristic evaluation to independently assess the interface against established usability principles
User flow mapping to identify friction points and inconsistencies in key journeys such as topic creation, reuse, and navigation
Preparation of user interviews and internal workshops, delivered as handover material for the team to carry forward, intended to explore user needs, gather stakeholder perspectives, and align around problem areas
As the project lead, I developed the overall research strategy, conducted the analysis, and synthesized findings into actionable insights to support future product decisions.
RESULTS
The discovery identified several critical pain points affecting usability and efficiency in Paligo’s content manager:
Difficulty navigating and locating content due to unclear structure, terminology, and visual hierarchy
Challenges with managing and organizing content structures, especially when moving topics across folders
Lack of visibility into content relationships and reuse, making it hard to understand dependencies
Limited ability to filter, sort, or take bulk actions, which slowed down daily tasks
Small click targets and inconsistent interactions that led to user frustration
Insufficient system feedback and lack of simple ways to undo or recover from errors
Minimal support for customization, shortcuts, or advanced user workflows
Clear need for improved onboarding, in-context guidance, and help resources
The final deliverables included a detailed insight report and a set of defined opportunity areas. While no design solutions were implemented at this stage, the work was handed over as a strategic foundation for future UX improvements and now serves as a cornerstone for continued product development efforts.
LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS
This discovery reinforced the value of aligning user needs with business goals early on. Clear terminology proved crucial, as mismatches caused user confusion. Using diverse research methods provided a well-rounded view of pain points. Even without immediate designs, focused and strategic research can strongly shape product direction.
