GE Banner linking to tutorial for first time users

[jessicaaawu]

Is your feature request related to a problem?
Based on the 2024 Microsoft Graph NPS and Customer Satisfaction Survey, many first-time users find Graph Explorer (GE) confusing. This feedback aligns with user research and interviews conducted in August 2023, where participants struggled with various aspects of GE during initial interactions. While participants expressed overall positive sentiments towards GE, only 57.14% were able to successfully execute a query during task-based surveys. Key usability issues identified include:

• Sign-In and Authentication: Users found the sign-in and authentication process confusing, especially when accessing personal data, leading to frequent errors.
• Permissions and Navigation: Difficulties were noted in locating the permissions tab and the run query button, as well as challenges in finding specific information like email permissions.
• Usability and Interface: Users struggled with understanding response headers and bodies, necessitating reference to documentation. The search functionality was also considered limited, complicating the ability to effectively find and modify queries. Additionally, error messages were unclear and difficult to resolve.
• Initial Engagement: New users often didn’t know how to start or what to do next, indicating a steep learning curve and a non-intuitive interface.

Supporting these insights, the GE Adobe Analytics report from October 2023 to April 2024 shows a bounce rate of 19.3% for all GE visits. Further analysis indicates that of the 81.7% of visits that did not bounce, only 40.7% resulted in running a query with GE, translating to a mere 33.25% of all visits leading to a successful call.

Overall, GE’s interface can feel overwhelming for first-time users unfamiliar with its layout.

Describe the solution you'd like
We propose implementing a banner in GE to guide first-time users by linking them to helpful documentation such as a written tutorial. The banner could display a message such as, "New to Graph Explorer? Follow the tutorial here." This would provide an immediate, cost-effective way to assist users in navigating GE.

We would monitor user engagement with the linked documentation to determine whether it’s necessary to later invest in developing a full interactive tour for first-time users.

Describe alternatives you've considered

1. Interactive Tour within GE: While building an in-product tour could effectively guide new users, it would require significant time and resources. We will first implement the banner and track analytics and user feedback to see if it is useful for users.
2. Redesigning GE for Intuitive Use: A full design overhaul to make GE more intuitive could be a long-term solution but would take extensive effort. In the short term, implementing the banner would provide immediate assistance to users.

Additional context
The banner will need to be visible only to first-time users and will require tracking to measure engagement with the linked tutorial.
Example of banner: