Timeline

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March - April 2025
Roles
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‍
UX Researcher Lead
UI/UX Designer
Interaction Designer
Methods
‍‍‍
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Design Research
Evaluative Research Prototyping
User Testing
Team

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Shrushti Chavan
Angel Hagen
Tiffany Chau

01
Context
02
Evaluative Research
03
Unmoderated Testing
04
Moderated Testing
05
Final Design
06
Outcomes/Reflections
01/ Context

Cursor is an AI-powered code editor designed to help developers in writing, debugging, and optimizing code.

Declaring that it was made for both novice and experienced developers, we wanted to test how well it actually works for different types of users. In our analysis, we tested getting started with Cursor, how helpful AI suggestions are, and whether it is an intuitive experience.

Impacts
  • Led research interviews, identifying key user pain points and improving onboarding and accessibility, resulting in a more intuitive user experience for both beginners and experienced developers.
  • Led wireframing and early design iterations, addressing navigation issues and confusing terminology, resulting in a streamlined onboarding experience for users at all skill levels.
  • Created and presented design decks, clearly communicating user insights and design decisions, which helped align the team and stakeholders on key product directions.
The Problem Space
While using Cursor, we found that many users struggled with onboarding, understanding the interface and starting a new project.
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1. Onboarding is hard to understand
2. Interface includes hidden features and unfamiliar terminology
3. Starting a new project takes too long
Our Goals

1. Make it easier to understand onboarding

2. Fewer usability errors and hesitations

3. Make it faster to create a new project

02/ Evaluative Research

Competitive audit

How Might We

streamline Cursor’s onboarding and redesign the first-time experience to feel intuitive and efficient for developers?

Design Version 1

BEFORE

AFTER

/03 Unmoderated Testing

using usertesting.com and dovetail
We conducted 3 unmoderated interviews. Using usertesting.com, we screened and recruited experienced developers to conduct a task flow downloading and using Cursor, then using our prototype.
Our tasks for Unmoderated testers
1. Download Cursor
2. Start a new project
3. Use our prototype and compare

/03 Insights

Based on the interviews, our identified User pain points: 

/04 Moderated Testing

using FIGMA and dovetail
Similarly, recruiting participants, we conducted 3 moderated interviews on Zoom.
Our participants were experienced developers, two familiar with Cursor, and one new to Cursor.
Our tasks for Moderated testers
1. Navigate our prototype
2. Engage with feedback
QUOTES

“It’s hard to read. But you know what will help? Let’s say I click on it and then this search window. If it pops right on top of this one. Then I know like you click on it and there’s another screen opens where you search.”

“I would have liked if before I signed up, if there was just something telling me what Cursor was a little bit more.”

“Yeah, I Definitely think adding these three buttons will benefit like beginners or people who are not very familiar with VS code who just want to start live coding.”

/04 Insights

Based on the interviews, our identified User pain points: 

/05 Final Design

Outcomes and Reflections

ConclusioN

We learned how important it is to design onboarding especially more intuitively, with clarity, and with different experience levels and accessibility in mind.

We realized that even small changes like instruction or clearer buttons can ease hesitation for users.

NEXT STEPS

If we had more time, we would’ve tested with an even wider range of users, including complete beginners, and incorporated accessibility needs earlier in the design. Moving forward, we plan to explore more personalized onboarding options, stronger support features like FAQs, and long-term testing to see how the experience holds up over time.

That's all.

Interested in working with passionate people on cool projects
Contact me if you've got something in that mix 🤙
Shrushti Chavan © 2025
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