UX Strategy in Action

Driving business impact through strategic design at PandaDoc

I led a company-wide transformation to address two critical challenges. First was the design team’s absence from strategic decision-making; UX had no influence on product direction or experience. Second, the product experience itself was becoming a growth bottleneck; retention was strong once users were fully onboarded, but activation and early adoption lagged far below targets.

My approach was to elevate user experience to a board-level priority, linking design investment directly to core business metrics like activation, adoption, and user sentiment.

Context & Challenge

Over a decade, PandaDoc has evolved from a simple quoting and e-signature tool into a full document workflow and automation platform. But with that growth came complexity. New features were bolted on without a holistic view of the user journey, creating a fragmented, “clunky” experience.

User research made the problem clear:

  • New users struggled to understand how to integrate PandaDoc into their daily work.

  • Those who did invest the time became loyal, high-retention customers.

  • The onboarding gap was directly suppressing activation and adoption metrics.

building awareness

In Q1, I launched the Top 5 Journeys initiative, mapping and scoring the most critical user paths that impacted activation, adoption, and sentiment. These journey maps created a shared understanding across the company, giving R&D teams clear priorities and measurable UX improvement targets.

Role

  • Business Development
  • Engagement Scoping
  • Creative Direction
  • Workshop Facilitation
  • Program Management & Execution

Sustaining Momentum
in a Shifting Landscape

Right as momentum was building and a consensus on investment was growing, a high-stakes partnership opportunity emerged that required rapid, first-to-market product development. Executive focus and R&D resources shifted almost entirely to the partnership. While strategically sound for the business, it deprioritized UX improvements.

To prevent UX from falling off the radar, I:

  • Led a company-wide roadshow presenting journey maps, user pain points, and research-backed opportunities.

  • Published a mid-year research report summarizing behavioral trends, NPS insights, and the revenue impact of improving UX.

  • Partnered with product leaders to align journey ownership with their roadmaps, ensuring some incremental improvements shipped despite the pivot.

Crafting & Selling a Design Vision

By the end of Q3, the partnership product had launched, creating space to re-focus on UX. I seized the moment to present a future-state design vision—a cohesive, research-informed blueprint for how PandaDoc could transform its user experience to unlock growth.

I worked closely with the cofounders and executives, then rolled out the vision at the 2025 Planning Kickoff, Product All Hands, and Company All Hands. The result:

  • Board-approved prioritization of UX improvements as the centerpiece of the 2025 growth plan.

  • Commitment of 70% of R&D efforts in 2025 to UX-first initiatives.

Outcomes & Impact

  • Mapped & scored 42 journeys, improving 24 from F to A/B grades.

  • NPS rose to a record 41 (from 30).

  • +10% new user activation in 2H 2024.

  • +20% core feature adoption (with support from cross-functional initiatives).

  • New products began incorporating standardized UX patterns, increasing adoption rates.

Reflections & Learnings

  • Alignment needs constant maintenance — earlier, more candid discussions with executives about tradeoffs could have set clearer expectations during the strategic pivot.

  • Sustained pressure is key — maintaining consistent advocacy in every planning cycle would have accelerated progress.

  • Resourcing matters — running the initiative with a small, part-time team slowed momentum and lengthened buy-in.

  • Vision inspires action — our practical vision delivered results, but a bolder, more aspirational direction might have inspired even greater investment.