Skip to main content

FigJam is great, and the open session feature is so helpful 😍


However, after running several workshops with first-time FigJam users, I think it’d be even more helpful in a few ways:



  • Onboarding new users: This could be done in one of a few ways:

    • Create an up-to-date template discrete How-To sections (eg, How to zoom, How to create a sticky). Make it easy to remove parts if it gets too detailed for your audience. I know other there are templates with great instructions in them, but they’re all out-of-sync and embedded in other templates. Might as well make it’s own thing and keep it up-to-date.

    • Better option: Create a tour that guides new users around the interface very briefly, focusing on moving around, stickies and following a spotlight.



  • Non-editable sections: Having first-time users able to edit, move or delete entire sections is a bit horrifying. The other day, a user (their first time ever seeing FigJam) accidentally deleted an entire section by accident because they had it selected and then pasted something. I couldn’t Undo it on their behalf because it was their action. I found some users were consistently confused about selecting sections. My suggestion:

    • During an open session, guests cannot select/add/edit/delete sections. Or, make this a configuration of open session.



  • Simplify the toolbar: It’d be great to be able to simplify the toolbar for guests in an open session. For example, I might:

    • Hide shapes & templates from guests. I want them to focus on stickies. I find guests don’t know the difference and then get flustered why their “stickies” (actually shapes) look different. It’s a distraction that could be eliminated.

    • Disable the option for guests to turn off signatures. That way when the workshop is over, it’s much easier to identify who wrote each sticky. If they don’t know it’s an option, they won’t miss it.




(Maybe there’s a way to simplify this → Open Session For Pros and Open Session For Noobs. I’ll let you finesse the wording, but maybe it’s about bundling some of these ideas together?)

When using FigJam as a work shopping tool, especially with people new to using the app, I run into issues where I specify that I want people to write ideas down on sticky notes but they use the other tools available to them or get confused with the options available such as text or shapes. It can be tedious to correct these issues and often makes workshop members feel more inept when corrected.


I would like to streamline this experience as much as possible, and to do that I would like to control the tools that users have available to them at any time. A simple permissions menu would be valuable for this, as I could create an open session that starts with nothing available, and unlock the tools needed for the exercises at the time.

Reply


Terms & ConditionsCookie settings