How templates saved time (and sanity)
The Problem
Creating insightful dashboards shouldn’t feel like solving a Rubik’s cube. But for a lot of users of Muck Rack’s PR Software tools, that’s exactly what we heard—tedious, time-consuming, and downright overwhelming. Every dashboard needed to be built from scratch, widgets chosen one by one, and filled with data sources, which left PR professionals buried under layers of manual work instead of focusing on what really matters: the insights.
We needed to streamline the process, give users a structured starting point, and make creating dashboards faster and more intuitive. In short: save them time and frustration.
The Fix
Enter Dashboard Templates and Bulk Editing. I collaborated closely with UX design and our Reporting Product Team to help create templates that aligned with specific outcomes—PR metrics, social media performance, media coverage—you name it. With templates, users could select a pre-configured starting point that’s already tailored to their reporting needs. No more starting from scratch, no more widget-hunting.
Plus, we added bulk editing, letting users tweak multiple widgets at once. Dashboards went from being a manual slog to a plug-and-play experience.
Scope of work.
- Template creation: Developed clear, targeted template names and descriptions. Each template was structured to align with specific PR metrics and outcomes, giving users a head start on their dashboard creation process.
- User research & interviews: Collaborated with the research team, conducting interviews to understand pain points in the dashboard creation process. We tested template clarity and adjusted based on user feedback to ensure everything resonated with PR teams.
- Creation flow: Directed content flows and microcopy for setting up dashboards, helping users quickly get the most out of templates and widgets.
- Iterative feedback loop: Continued to refine templates based on user feedback, constantly improving the dashboard experience and ensuring it stayed aligned with the evolving needs of PR professionals.
Outcomes.
- Reduced setup time: With the introduction of pre-configured templates and bulk editing, users saw a 30% reduction in dashboard setup time compared to the manual process they were used to.
- Higher engagement: User feedback indicated a 20% increase in dashboard creation and usage, with templates offering a more relevant and user-friendly starting point.
- Improved customization: The bulk editing feature significantly cut down on repetitive tasks, leading to a more efficient, flexible way for PR teams to customize their dashboards.
- Enhanced reporting: The structured templates helped PR teams build dashboards more aligned with their specific metrics, leading to higher-quality insights and improved decision-making.