How to Layer Information for Better User Trust

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐔𝐒 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬: Convenience sounds like a win… But in reality—control builds the trust that scales. We were working to improve product adoption for a US-based platform. Most founders instinctively look at cutting clicks, shortening steps, making the onboarding as fast as possible. We did too — until real user patterns told a different story. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: -Added more decision points -Let users customize their flow -Gave options to manually pick settings -instead of forcing defaults -Conversions went up. -Engagement improved. Most importantly, user trust deepened. You can design a sleek two-click journey. But if the user doesn’t feel in control, they hesitate. Especially in the US, where data privacy and digital autonomy are non-negotiable — transparency and control win. Some moments that made this obvious: People disable auto-fill just to type things in manually. They skip quick recommendations to compare on their own. Features that auto-execute without explicit consent? Often uninstalled. It’s not inefficiency. It’s digital self-preservation. A mindset of: “Don’t decide for me. Let me drive.” I’ve seen this mistake cost real money. One client rolled out an automation that quietly activated in the background. Instead of delighting users, it alienated 20% of them. Because the perception was: “You took control without asking.” Meanwhile, platforms that use clear prompts — “Are you sure?” “Review before submitting” Easy toggles and edits — those build long-term trust. That’s the real game. What I now recommend to every tech founder building for the US market: Don’t just optimize for frictionless onboarding. Optimize for visible control. Add micro-trust signals like “No hidden fees,” “You can edit this later,” and toggles that show choice. Make the user feel in charge at every key step. Trust isn’t built by speed. It’s built by respecting the user’s right to decide. If you’re a tech founder or product owner, stop assuming speed is everything. Start building systems that say: “You’re in control.” 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬. #UserExperience #ProductDesign #TrustByDesign #TechForUSMarket #businesscoach #coachishleenkaur LinkedIn News LinkedIn News India LinkedIn for Small Business

Spoke to the head of analytics last week. They moved to Snowflake, cleaned up their pipelines, and built 200+ dashboards. But users were still arguing over which “Revenue” number to trust. The stack got modern. The numbers? Still confusing. Here’s the real gap: Data infra ≠ Shared definitions. Yes, Shared Definition! You can have the best of Databricks, Snowflake, and dbt. But if Finance, Ops, and Product define “Active User” differently, dashboards just turn into debate rooms. Revenue. Retention. On-time delivery. All slightly different. All "valid." None consistent. That’s why the semantic layer matters. It’s the layer most people overlook but it’s the one that actually builds trust. When done right, metrics are defined once and used everywhere. Looker, Tableau, notebooks, APIs same logic, same result. No last-minute SQL rewrites. No silent metric drift. No "who made this dashboard" moments. The best stacks I’ve seen recently? They don’t just invest in compute and storage. They invest in clarity. Quietly. Deeply. And funny enough, that clarity usually starts with one decision: We define metrics in one place. And we stick to it. Everything else follows. #dataengineering #semanticlayer #dataplatform #analytics #snowflake #databricks #revenueops

Ever felt surprised by subscription renewals or hidden costs? Let's talk about designing user experiences that avoid these surprises! In this post, we'll dive into the essential principles that shape Ethical UX Designs, ensuring users' journeys are both enjoyable and ethical! 1️⃣ Notify Me, Don't Surprise Me - Keep users in the loop about subscription renewals and give them the power to cancel hassle-free. No more credit card requests for free trials! 🙅♂️ 2️⃣ Highlighting the Whole Picture - let's spill the beans on both the pros and cons. Empower users with critical info before they decide, ensuring well-informed choices. 🏡 3️⃣ Defaults for Freedom - Let's respect users' autonomy by ditching those pre-selected options that might not align with their desires. Choices should be as individual as a thumbprint! 👍👎 4️⃣ User Experience First - Remember, happy users are loyal users. Prioritize features that genuinely enhance their experience, even if it's not a cash cow today. 🚗💨 5️⃣ Price Clarity, No Surprises - Show the total bill upfront, including sneaky taxes and fees. Building trust with upfront honesty makes for happy wallets! 💰 6️⃣ Spam Begone! - Let's respect users' precious time and sanity by limiting notifications to the relevant stuff. Decluttering is the new black! 📵 7️⃣ Privacy Unveiled - No more hiding in the fine print. Lay the cards on the table about data collection and usage. It's all about respect for the user's data! 🔍 8️⃣ Honesty is Chic - Say goodbye to shady sales tactics. Welcome users with arms full of genuine offers and promotions. Trust is the foundation! 🛍️ 9️⃣ Cancellation Made Easy - No more mazes to escape subscriptions! A simple 'cancel' button should do the trick. Goodbyes should be as easy as hellos! 👋 🔟 Permission First - Knock before entering! Always ask for user consent before touching their data. Transparent communication is the key! 🔒 ✨ Imagine a world where notifications aren't a nuisance, cancellations aren't a puzzle, and data isn't a mystery. We're here for that world! By respecting users' time, choices, and privacy, we're creating digital experiences that shine. Follow & Connect - Rohit Borachate #EthicalUX #userexperiencedesign #UserFirstApproach #ethicaldesign #userjourney #UXPrinciples #DesignEthics #usercentricdesign #uxresearch

For years, companies have invested in portals and central hubs full of knowledge articles, training, onboarding content, and support. But let’s be honest: the experience is often clunky. Customers don’t want to browse a library. They want answers. Now, AI-powered search promises a shortcut: ask a question, get the answer. I often find myself in healthy debates with UX teams—will everything just become a search bar? Do we even need structured design anymore? But here’s the reality: AI is only as good as the content, structure, and experience behind it. Without thoughtful UX, even the best AI surfaces irrelevant or confusing results. In complex B2B environments, that erodes trust instead of building it. Leading teams are taking a layered approach: Start with structure. Map what customers need at each phase: onboarding, adoption, troubleshooting. Design with intent. Build role specific, outcome-driven experiences not just content dumps. Then layer in AI. Use it to accelerate access, not replace design. The future isn’t “search bar over sitemap.” It’s purposeful UX amplified by AI so customers get what they need, when they need it. How are you evolving your self-serve strategy? #DigitalExperience #CustomerSuccess #AI #SelfService #B2B #CustomerJourney

Context Engineering 101 Everyone’s talking about prompts. But the shift is happening behind the scenes in how context is designed & used. Because prompting is just the start. Performance comes from what surrounds the model. Here’s how to build systems to reason, not just respond: The 6 Layers of Context: 1. User Intent → Understand what the user really wants — not just what they typed. 2. Grounding → Anchor answers in real facts, trusted data, and verified sources. 3. Retrieval (RAG) → Pull in the right information at the right moment. 4. Prompting → Guide the model’s tone, structure, logic, and behavior. 5. Tool Use → Let the model take action: search, calculate, call APIs. 6. Memory & State → Carry knowledge forward. If you are building or guiding your team, you can’t design with prompts alone. You need structure around the model. ♻️ Reshare to help others learn. ➕ Follow me, Melody Olson, for Leadership & AI insights.

I just read your privacy policy on your website, and - it’s confusing… Why is it overly complex? Why does it lack clarity? Well… It’s dense and legalistic language makes it difficult for me to understand exactly what is being done with my data. Why isn’t it more user-friendly and transparent? IMO - It should be transparent, accessible, and understandable to the average person. What data is collected, how it's used, who it's shared with, and how it's protected? Without this clarity and transparency, you run the risk of eroding trust with your users and maybe even face legal and reputational repercussions. Something to consider – Ever heard of layering? Layer your published Privacy Policy (aka Privacy Notice) Layering your privacy policy is a way of presenting a privacy notice in a simplified, easily digestible manner. Layering means you organize your policy differently. Here's how a layered privacy policy might be structured: First Layer: Make it a short, summary version of the privacy policy. Provide a high-level overview of the most important aspects of how personal data is collected, used, and shared. Design this layer to be easily readable and comprehensible to the average user. Hint: Ask your mom, dad, grandpa, or grandma to read it. If it makes sense to them, layer 1 mission accomplished! Second Layer: This is a more detailed explanation of your privacy practices. Here is where you can provide in-depth information on the topics summarized in the first layer. Include more detail on the types of data collected, the specific purposes for collection, how the data is shared, the security measures in place, the user's rights regarding their data, and so on. The idea behind a layered privacy policy is to provide users with easy access to the information they're most likely to want or need… ...while still making more detailed information available for those who want it. Layering is a helpful way to balance the need for transparency with the reality that most users won't want to read a long, detailed policy in its entirety. Can you share a published Privacy Policy that you like and why you like it? #ciso #dataprivacy #security #dpo