An Update on Impact Walkthroughs

[MelissaMcClella]

Walkthroughs Update

Our Walkthrough feature was launched in early 2022 as a Beta version. Since then, our teams have been working on improving the functionality and accessibility of Walkthroughs in order to deliver the best experience for our customers. We would like to share an update of the current and planned updates to the Walkthrough feature below.

Walkthroughs and Current Limitations

The Walkthrough feature is intended to allow customers to create a step-by-step guide for users within a learning environment. By using our inline editor or dashboard you can create steps with proactive messaging and support content to help users complete a specific task or action. 

Currently there are limitations to the following:

• Seamless navigation between the Dashboard and Inline Editor
• Context creation and free select mode
• Synchronization of out-of-the-box Walkthrough content
• Consistency of message placement and triggers
• Consistency of step sequencing within Walkthroughs
• Guiding users to a new page automatically to continue a walkthrough (currently users need to click on an element or take an action to be redirected instead of clicking ‘next’ in the walkthrough)

The Walkthrough feature is currently in Beta due to these limitations and we are currently working on addressing each of them. Below you can see specific parts of the Walkthrough feature that are being worked on and developed. We have prioritized the most requested feature fixes in order to deliver the most functional version of Walkthroughs as soon as possible.

Walkthroughs will only be available for Blackboard Learn Original and Canvas LMS. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver walkthroughs in Blackboard Learn Ultra as they are not compatible with the framework Blackboard Learn Ultra leverages for integrations.

What are we Working on right now?

These are some of the items that we have started working on for Q3/Q4:

• Syncing content directly into the Walkthrough editor
  Providing out-of-the-box walkthroughs for customers from our content team
• Ability to see where a walkthrough step is connected to within the environment
  Clear visibility of walkthrough step placement
• Improving walkthrough launch reliability
  Ensuring that first steps of the walkthrough appears in the correct context
• Consistent sizing of messages
  Ensuring that all messages and walkthrough steps are sized correctly based on message type
• Resolving context issues
  Ensuring that contexts are interpreted correctly when adding walkthrough steps
• Free select mode
  Ability to define contexts around the environment while creating steps in the Walkthrough editor.
• Accessibility Improvements
  Improving color contrast, ScreenReader text, navigation elements, and labeling to meet WCAG Level AA.

Features for the Future

The items below are currently in a discovery phase and require more investigation from engineering and design.

• Multi page walkthroughs
  Ability to automatically redirect users to another page where their process continues instead of waiting for them to take an action.
• Walkthrough Insights
  Ability to view statistics on walkthrough engagement, completion, and feedback in order to assess the success of my walkthrough.
• Preview walkthroughs through the inline editor
  Ability to preview how the walkthrough step will look like without publishing.
• Walkthrough Checklist
  Include a checklist within walkthrough creation to promote more active adoption.
• Autosave for Create/Edit Article, Message, and Walkthrough
  Ability for content to be automatically saved while drafting a walkthrough
• Ability to launch walkthroughs from message or support center
  Embedding walkthroughs that users can be redirected to within messages or support articles.

We want to hear from you. Take this quick survey to rank the importance of each of these future walkthrough features to help us prioritize our development.

Survey for Walkthrough Feature Prioritization