Norton VPN Split Tunnel
Feature Design

1EXPLAINING THE TECHNICAL DETAILS LIKE I AM FIVE

According to Webopedia, split tunneling is "the process of enabling a remote VPN user to access a public network, usually the internet, while also being able to access resources on the VPN." My goal was to present this concept to users in the most straightforward and visually compelling manner possible.

2DESIGNING FOR MULTIPLE PLATFORMS & PRODUCTS DURING THE REDESIGN PROCESS

At the beginning of my involvement in the project, the team was already working on redesigning Norton Secure VPN for cross-platform use. This required the design to be compatible and consistent across old and new versions since the split tunnel feature was rolled out before the new redesign was released.

Additionally, we had to consider that our Norton Security desktop product already had a VPN feature, which meant that my design had to be adaptable to that product as well.

1IDENTIFY MAIN TASK FLOWS

By identifying the main task flows, I was able to conceptualize a template or framework that could be customized and implemented across various platforms and products.

2DESIGN PROCESS

WIREFRAMES

USE CASES

OTHER PLATFORMS

Norton VPN Desktop (Click to zoom)

Norton Antivirus Desktop Product with VPN Feature (Click to zoom)

3USER STUDY

The study was conducted by our Senior UX Researcher. I participated in all of the sessions to provide assistance and answer any questions users may have.

Study purpose: To test how an average user understands the Split Tunnel feature.

User Demographics: Total of 13 participants

• Two groups: 7 current Norton VPN users & 6 non Norton VPN users (Nord, Hotspot, PIA)
• 11 males & 2 females
• 10 users: 20-30 years old, 1 user: 31-40 years old, 2 users: 60+ years old
• Mixed devices on which they use VPN: smart phones, tablets, desktops

Test Use Cases:

• New feature announcement
• Trying to understand what the feature is
• Interacting with the feature
• Feedbacks

Summary

• No users had heard about Split tunnel. All users were confused by what it was and the purpose of this feature.
• 2 users did not even want to explore it, as they were not sure what it was. They did not think it was important to navigate to it to understand the feature. Few users upon reading the information on the screen understood the purpose of the feature.
• Most users mentioned that the information on the screen was confusing and not clear. Most users had to be explained the feature. Post explanation users mentioned that they would use the feature.
• Two users suggested adding examples to explain how the feature works.

4ITERATIONS

Note: The user study was performed using a desktop prototype, so the revised version based on user feedback is specific to the desktop platform.

Working alongside our copywriter, I simplified the language and incorporated an onboarding process to enhance user-friendliness, digestibility, and visual effectiveness in explaining Split Tunnel.