Developer Studio

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Introduction

Over several decades, Fiserv had grown through acquisitions and mergers, such as First Data and Clover. As a result, the company had hundreds of APIs scattered across legacy systems, leading to a fragmented visual and functional experience that slowed down integration. Developer Studio was created to centralize, simplify, and modernize access to these APIs by enabling developers to discover, integrate, and launch with speed from a single platform.

My Role as UX Designer

I led the redesign of the support experience for Developer Studio. I collaborated with UX designers and developers to complete the project.

Timeline & Team

Timeline: September 2021 - November 2021

My team:

  • 2 UX Designers


  • 5 Developers

Challenge

Developers are likely to drop off when APIs are hard to find and guidance is unclear.

I began my research by reviewing existing usability testing results conducted by our team. I focused on the most recent tests that evaluated the full Developer Studio experience. At this stage of the product, developers were able to:

  1. Discover and search for endpoints

  2. Try out the API sandbox

  3. Create and log into the account


Based on the findings, I identified two key user insights:
Insight 1:
 Developers have a high likelihood of dropping off when they can’t find the API they’re looking for.
Insight 2:
 Users feel a lack of guidance or “support” as they navigate the unfamiliar portal.

The drop-off issue was largely influenced by how the site map and terminology were structured. Developers could locate APIs in two ways:

  1. Through the Product Area → Product hierarchy, where endpoints are nested under each product.

  2. Via the All APIs page, which centralizes all endpoints.

However, terms like “Product Area,” “Product,” and even “Endpoints” were not intuitive for many users. Developers who are unfamiliar with Fiserv’s internal taxonomy often struggled to understand where to look or how to use key features such as filters, tags, and the API sandbox. This disconnect between terminology and user expectations directly contributed to confusion and drop-offs.

Assessing the Current Experience

The Support page had limited features with communication directing the user to Github and Slack.

Guiding Questions

  1. How might prevent drop-outs for users when looking for the endpoint they really need for their business?

  2. How might we help general non-developer users navigate the portal successfully?

Proposed Solutions

For the business: reduce potential drop-offs from visitors interested in partnering with Developer Studio by improving overall discoverability and clarity within the portal.

For the user: minimize friction throughout the portal experience by providing helpful guides, clearer navigation, and multiple channels of communication.

Usability Results

User testing showed that the new guide was highly effective, with all tasks completed successfully and feedback leading to a redesigned seven-page version that included clearer navigation, a glossary, and an FAQ for easier information access.

User testing showed that the new guide was highly effective and well-received.

  • Task success: All three test tasks were completed with a 100% success rate.

  • User feedback: Testers found the guide extremely helpful but recommended adding a Glossary to clarify unfamiliar terms and an FAQ section to address common questions.

  • Content structure: Additional feedback from both users and the design/development teams suggested breaking the original one-page guide into multiple pages for easier information digestion.

The updated guide now consists of seven pages in total:

  • Five pages dedicated to helping users navigate the flow of finding the right endpoint

  • One FAQ page addressing common questions

  • One Glossary page defining key terms

  • I wanted to create a guide that users could reference while navigating Developer Studio—especially those looking for the right API endpoint for their business. The goal was to simplify the experience for both developers and non-developers by providing clear explanations and definitions of technical and Developer Studio–specific terms. This guide would ultimately live on the Support Page as a key resource for onboarding and self-service help.
    Since there was no existing guide or UX writer on the team, I took the initiative to draft the first version myself. I focused on the user journey of finding an endpoint and wrote the content in a Word document. To validate its usefulness, I conducted usability testing with five non-developers and three developers.

    Objectives

    • Assess how useful the guide is for both developers and non-developers

    • Gather insights to further improve the clarity and structure of the guide


    Test Details

    • Subject: Developer Studio website

    • Participants: 5 non-developers and 3 developers

    • Methodology: Moderated testing via UserZoom


    Tasks:

    1. Review the portal for 5 minutes

    2. Review the guide for 2 minutes

    3. Navigate the portal using the guide as a reference

Iteration and Refinement

I updated the guides to align with Developer Studio’s design system to ensure consistency in tone, structure, and visual hierarchy across all support materials.

How To - Explore Doc.png
How To - FAQ.png
How To - Glossary.png
How To - All APIs.png
How To - Product Area.png
How To - Product.png
How To - Search and All APIs.png
How To - What is Developer Studio.png

In the existing Support Page design, there were seven resource cards:

  • 5 linked to GitHub (with 2 leading to the same location)

  • 1 linked to YouTube

  • 1 linked to Slack

After reviewing these resources, I found that the content was repetitive and lacked relevance—particularly the YouTube videos, which didn’t include API-related tutorials to support developers.
For the redesigned Support Page, I expanded the layout to nine cards and reorganized content based on user feedback:

  • The top section highlights high-priority resources addressing the most common user questions—such as Product Area, Product, and how to access the API sandbox.

  • The middle section focuses on learning resources, including the FAQ, Glossary, and Community Posts, to help users self-serve and learn independently.

  • The bottom section provides ways for users to reach out directly, such as through GitHub.

While key guide sections are featured on the page, users can also access the full guide at any time through the left-hand navigation menu.

Reformatting Information Hiearchy

The redesigned Support Page streamlined resources, reduced redundancy, and added clear sections for key tools, learning content, and support access.

Final Solution

Outcomes & Impact

The project received positive feedback from management and users alike, with the guide and redesigned Support Page improving navigation, clarity, and access to key resources.

Reflections & Learnings

As the designer for the support experience, I learned:

  • how to work in an agile environment and this gave me firsthand insight how designs are implemented and shipped in a fast-paced setting

  • that I can confidentially own an end-to-end feature while supporting other projects in parallel

  • to design with an existing design system to stay in alignment with the rest of the portal

  • the importance of considering trade-offs and constraints to balance the needs of the business, stakeholders, and users.