Project example: Help Tool

Problem

Rive’s feature set was expanding fast, and churn interviews (~20) revealed a consistent root cause: the learning curve was too steep, especially around State Machines and the newer Data Binding workflow.

Idea —> Solution

A Help Tool inside the Editor: hover UI + hold H to reveal a short definition and a link to the right documentation. Lightweight, contextual, and available exactly when a user asks, “Wait, what’s this?”

Process

• Partnered with Rive’s product designer and met biweekly over six months.

• Built and refined a spreadsheet inventory of Editor UI by panel, each with a working definition + final definition + doc link.

• Prioritized which tooltips to ship first based on churn interview themes (State Machines + Data Binding surfaces).

• Authored and edited ~150 definitions, using a consistent microcopy system (tool = verb-led, concept = “A..” definitions, 1-2 sentences, concrete terms).

Measurement + iteration

Instrumented usage in Amplitude at the individual-definition level to track which terms were being pulled up most often. This created a quantitative signal of where users were confused and where docs/education needed reinforcement.

Cross-functional leverage

This project became a feedback loop connecting:

• Design: surfacing which UI needed clearer naming, hierarchy, or affordances

• Growth: tying churn interview insights to product learning friction

• Docs/Education strategy: using Amplitude “most-opened definitions” to prioritize tutorials, doc IA improvements, and future onboarding

• Product + Engineering: shipping a lightweight, measurable learning layer inside the Editor that can expand as the product evolves