This is the onboarding phase where your WalkMe project starts coming to life. During this phase you'll learn how to design a solution that addresses your users' real needs — then build, test, and refine it before go-live.

Before diving in, keep this framework in mind:

1. Identify the problem: What are your users struggling with, and where in their workflow does it happen?
2. Design the solution: Choose the right WalkMe tools to address those pain points
3. Validate it: Test with real users, gather feedback, and refine

Key outcomes:

• Complete your WalkMe training: Learn the skills needed to successfully use WalkMe based on your role
• Build your content: Use WalkMe's full suite of guidance tools to create an effective solution
• Conduct user testing: Ensure your solution works as expected and effectively helps your users

1. Complete Your WalkMe Training

The Digital Adoption Institute (DAI) offers comprehensive training to help you master WalkMe's tools and methodologies. Everyone on your project team should complete the DAI course WalkMe Fundamentals, a 30-minute self-paced course that provides a high-level introduction to digital adoption and the WalkMe platform. It's a great starting point for all users, whether you're focused on strategy or technical implementation, and lays the foundation for further learning as you dive deeper into WalkMe.

Then, to continue your digital adoption upskilling, complete one of our role-based intro courses: 

• Builder: Become proficient in using the WalkMe Editor, creating the right content for your team's needs
• Project Lead: Learn how to plan, implement, and evaluate a digital adoption project 
• Program Manager: Establish, mature, and scale your digital adoption program

2. Build Your Content

Start with the problem, not the tool

Before opening the editor, map out the problem you're solving. Ask yourself:

• Where in the workflow do users struggle or drop off?
• Is the issue a lack of awareness, a complex process, or missing context?
• Who are the affected users, and do different groups have different needs?

Answering these questions first will help you design content that actually changes user behavior, rather than content that just exists on the page.

Not sure where to start? These use case guides walk you through the full design process — from identifying the problem to measuring impact:

• Improve Employee Productivity
• Improve Customer Onboarding and Retention
• Reduce Support Costs
• Accelerate Change Management
• Streamline Employee Onboarding
• Improve Data Quality and Compliance

Choose the right WalkMe tool

Once you've identified the problem, choose the tool that best fits the situation. As a general rule:

• Smart Walk-Thrus: Best for multi-step processes where users need to be guided through a sequence of actions
• SmartTips: Best for single fields or UI elements where users need context or clarification
• ShoutOuts: Best for proactive announcements, like highlighting a new feature or a process change

Most solutions use a combination of these. Go to the Solutions Gallery to find pre-built, customizable templates you can download directly to your Editor and adapt to your use case.

Design for your users

Keep these principles in mind as you build:

• Align content with your users' goals, not just the software's functionality
• Keep guidance concise — too much text reduces engagement
• Use segmentation to show the right content to the right users at the right time

3. Conduct User Testing

Before deploying your content, test it thoroughly. Testing ensures that it works on your chosen platforms and that it solves your users' needs.

Set up your test

• Select test users: Choose a small sample of users, ideally representing multiple personas. Aim for two testers per persona to gather diverse feedback
• Test segmentation: Verify that content displays properly for each user segment and aligns with their specific workflows

Evaluate and refine

• Observe testers as they interact with your content. Note where they face friction, skip steps, or seem confused
• Collect structured feedback — ask testers whether the guidance was clear, timely, and useful
• Refine your content based on what you learn, then retest before moving to a wider rollout

Maintain content quality over time

For a complete breakdown of how to test your WalkMe content, refer to the following articles:

• Quality Assurance Testing
• Quality Assurance Testing Best Practices by App Type
• Flow Tracker

Next Steps

Once you've successfully built and tested your WalkMe content, it's time to get ready for the final onboarding phase: Go-Live and Beyond.