Redesigning how to start
new AI workflows.

Overview: Builder users stalled at the blank canvas: half never ran a workflow after creating a project. I redesigned creation end-to-end, a prompt-first modal, Prompt to Flow, AskAI, and template discovery that get people to a first successful run.
Company: StackAI
Feature: Prompt to Flow & project creation
Year: Q4 2025
Impact: Raised the % of users who run a workflow after creating a project from 50% to 78%. 1,400+ builders across organizations adopted templates in a month.

PROCESS

UX audit, discoverability, flow, and UI issues mapped in FigJam

Competitor mapping, blank-canvas and guided-setup patterns

UX flow mapping, new project modal, P2F entry, and AskAI journeys in FigJam

Flow design, in-builder AskAI, templates, and dashboard explorations

1. What was broken

The modal had flat hierarchy and weak affordance, buttons didn't feel interactive and copy didn't guide users. Templates were buried; the category sidebar didn't read as a filter. Prompt to Flow had no entry point, and AskAI in the builder was hard to find. Mapped the full issue set and AskAI usage patterns in FigJam.

2. Competitor mapping

Reviewed competitors for blank-canvas-paralysis solutions, and benchmarked how Relay.app, n8n, Lindy, and Zapier handle guided setup and template onboarding.

3. UX flow mapping

Mapped the end-to-end experience in FigJam: P2F as the primary action in the new project modal, prompt-to-workflow entry behavior with PostHog tracking, and the three in-builder AskAI journeys, starting fresh, recovering from errors, and getting help mid-build.

4. Flow design

Designed the in-builder AskAI experience, redesigned template preview and category filters, built a contextual checklist prototype for template setup, and began exploring P2F as the centerpiece of the projects landing page.

SOLUTION

New project creation modal. Half of builders never ran a workflow after creating a project, often because the blank canvas and weak modal hierarchy left them stuck. We redesigned creation around clear choices, New Workflow, Use Template, or New Agent, plus quickstarts, so the first action points toward a successful first run instead of an empty canvas.

New project modal with P2F prompt field and creation options

Prompt to Flow. Competitor research showed guided setup beats staring at a blank canvas. We made plain-language prompting the primary creation path so builders can describe a workflow and watch nodes stream onto the canvas, including triggers, HITL, and integrations. An A/B test against the old popup validated that this entry point gets people to a first run faster.

Project template experience. Templates were buried, and the category sidebar did not read as a filter, so the fastest path to a working workflow stayed invisible. We rebuilt preview with real navigation and correct node rendering, turned categories into multi-select filters, and put Save as Template inside any workflow so reuse becomes part of building, not a separate scavenger hunt.

Templates view with category filters and template cards

Template preview with workflow nodes and use-template navigation

Project setup checklist. Loading a template still left builders guessing what was missing before they could run, publish, or share. The checklist opens in context, flags gaps, and walks through run, interface, and publish steps. It dismisses when done, skips what does not apply, and stays quiet for experienced users so guidance does not become noise.

Project setup checklist panel guiding setup before first run

INSIGHTS

The blank canvas is the real competitor

Most drop-off in workflow creation isn't from poor UX, it's from not knowing where to start. Quickstart suggestions and P2F directly address this.

The entry point shapes expectations

When P2F is the primary action in the creation modal, builders frame the whole experience as "describe → generate → refine" rather than "build from scratch." That mental model shift matters.

Templates need to be felt, not just listed

A category sidebar that looks like navigation and a static screenshot preview both fail to communicate what a template actually does. The redesign prioritized interactivity and clarity before the user commits.

The gap between "open template" and "first successful run" was the real problem

Templates looked finished but weren't, they required connections, knowledge bases, and configuration that users had no way of knowing about. The checklist makes the implicit explicit, turning a source of early errors into a guided activation flow.