Remove Duplicates
I designed the entry point, configuration modal, and result users would see from removing duplicate rows in a workbook table.
Overview
My Role & Goal
Solo product designer
User flow and building the feature using design system component
Timeline
June - July 2024
Collaboration
- 1 visual designer
- several support engineers
The Team
- 1 product designer
- 1 software engineer
Context
What's Sigma, and what's duplicate rows?
Sigma is a cloud BI tool that combines Excel's familiarity with enterprise analytics power. Removing duplicate rows was the #1 most-requested feature from support engineers, but the only workaround required complex "grouping" knowledge that confused users.
Impact
Removing duplicates is an impactful & the most requested feature according to the Jira ticket
>32 Unique customers impacted
This includes some of our biggest customers such as BlackStone and Colgate.
92% Reduction in No. of clicks
Easy-to-use module that doesn't require users to understand formulas or grouping.
84% Reduction in action time
This action now takes seconds instead of over a minute with the new design.
Problem
Users don’t know how to remove duplicate rows in a table.
It’s the #1 most requested feature according to support engineers, impacting some of our biggest customers such as Blackstone, REI and Colgate. Users couldn't intuitively remove duplicate rows. The existing workaround required:
- Understanding Sigma's "grouping" concept
- Manually dragging columns (impractical for 100+ column tables)
- Adding sorting and filtering steps
- 13 total clicks across multiple menus
Research
Competitive research and user interviews
We couldn't simply copy Excel's 2-click feature due to fundamental product differences. Spreadsheets work with individual cells while Sigma operates on entire rows. Cloud-based data updates also required deterministic results, meaning users needed to specify which duplicates to keep. Additionally, users needed control over comparison logic, choosing whether to compare all columns or specific ones.
I conducted 5 internal interviews with PMs, Support, Engineers, and Designers, plus 2 usability tests with 4 users (3 beginners and 1 intermediate). The research revealed that:
- Users expected to find feature in column menu (not element menu)
- "Grouping" terminology created friction even when explaining the workaround
- Multiple column selection needed minimal clicks
- Sorting logic must be visible (for data governance/auditability)
Design
3 parts: entry point, configuration modal, and result
Entry Point
I tested 6 potential entry points through prototypes. Users consistently expected to find the feature in the column menu, so I placed it there even though removing duplicates is technically an element-level action.
Configuration Modal
The configuration modal auto-selects comparison columns based on the user's context and clearly shows which duplicate will be kept (first or last row based on sort order). I worked with a content writer to develop clear instructional copy and designed the interface to use smart auto-selection rather than confusing "default" checkboxes.
Result Handling
The system always creates a child table to preserve the original data. I hid the intermediate grouping step (leveraging existing code without exposing the complexity to users) and showed them a clean "grandchild" table as the final result they interact with.
Remove Duplicates
I designed the entry point, configuration modal, and result users would see from removing duplicate rows in a workbook table.
Overview
My Role & Goal
Solo product designer
User flow and building the feature using design system component
Timeline
June - July 2024
Collaboration
- 1 visual designer
- several support engineers
The Team
- 1 product designer
- 1 software engineer
Context
What's Sigma, and what's duplicate rows?
Sigma is a cloud BI tool that combines Excel's familiarity with enterprise analytics power. Removing duplicate rows was the #1 most-requested feature from support engineers, but the only workaround required complex "grouping" knowledge that confused users.
Impact
Removing duplicates is an impactful & the most requested feature according to the Jira ticket
>32 Unique customers impacted
This includes some of our biggest customers such as BlackStone and Colgate.
92% Reduction in No. of clicks
Easy-to-use module that doesn't require users to understand formulas or grouping.
84% Reduction in action time
This action now takes seconds instead of over a minute with the new design.
Problem
Users don’t know how to remove duplicate rows in a table.
It’s the #1 most requested feature according to support engineers, impacting some of our biggest customers such as Blackstone, REI and Colgate. Users couldn't intuitively remove duplicate rows. The existing workaround required:
- Understanding Sigma's "grouping" concept
- Manually dragging columns (impractical for 100+ column tables)
- Adding sorting and filtering steps
- 13 total clicks across multiple menus
Research
Competitive research and user interviews
We couldn't simply copy Excel's 2-click feature due to fundamental product differences. Spreadsheets work with individual cells while Sigma operates on entire rows. Cloud-based data updates also required deterministic results, meaning users needed to specify which duplicates to keep. Additionally, users needed control over comparison logic, choosing whether to compare all columns or specific ones.
I conducted 5 internal interviews with PMs, Support, Engineers, and Designers, plus 2 usability tests with 4 users (3 beginners and 1 intermediate). The research revealed that:
- Users expected to find feature in column menu (not element menu)
- "Grouping" terminology created friction even when explaining the workaround
- Multiple column selection needed minimal clicks
- Sorting logic must be visible (for data governance/auditability)
Design
3 parts: entry point, configuration modal, and result
Entry Point
I tested 6 potential entry points through prototypes. Users consistently expected to find the feature in the column menu, so I placed it there even though removing duplicates is technically an element-level action.
Configuration Modal
The configuration modal auto-selects comparison columns based on the user's context and clearly shows which duplicate will be kept (first or last row based on sort order). I worked with a content writer to develop clear instructional copy and designed the interface to use smart auto-selection rather than confusing "default" checkboxes.
Result Handling
The system always creates a child table to preserve the original data. I hid the intermediate grouping step (leveraging existing code without exposing the complexity to users) and showed them a clean "grandchild" table as the final result they interact with.