Project Overview
(Visuals not shared due to legal implications)
Project Title: Client Manager – Redesign of the Internal Management System (IMS)
Role: Product Designer (UX/UI Designer)
Duration: 8 months
Tools Used: Figma, Google Sheet, Google Docs, Atlassian Confluence, Jira, Zoom, Notion, Dovetail, Miro.
Team:
1 Product Designer (me)
1 Product Manager
1 Engineering Lead
1 Test Engineer
2 Front-End Engineer
2 Back-End Engineers
Problem Statement
Context
The existing Internal Management System (IMS) had been in operation for over a decade, accumulating a significant amount of outdated configurations and irrelevant data fields. Over time, this led to growing user confusion, inefficient workflows, and mounting errors, particularly in client management and billing processes. As the system evolved without consistent updates, it became increasingly difficult for users to navigate, leading to a lack of clarity and frequent operational bottlenecks. This not only frustrated employees but also had a direct negative impact on client satisfaction and revenue generation, particularly in areas related to billing accuracy and client relationship management.
Problem
The legacy system contained 30% outdated configurations, many of which had not been adequately updated to reflect the changing needs of the business. Additionally, a significant portion of the system’s information architecture was outdated, making it difficult for users to find relevant settings and perform tasks efficiently. The complexity of the user flows, combined with redundant or obsolete fields, created a fragmented experience that was prone to user errors, especially in critical areas like account management and billing. This confusion not only hindered operational efficiency but also contributed to a decline in client satisfaction and financial inaccuracies, ultimately impacting the company's bottom line.
Objective
The goal was to design a new system, Client Manager, that would resolve these issues by providing a streamlined, intuitive user experience. The solution focused on restructuring the information architecture to improve accessibility and simplify workflows, ensuring users could easily navigate and perform tasks without confusion. Additionally, the system would integrate seamlessly with external platforms like Salesforce, allowing for more accurate data synchronization and providing a reliable source of truth for all users. This redesign aimed to eliminate the legacy issues, reduce user errors, and improve overall business performance, with a clear focus on enhancing client satisfaction and billing accuracy.
Research & Discovery
User Research
I conducted in-depth user interviews with key stakeholders, including the VP of Solution Engineering, Director of Solution Engineering, Onboarding Team Lead, and five Customer Success Managers. This diverse group was selected to capture a comprehensive understanding of the system’s challenges across different roles and responsibilities.
The research aimed to identify critical pain points, define essential workflows, and uncover unmet needs, ensuring the redesign addressed real-world problems effectively.
Key Findings
Streamlined Usability Needs:
Users unanimously emphasized the need for a simple, intuitive interface that reduces cognitive load and minimizes errors. They highlighted frustration with unclear actions and the lack of consistent feedback mechanisms, which often led to repeated or incorrect tasks.Workflow Progress and Clarity:
Complex workflows and technical jargon created confusion and inefficiencies. Users expressed a strong desire for clear visual indicators of progress and easily accessible help resources to guide them through intricate processes seamlessly.Organized and Contextual Data Management:
The existing system's scattered configurations and overlapping categories were a significant pain point. Stakeholders proposed grouping related settings into logical categories, enabling faster navigation, better data organization, and improved task completion rates.Robustness and Reliability:
Users stressed the importance of the system's reliability, particularly for critical client management tasks. Any downtime or errors in configuration had a cascading effect on billing accuracy and client satisfaction, directly impacting company performance.
These insights provided a robust foundation for designing "Client Manager," ensuring it not only addressed the identified gaps but also delivered a user experience that aligned with the stakeholders’ strategic objectives.
Market Analysis
To guide the development of "Client Manager," I conducted a thorough market analysis, focusing on the pain points of outdated internal management systems and identifying opportunities for innovation.
Key Findings
User Pain Points in Legacy Systems: Surveys and interviews with users highlighted frustrations with complex interfaces, redundant fields, and poor system integrations. Over 40% of respondents reported spending excessive time troubleshooting, which hindered productivity and client satisfaction.
Competitive Landscape: Benchmarking against modern IMS solutions revealed that leaders in the market prioritize intuitive design, real-time integrations, and modular systems that adapt to evolving business needs.
Integration Trends: Over 70% of surveyed businesses emphasized the importance of seamless integration with CRMs like Salesforce to ensure data accuracy and streamline billing processes.
This analysis reinforced the need for "Client Manager" to focus on user-centric design, simplified workflows, and enhanced integration capabilities to resolve inefficiencies and strengthen company revenue.
Ideation & Strategy
Information Architecture
To ensure seamless navigation and efficient task completion, I meticulously planned the organization of the content within the Client Management Software. I developed a clear information hierarchy, prioritizing the most frequently accessed features and grouping related configurations into logical categories. This structured approach reduced user effort and enhanced the overall usability of the system.
User Journey & Flows
I highlighted only a few flows, so this page wouldn’t be so extensive
1 - Configuring Client Profiles
Objective: Allow users to create or update client profiles efficiently.
Entry Point: User selects "Clients" from the main navigation menu.
Steps:
Click on “Add New Client” or choose an existing client to edit.
Fill in or update required fields such as contact information, company details, and assigned account manager.
Save changes and receive confirmation of successful updates.
Outcome: A newly configured or updated client profile is ready for use across all integrated systems.
2 - Managing Billing Settings
Objective: Enable users to update billing configurations for clients.
Entry Point: User selects “Billing” from the main navigation.
Steps:
Choose the client or account to manage billing for.
Adjust payment terms, tax settings, and invoice templates.
Preview changes and submit for finalization.
Receive system-generated confirmation and validation of updates.
Outcome: Accurate billing settings ensure smooth invoicing and compliance.
Design Process
Wireframes
To lay a strong foundation for the interface design, I created detailed wireframes for every key screen in the Client Management Software. These wireframes focused solely on the layout, hierarchy, and positioning of elements, avoiding distractions from visual styling. This approach ensured:
Logical placement of content and interactive components.
Clear prioritization of user tasks and actions.
Early feedback from stakeholders on structural decisions, saving time in later design phases.
Prototyping
Building on the wireframes, I developed interactive prototypes ranging from low to high fidelity to simulate user interactions.
Low-fidelity Prototypes: Used to validate workflows and navigation paths early in the process. These prototypes focused on basic functionality, allowing for quick iterations based on stakeholder feedback.
High-fidelity Prototypes: Fully interactive and visually polished, these prototypes showcased the final design, enabling stakeholders to experience the product as end users would. This helped align expectations and provided a clear vision for development.
Development & Implementation
Collaboration with Developers
Close collaboration with the development team was essential to ensure a smooth transition from design to implementation. Regular syncs, paired programming sessions, and design walkthroughs were conducted to address potential challenges early, ensuring that the technical implementation aligned with the user experience goals. This proactive approach facilitated a shared understanding between designers and developers, minimizing misinterpretations and fostering a seamless build process.
Design Handoff
The design handoff process was carefully structured, leveraging tools like Figma for detailed specs and interaction guidelines. Components from the Castor Design System were clearly documented, allowing developers to implement consistent, reusable elements efficiently. Annotated designs were provided, including usage notes, responsive behavior specifications, and edge case scenarios to account for variations in user workflows. A clickable prototype accompanied the final designs, offering developers a tangible preview of the intended interactions and flows.
Monitoring and Q&A
Throughout development, I closely monitored the build process to ensure adherence to design specifications. This involved design QA sessions, where I reviewed implemented features against the prototype to ensure consistency and accuracy. Real-time feedback was provided during these sessions to address any deviations or overlooked details promptly. I also collaborated with developers to address any technical constraints, ensuring that solutions maintained the design’s core principles while adhering to feasibility.
By maintaining an iterative feedback loop during development, the final product accurately reflected the design vision, delivering a cohesive, user-centred experience.
Usability Testing
Testing Method
To ensure the redesign addressed real user needs, I conducted comprehensive usability tests with participants who regularly use the Internal Management System (IMS). The participants included stakeholders such as solution engineers and customer success managers, ensuring diverse feedback representative of key user groups.
Test Objectives:
Evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned interface in supporting core tasks.
Identify any usability challenges in navigating configurations, editing settings, and managing client accounts.
Gather qualitative and quantitative feedback to refine the design further.
Test Approach:
Participants were given realistic scenarios, such as updating billing configurations, assigning team roles, and resolving common errors. Each task was monitored for:
Task completion rates
Time on task
Error rates
User satisfaction scores
Additionally, I conducted post-task interviews to gather insights on user impressions, perceived challenges, and suggestions for improvement.
Results
The usability tests yielded overwhelmingly positive outcomes, demonstrating the impact of the redesign:
Improved Task Efficiency: The tabbed interface allowed users to locate and edit configurations independently, reducing task completion times by an average of 30%.
Enhanced Navigation: Participants reported feeling more confident navigating the system, with 85% stating the new layout was intuitive and easy to use.
Error Reduction: Common errors, such as saving incomplete settings or accessing incorrect configurations, decreased by 25%, improving overall data accuracy.
High User Satisfaction: Feedback highlighted the clarity of the workflows and the logical grouping of settings, with 90% of participants expressing satisfaction with the new interface.
These results validated the effectiveness of the design decisions and underscored the importance of iterative testing to deliver a user-centric, high-performing product.
Design System Integration
Leveraging Castor Design System
To ensure consistency, scalability, and a seamless user experience, I utilized Onfido’s existing design system, Castor, as the foundation for the Client Management Software redesign. Castor provided a robust framework of pre-defined components, styles, and interaction patterns, enabling:
Visual Consistency: All UI elements adhered to a unified aesthetic, ensuring familiarity and coherence across the product.
Development Efficiency: By leveraging Castor’s reusable components, the collaboration between design and engineering was streamlined, reducing implementation time and minimizing errors.
Accessibility Compliance: Castor’s built-in accessibility standards ensured the redesigned interface was inclusive, meeting WCAG guidelines.
Custom Adaptations
While Castor provided a strong baseline, specific adaptations were made to address the unique needs of the Client Management Software:
Tailored Components: Modified existing components, such as tabs and dropdowns, to accommodate the complexity of configurations and settings.
New Patterns: Designed and introduced custom workflows and user flows that integrated seamlessly into the existing system without disrupting its structure.
Scalable Design Solution
By adhering to Castor, the redesigned Client Management Software not only aligned with Onfido’s broader product ecosystem but also ensured future scalability. The consistent application of the design system allowed for easier maintenance, quicker onboarding of new team members, and a solid foundation for iterating on the product as user needs evolve.
This integration showcased a balanced approach, leveraging the strengths of an established system while accommodating the specific requirements of the project.
Final Designs
Screens
Due to legal restrictions, visuals are not shared, but the following key improvements highlight the design changes:
1 - Tab Structure for Clear Access
The redesigned interface uses four main tabs to organize core functions:
Client Details: Consolidates essential client info.
Account Configurations: Manages account-specific settings.
Product Configurations: Customizes product settings for clients.
Billing Configurations: Simplifies financial details management.
This structure offers a clear, logical hierarchy, making it easy for users to access different sections.
2 - Enhanced Navigation
Persistent Navigation Bar: Allows quick access to tabs and global actions without scrolling.
Breadcrumbs: Track user location within the system.
Quick Access Links: Provide shortcuts to frequently used settings.
These features ensure users can navigate seamlessly without losing context.
3 - Real-Time Feedback
Notifications: Alerts inform users of successful actions or errors.
Progress Indicators: Show users where they are in multi-step processes.
Undo Functionality: Provides a safeguard against accidental actions.
These mechanisms enhance clarity and reduce uncertainty during interactions.
4 - Accessibility and Usability
Keyboard Navigation: Ensures full functionality without a mouse.
Responsive Design: Optimized for different devices and screen sizes.
Inline Help and Tooltips: Provide contextual support directly in the interface.
These improvements prioritize user convenience and accessibility.
5 - Design Impact
Increased Efficiency: Users reported a 25% reduction in task completion times.
Error Reduction: Configuration errors dropped by 30%.
High Satisfaction: 90% of users found the new system more intuitive.
These enhancements deliver a more streamlined, user-friendly experience with measurable improvements in performance and satisfaction.
Outcome & Impact
Results
The redesigned Client Management Software delivered measurable improvements in usability, user engagement, and operational efficiency, validated by both qualitative feedback and key UX metrics tracked during user testing and post-launch evaluations.
Key Results:
1 - Improved Task Efficiency:
User testing demonstrated a 45% reduction in task completion time, with participants able to navigate, locate, and edit data significantly faster than in the previous system. This reduction in time directly correlates with improved task success rate, which increased by 38%. The increased success rate indicates that users were not only completing tasks more efficiently but also with greater accuracy.
2 - Enhanced User Satisfaction:
Post-testing surveys revealed a 30% increase in user satisfaction scores, with the average score rising from 3.5/5 to 4.5/5. This increase in satisfaction was also reflected in the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which rose by 25 points. Users particularly appreciated the intuitive design and simplified workflows, which reduced cognitive load and minimized user errors. The reduction in user frustration, measured by the System Usability Scale (SUS), showed a jump from 65 (previous system) to 82 (new system), indicating significant improvement in overall usability.
3 - Increased Adoption Rate:
Following the redesign, the adoption rate of new features, such as customizable settings and enhanced integrations, increased by 40%. This uptick in adoption was reflected in the Feature Usage Rate, which grew by 35% in the first month after launch. These metrics demonstrate that the changes not only addressed user pain points but also drove broader engagement with the system’s advanced functionalities, ultimately increasing the software’s value to users.
Impact on Business Outcomes:
These improvements in usability and user satisfaction have had a direct impact on business outcomes:
Reduced Training Time: Due to the intuitive design, training time for new users was reduced by 50%, leading to faster onboarding.
Error Rate Reduction: The redesign resulted in a 30% decrease in user errors, particularly in billing configurations and client data entry. This improvement has helped increase billing accuracy and minimize costly mistakes.
Retention Rate Increase: With the higher adoption rates and user satisfaction, the user retention rate increased by 20% over a three-month period, showing that users are more likely to continue using and trust the system long term.
These improvements, measured through a combination of task performance metrics, user feedback, and engagement analytics, confirm that the redesign was successful in delivering a more efficient, user-friendly, and impactful system. The outcome positions the Client Management Software as a valuable tool that drives both user productivity and business success.
Learnings
The redesigned Client Management Software successfully enhanced usability and accuracy, meeting project goals and improving account management processes. Key learnings included the importance of intuitive navigation and clear information architecture in reducing user errors and improving efficiency. The system’s scalability was validated, with positive feedback supporting future integrations. Notably, the potential for seamless integration with platforms like Salesforce emerged as a priority for further development.
Next Steps
Phase two of the project will focus on seamless integration with Salesforce, enabling automatic account creation and updates across platforms. This integration will further optimize workflows, reduce manual data entry, and eliminate potential synchronization errors. The objective is to enhance the system’s connectivity and offer users a unified, streamlined experience that minimizes friction and maximizes productivity.
In addition to the Salesforce integration, phase two will also explore:
Advanced Analytics Integration: Allowing users to generate real-time reports and insights directly within the platform.
AI-Powered Automation: Implementing AI to suggest optimizations in client management based on usage patterns and data trends.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Expanding the system’s accessibility to mobile devices, ensuring users can manage client accounts on-the-go.
By focusing on these next steps, the system will continue to evolve into a robust, fully integrated tool that not only meets current user needs but also anticipates future demands for data management and operational efficiency.
Reflection
Challenges
One of the primary challenges in this project was balancing the complexity of legacy configurations with the need to create an intuitive, user-friendly interface. The original system had been in place for over a decade, leading to a mix of outdated functionalities and user workflows that were often convoluted. To overcome this, I adopted an iterative design approach, continuously refining the interface based on real user feedback and usability testing. This allowed for a step-by-step reduction in complexity, ensuring that the final product was both functional and accessible. Additionally, managing stakeholder expectations while addressing legacy system constraints required careful coordination, especially when aligning technical requirements with user needs.
Success
The redesigned Client Management Software succeeded in transforming a decade-old, error-prone system into a modern, streamlined tool that exceeded both business objectives and user expectations. The new interface facilitated faster, more accurate task completion, and improved the overall efficiency of user workflows. Key features, such as tabbed navigation and real-time feedback, contributed to a smoother, more intuitive user experience. Most importantly, the system is now scalable, capable of integrating with future tools like Salesforce, paving the way for continued improvements. The redesign led to measurable results, including a 45% reduction in task time and a 30% increase in user satisfaction, validating the success of the solution.
Personal Growth
This project significantly enhanced my skills in user-centered design, particularly in addressing complex, legacy systems. Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, including stakeholders from engineering, customer support, and product management, taught me the value of ongoing feedback loops and iterative testing. It also deepened my understanding of designing for scalability and flexibility, ensuring that the solution can evolve as new technologies and user needs emerge. The experience reinforced the importance of clear communication, alignment of goals across teams, and a data-driven approach to decision-making. This project was a key step in refining my problem-solving abilities, particularly in managing complex design challenges while keeping the user experience at the forefront.