Optimizing Model Management for Enhanced User Experience

Context

A customer inquiry regarding the complexity of handling Line Items settings in our system highlighted various opportunities for redesigning our management areas.

Effective model management is essential for our Cash forecast and analysis software. However, our current model management interface and flow encounters usability challenges, especially concerning the management of line items and business units within models/templates (of forecast sheets). As a sole Product Designer in my current company, I was entrusted with the responsibility for this and saw the opportunity of improving other areas and enhancing the user experience in general, simplifying workflows and boosting productivity for our users.

Problem

The primary challenge was to address the complexities of activating, deactivating, archiving and reassigning a Line item (LI), Business Unit (BU) and currency, while balancing flexibility with simplicity and improving the outdated layout of some pages in the system. Users found it time consuming and demanding to navigate through multiple screens to manage line items and assign them to business units.

A point that emerged during the meetings of this topic is how those pages are also connected with the adjacent/following tasks of changing templates, updating models, and seeing the related LI or BU in the reports. Overall, a mapping of those tasks had to be done and studied.

Discussions and Limitations

Discussions with stakeholders and users revealed several pain points and considerations:

• The need to simplify the interface without compromising functionality.
• Concerns about the scope of changes and potential disruptions to existing workflows.
• The challenge of maintaining logical consistency within the system, especially regarding line item assignment to templates and models.
• Balancing flexibility with simplicity to accommodate diverse user needs while ensuring ease of use.
• Most areas still had to me updated to react (longer delivery time)

Strategy

The strategy for this project involved a collaborative approach, beginning with extensive meetings with key stakeholders such as the Customer Success Team, Product Manager, and Tech Support. These individuals provided valuable insights into the existing challenges and opportunities within the model management system.

Following these discussions, I led efforts to map out the basic flow for activities associated with line item and business unit management. By understanding the current processes in detail, we identified critical points where the flows intersected, highlighting potential areas for improvement.

I prioritized iterative enhancements that could be implemented without disrupting ongoing development in other areas or requiring extensive workforce resources. Instead of complex overhauls, I would focus on making targeted adjustments to streamline workflows and enhance user productivity while minimizing disruption to existing operations. Moreover is valid to mention that all changes would have to be aligned with the on developing Design System and provide future scalability.

Metrics of usage were collected to allow a comparison later (Average time to perform assignments; Number of clicks required; System Usability Scale (SUS); Task success rate for first-time users; Customer support tickets related to model management;

Solution overview

It was possible to: Streamline the user experience by minimizing the need to jump between pages or open new tabs, ensuring users maintain context throughout navigation. By doing so, we significantly reduced journey times and addressed user complaints regarding system complexity. Additionally, we modernized outdated pages to align with the company's Design System patterns.

Our efforts included reducing visual clutter, standardizing colors and images in accordance with the Design System, and restructuring the architecture of certain pages. We revamped menu layouts and functionality, as well as updated labels and text to use clearer language that resonates better with users.

Task Completion Metrics

Average time to assign a line item to a business unit decreased from 3.2 minutes to 42 seconds (87% reduction) Time required to update multiple line items across 5 business units reduced from 18 minutes to 4.5 minutes (75% reduction) Number of clicks required to archive a line item decreased from 12 to 4 (67% reduction)

User Experience Metrics System Usability Scale (SUS) score improved from 62 to 84 after the redesign Task success rate for first-time users increased from 73% to 92% User errors during line item management decreased by 58%
Business Impact Metrics Customer support tickets related to model management decreased by 41% in the quarter following implementation