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I freed up 25% of resources dedicated to fixing issues with an out-dated, unintuitive, and complicated application. I improved application latency issues by 65% and enhanced the user’s experience by 75% by redesigning Company C’s “PDF Maker” – an outdated internal application used to generate thousands of PDFs for print, and local / state filing.
By investing in the modernization of the PDF Maker tool, I helped the company stay competitive by improving employee morale and productivity, ultimately leading to better client service.
The application was plagued with numerous issues that led to inefficiency- average wait time for generating PDFs was between 3-7 hours, system crash rates of 30%, 40% of IT support was dedicated to fixing issues with the application, and significant user frustration. The technology was old, the interface was unintuitive, and the processes were overly manual, causing considerable time and resource wastage. The result was burned-out, resentful employees and a substantial drain on company resources.
Gaining stakeholder buy-in for the redesign was a challenge. It required a clear demonstration of the potential return on investment and the long-term benefits of a more efficient tool. My goal was to empower the company to make the change by demonstrating the tremendous losses and consequences the Company was suffering from by avoiding the application redesign.
The PDF Maker’s heavily manual process not only slowed down operations but also led to a high error rate, resulting in delays and additional company costs for corrections. The application required a significant amount of IT support to fix frequent issues, diverting resources from other critical projects and impacting overall business performance. The generation of large PDF files caused prolonged waiting times, often leading to system crashes. This disrupted workflows and reduced overall productivity. And possibly most important to Company C- the inefficiency and frustration associated with the application contributed to employee burnout. So the challenges caused by the PDF Maker were costing the business not just money, but the morale of their employees.
We had an awesome team of people dedicated to the success of the project. In my role as the UX Strategist, I was responsible for leading the research, design, and implementation phases of the project. This included conducting thorough research and expert interviews, performing a comprehensive UX/UI audit, developing personas and user journey maps, and creating a new information architecture. I designed wireframes and hi-fi mockups and collaborated closely with stakeholders and the software development team to ensure that the redesign met both user needs and business objectives.
In order to make sense of the chaos and complexity of the application’s current state- it was critical to do extensive research and documentation. It was crucial to thoroughly understand the needs and pain points of the service operation professionals who relied heavily on the application. I conducted expert interviews to gather detailed insights into their experiences, identifying the functionalities they required to perform their tasks effectively and the limitations they faced with the current application. In addition, I conducted a comprehensive UX/UI Audit of the application. This information allowed the team and I to take a complete inventory of existing functionalities, highlighting areas of redundancy, inefficiency, and potential for improvement. Documenting these insights was crucial in laying the groundwork for a user-centric redesign.
With a clear understanding of the users’ needs, I facilitated collaborative workshops with key business stakeholders, the software development team, and the CTO to align our goals. These workshops were essential to ensure that everyone was on the same page regarding the project’s objectives. We developed a compelling business use case that outlined the benefits of investing in the application’s redesign, emphasizing how it would improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance employee satisfaction. Once the project charter was established, it provided a clear roadmap and secured the necessary support for moving forward.
With a clear understanding of the users’ needs, I facilitated collaborative workshops with key business stakeholders, the software development team, and the CTO to align our goals. These workshops were essential to ensure that everyone was on the same page regarding the project’s objectives. We developed a compelling business use case that outlined the benefits of investing in the application’s redesign, emphasizing how it would improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance employee satisfaction. Once the project charter was established, it provided a clear roadmap and secured the necessary support for moving forward.
To ensure the redesign was user-centric focused, I developed detailed personas and user journey maps. These tools helped visualize the typical interactions and workflows of different user types, making it easier to identify specific pain points and opportunities for improvement. The new information architecture (IA) was designed to reimagine the task flow and layout of the application, making it more intuitive and aligned with the users’ workflows. The IA was basic, clean, and designed to minimize cognitive load, ensuring users could complete their tasks efficiently and effectively.
Once the new sitemap was approved by the project manager, I created basic wireframes to serve as the foundation for further development. I collaborated closely with the software development manager at this stage to ensure that the technical requirements and limitations were considered, making sure the redesign was feasible and implementable within the given constraints. After the wireframes were refined and approved, I moved on to create high-fidelity mockups that provided a detailed and realistic representation of the final product. These mockups were essential for final approvals and for guiding the development team during implementation.
After lots of hard work, and a few iterations, we delivered the project on time, successfully transforming the application into a more efficient and user-friendly tool. The redesigned application significantly increased operational efficiency and higher employee satisfaction, ultimately benefiting the company by reducing costs associated with errors and inefficiencies, and boosting morale and productivity among employees.
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