Workiva Project Loop
Enterprise Search Platform
Role
Concept, UX research, UX prototyping, development
Hosted on AWS • Login with Google account
Problem
Customer service representatives at Workiva were not logging complete information in an accessible, searchable way via their current custom Salesforce app. Much of the data was incomplete as CSRs were trying to fix customer problems and weren't able to write everything down during calls. Salesforce creates odd one-off UI apps often without proper UX groundwork.
Solution
Build a rapid, but fully functional prototype to test with users on real calls. Guide users to log the metadata associated with each customer call, and translate that information into downstream actionable data.
Target Users
Internal customer service representatives at Workiva
About Project Loop
I was the first UX Prototyping Engineer Workiva hired to complete projects they needed updating on but didn't have dedicated resources. I got to talk to actual users, think of my own designs, then build quick prototypes using Ruby on Rails, Bootstrap, and Google Compute to deploy new designs on weekly sprints to test with users.
This is a responsive Twitter-like internal app that allows various departments to log data from customer calls to have everyone "stay in the loop". The goal was to get users to actually log data so the right departments could be notified of issues without overusing JIRA.
Process
Framing the Problem
Customer service representatives were not logging calls reliably in the current Salesforce system. There were many pain points in the process and the data input was simply text (not searchable, indexed, nor organized) - yes, one big CSV.
User Research
Watch users! After walking around to just a few CSR desks and being a fly on the wall, there were apparent problems with the current system:
- 8-9 clicks to START entering a call into the current system
- Basic PHP form was all free text
- No feedback after submit (blackhole)
Ideate Solution
After pulling together user research, we had a UX Jam to quickly generate ideas:
- • 10 min: Talk about problems explored with users
- • 5 min: Individual exercise putting possible ideas and functions
- • 10 min: Present ideas and create affinity diagram
- • 15 min: Sketch basic wireframes for possible solutions
- • 10 min: Present solutions to the group
- • 10 min: Vote on screens with post-its
Prototype
Prototype → validate with team → validate with users
Repeat!
Gather more quantitative evidence through surveys and user interviews, as well as input on new prototypes.
1st Iteration - Mobile First
Low to High Fidelity
After watching users struggle with the Salesforce app, I reimagined what an interface would look like that would be more efficient. I sketched this up and showed how I hooked it up to a local database with variables. Then translated to code in < 1 day.
2nd Iteration - Desktop Edition
1st Iteration of Desktop Application
Feedback from users was that they would be using a desktop version more than mobile (initial assumption), so I began a responsive app that worked on all platforms.
2nd Iteration of Desktop Version
After testing the new responsive application with users, I learned that the stats (posts, "me toos", and follow ups) needed to be more prominently displayed, plus other small optimizations with the form.
Solution
Design is Never Done
The end result (for now):
- •Reduced clicks to entry from 8-9 to just 2-3
- •Social collaboration (see what other CSRs are logging)
- •Searchable by users/administrators/managers via hashtags and metadata
- •Ease of use with established mental model (Twitter-ish)
But true design is never done and can always be improved. I made large improvements from the original Salesforce app. I also started streaming customer complaints into TV screens around the office so employees could see customer feedback in real-time. This app became quite popular with UX researchers for better organization of information.
From Prototype to Production
What started as a rapid prototype became a production system used by Workiva's customer service team to improve data logging and collaboration.
Log in and play with the Loop app - all you need is a Google account for SSO authentication