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Using UX to enhance the operational efficiency of a CRM system, improve platform stability, and elevate user experience.
Context
In the realm of SaaS, optimising CRM systems and enhancing user experience are crucial for operational success.
At Open Universities Australia (OUA), Pricing, Availability and Terms (PAT) data were collected from our Partners via offline processes, typically using spreadsheet attachments to emails.
This approach was prone to human error and contrasted with the core catalogue data entered directly into the Partner Hub Catalogue Management system. Once collected, OUA admin staff loaded PAT data into a legacy system and distributed it through our systems as required, with the legacy system being the source of truth.
When partners wanted to view the PAT data, they had to request ad hoc reports sent by email.
Previous attempts to improve the Pricing process in isolation did not lead to any breakthrough. A holistic analysis of the data structure and ecosystem made us realise that a joint approach to optimising and handling PAT data was the only one that could lead to a tangible improvement.
Objective
This project aimed to leverage UX principles and technical improvements to gain CRM efficiency and stability while boosting overall user satisfaction and performance.
The changes - to be implemented, with a hard deadline for the Catalogue launch - focused on setting up the foundational technical architecture to enable future phases of work while delivering improvements to partners and internal teams.
The goals were both technical and UX:
Move the source of truth for PAT data from the legacy system to Partner Hub, i.e.:
Bulk-load PAT data by OUA teams via Partner Hub
Change/manage PAT data by OUA teams via Partner Hub.
Improve the partner experience by making PAT data accessible to partners via Partner Hub.
Reduce the effort required by internal teams to load PAT data.
Create a new technical architecture that better supports future growth, is easier to maintain and update, and lays the foundations for enabling additional self-service features.
My role
As Design Lead, I engaged with users to map user flows, identify pain points and needs, and turn them into high-level functional requirements. These requirements were then prioritised to inform a transformation roadmap.
The approach
The Kick-off phase included aligning internal stakeholders on the objectives and what was in scope and out of scope.
Discover: I strongly believe that research is the bedrock of good design.
I started by reviewing the current processes with the different users to identify bottlenecks and pain points.
Interviews with partners allowed us to better understand their needs and how current system limitations were a hindrance. We also mapped out all possible scenarios with a BA to avoid being caught unprepared later in the process.
Reviewing the As-is solution is always an excellent stepstone to understand pain points and guide the design.
Define: I worked closely with Salesforce engineers, Product manager and BA to understand data structure and design a feasible and desirable solution.
Example of scenarios for pricing bands
While I usually start by sketching low-fidelity wireframes to establish layout and structure and validate ideas with stakeholders, I leveraged the Salesforce Lightning Design System to go directly to mid-fi.
Mid-fi wireframe for the pricing flow, leveraging Salesforce Lightning design system.
The wireframes went through multiple iterations until we were happy with the solution.
After a few iterations, we built an interactive prototype, which we tested with internal users to get feedback before implementing the solution in Salesforce.
Bulk uploader.
The system for updating and managing pricing and availability across subjects was still complex, requiring manual input for every item and potentially prone to human error, particularly when handling large volumes of data.
The second phase of the project focused on implementing a bulk loader functionality to streamline this process. We allowed the users to upload pricing and availability data via a CSV file, allowing combined or partial schedules. The system also validates the uploaded data, providing a preview and blocking uploads with errors until they are corrected.
The bulk uploader enabled shortening the data entry process from days to minutes.
Upload of prices file where there are existing prices for unpublished subjects with values which differ from stored ones.
The outcome
Simplified and fast process. The new user flow - supported by the technical architecture - simplified the loading and managing pricing process for our internal team (this task used to take multiple days and several people before, but now can be done in minutes by the business user).
It reduced manual effort, increased accuracy, and allowed users to easily manage large datasets. It also provided flexibility in updating or removing availability at any time, improving operational efficiency and reducing error rates.
Transparency. The project also achieved the goal of transparency for our partners, who were able to access the data directly on the Partner Hub platform, helping improve data accuracy.
Scalability. The new platform also provided the foundation for future improvement, which we saw later when we implemented new features to handle late enrolments, which wouldn't have been possible in the old system.
Details of the solution: Search for the Subject (top). Pricing details are accessible via the Subject Page within the Pricing Accordion.The CSP/HECS pricing is automatically generated on the basis of the Field of Education Code entered for the subject (Middle). To add / edit pricing, the user can click into the link under 'Edit Domestic-int’l pricing'. This opens up a new page/section to edit these values (Bottom).
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