BISO - CRM

Ask! Beratungsdienste is an organization that offers career counseling and youth psychological services. Because the CRM system they were using was getting near end of life they needed to create a replacement.

Example Screen of BISO

Project Overview

  • Challenge

    Create an easy to use CRM System, that expands vastly on the capabilities of the existing system.

  • Solution

    Redesign and expansion of the existing software BISO, which is already used in multiple cantons in Switzerland and is specialized for career advisory services.

  • Role

    UX/UI Designer & Product Owner

  • Time

    October 2020 - April 2022

    While the project did start in October 2020 we were forced to pause the project in December 2020 and continue in August 2021.

  • Tools

    Figma, Miro, Microsoft Teams

Summary

This project showcases my role in leading the redesign of a critical internal application at ask!. Facing significant challenges, including evolving requirements and a drastically reduced budget, I spearheaded a user-centered design process that prioritized user needs while remaining adaptable to technical limitations and stakeholder priorities.

Through user research methods like interviews, surveys, and usability testing, I gained a deep understanding of user pain points and desired functionalities. This user empathy informed the creation of user personas and ultimately, the development of a new application that addressed core user needs.

To ensure stakeholder alignment, I facilitated workshops and sessions to build a shared understanding of user needs and project goals. These sessions were instrumental in managing stakeholders with diverse priorities.

Furthermore, recognizing the limitations of the existing software platform, I developed creative solutions to optimize the user experience within those constraints. The project also highlighted the importance of employee engagement. By incorporating employee feedback through design polls, I ensured a sense of ownership and fostered a positive user experience from the outset.

This project demonstrates my ability to excel in a complex environment. It highlights my skills in user-centered design, user research, stakeholder management, communication, adaptability, and the creation of efficient design systems.

Understanding the Problem

Since the current solution was in use for a long time without proper updates or support from the developers, many tasks were handled outside of the program or with inefficient work-arounds. This made understanding the processes and user journeys difficult.
Satisfaction with the tool they were using was very low among the user base.

I used several methods to get an understanding of the processes, pain points and preferences of the users:
-User Observation
-Interviews
-Surveys

“There are just so many unnecessary steps in this program.
There has to be an easier way”
— Daniela in administration

Persona

I leveraged user personas to ensure design decisions were grounded in user insights. These personas effectively communicated the needs and goals of our target audience to stakeholders, creating a shared understanding about the user groups that was lacking in the beginning.

Understanding the system context

Knowing the personas and the important pain points, the development team and I conducted a workshop to define the system context. Also included in this workshop was the stakeholder analysis.

Epics and User Stories

With all the information on the users’ needs and priorities, the system context and the feedback from the development team on how they plan to structure the software, I began to write the Epics and User Stories.

I looked at all the processes and user journeys and grouped them into categories. These categories were the basis for defining the Epics.

Going on from the Epics I structured the User Stories around them. Following is a snapshot of the resulting tree of User Stories. This was a graphical representation for me. For the development team, a backlog was created in MS Teams. There, the Use Cases were structured as:
As Persona Type I want Action So that Benefit.

Snapshot of Use Cases

Design and employee input

The ability to contribute is very important to the employees of ask!. I wanted them to feel close to the project and let them contribute where possible. I achieved this by hosting a series of polls where they could gradually choose how the application would look.

First I showed them examples of different design styles, from Neumorphism over Material Design to old school design. They were able to say if they liked it or not, plus they could leave comments about what they liked or disliked.

Example of a modern design

Example of an old school design

The results gave me great insight into the preferences of the users and what aspects they considered in their decisions. Some of the results were:

-70% of the users preferred a modern design
-Designs with big and rounded elements outperformed elements with straight edges significantly
-The clear structure of the information in cards was repeatedly mentioned positively
-Font size is a big priority for many users
-Dark mode is not wanted with only one exception

Forced pause

With everything ready to begin development, we got some bad news. Suddenly we didn’t have the budget to start working on the project. Due to some state regulations we had to stay under a certain budget, way lower than we had previously planned.

This stopped the project for a few months, while management was looking into different options.

A new hope

BISO, a software that was looked into months before the project start, had gotten a few major updates and was now used by multiple cantons. After some discussions and carefully analyzing the capabilities of BISO it was decided that we would continue development with BISO. Many aspects needed to be changed and improved, but the basis was solid and many Use Cases were already covered.

BISO as it is for the other cantons

Redesign

As you can see in the screenshot above, BISO doesn’t really fit the UI requirement we set after the design poll. Therefore, we decided to redesign the application and tailor it exactly to our needs. Before doing that I did some usability tests with the current state of BISO to pinpoint the biggest pain points and see which features to keep.

I began by creating a Design System which enabled me to redesign all the necessary screens relatively quickly. This involved multiple A/B tests with a focus group to resolve open questions.

Layout of the redesign and some possible arrangement

With the basic layout decided I held more polls to allow for more user input. This time I asked about font styles and the colour scheme of the software. The colour selection was strictly limited to the CI guidelines. The polls were focused on which of the brand colours should be used as primary colours and which could take a secondary roll.

Typography & Colours

Development

With the styleguide and the backlog ready I could start designing the application. To ensure all the different departments and locations were represented in the development and testing a focus group was put together. There were 9 members in that group at the beginning. When a new set of requirements was added, the group was expanded to 11.

As a first step I often collaborated with the responsible member from the focus group in a mini workshop and created a low fidelity prototype with them. This prototype was then the basis for a high fidelity prototype in Figma, which was shared with the developers.

Screen Design Person Overview

Screen Design Appointment Overview

Usability testing

For usability testing I conducted both in person and remote, moderated Think Aloud tests. The users were asked to share what they were doing, thinking, and feeling while interacting with the prototype and trying to complete the tasks given to them. After the moderated part the users could navigate the tool freely and give feedback to their findings.

These testings are held after every major release and the feedback is included into the next release.

Reflection

This project was a valuable learning experience in navigating complex challenges, particularly while wearing the hats of both Product Owner and UX/UI Designer.

Here are some key takeaways:

  • Adaptability: The project faced significant hurdles, including changing requirements and a reduced budget. I learned the importance of being adaptable and finding creative solutions within constraints.

  • Stakeholder Alignment: Managing stakeholders with different priorities was a challenge. I honed my communication skills to build a shared understanding of user needs and project goals.

  • Technical Limitations: Working with an existing, outdated software platform presented limitations. I learned to identify the boundaries of what was possible and focus on maximizing usability within those constraints.

  • Building Consensus: The project involved extensive communication and collaboration with stakeholders and employees. I developed strong facilitation skills to ensure everyone felt heard and understood.

  • Product Ownership and Design: Fulfilling the roles of both Product Owner and UX/UI Designer presented a unique challenge. Effective communication with company management was crucial to ensure the backlog reflected both user needs and business goals. Regular prioritization of the backlog was essential to navigate changing circumstances and maintain project momentum.

These challenges also presented opportunities:

  • User-Centered Design: Despite the limitations, the redesigned BISO application prioritized user needs through extensive user research, usability testing, and employee input.

  • Design System: The creation of a design system was crucial for efficient UI design, ensuring consistency and accelerating the development process.

Overall, this project demonstrates the importance of flexibility, communication, and a user-centered approach in navigating complex project environments, while also highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities of wearing multiple hats within a project.