QUALIFICATION VALIDATION TOOL
I led the redesigning of the annual qualification review tool, utilized by all AbbVie employees. The new interface boasts intuitive navigation, streamlined workflows, and reduced ambiguity,
saving users their time (-20%).
To comply with my confidentiality agreement I have omitted and appropriated confidential information. These designs are a reinterpretation of the original.
ROLE
Lead Designer
(AbbVie Inc.)
SKILLS
User Research | Visual & Interaction Design | Stakeholder Management
STAKEHOLDERS
Product Owner, UX Manager, UX Lead, Internal Employees, Lead Developer
DURATION
1.5 Months
(Aug 2023 - Sep 2023)
PROJECT BRIEF
"The Tale of the AbbVie Qualification Review App"
It was a simple request: upload your updated resume and attest to its veracity. But for AbbVie employees, the process was far from ideal. The new tool was confusing and difficult to use, and the employees were frustrated. Not knowing whom to reach out to for help, the internal communication channels on MS Teams were flooded with questions and complaints. Specifically, the questions and complaints raised were centered around these areas:
The tool was catered to two different roles (leadership and all employees), but the workflows were not clearly separated.
The leadership workflow was complex and had multiple steps, but there was no indication of whether the previous step had been successfully completed.
The all-employee workflow was simple, but it displayed many irrelevant tasks.
My team, UX & Strategy, saw this as an opportunity to redesign the tool to improve the user experience and transform the product. As the lead UX designer on the project, I was excited to take on the challenge and make a real impact on the company culture and improve the employee experience.
PROCESS
"I had half the time I originally planned to redesign the tool, but I was determined to make it happen"
I started by drafting a project charter to redesign the tool. However, due to internal reasons, I had to pivot from the original plan and shorten the project timeline by half. This meant that I had to focus on delivering a pitch to the product owner to provide us with the redesign project sanction. I knew that I had to work quickly and efficiently to create a strong presentation that would convince the product owner that our redesign was necessary. So, I got to the drawing board and came up with a barebones plan:
I worked tirelessly to execute this plan, and within four weeks, I had a presentation that was ready for the product owner. My team and I presented our findings and recommendations to the product owner and a few other stakeholders.
FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW
"Understand users' experience with the tool and the process, both as leadership and all employees"
I interviewed 5 of my colleagues who had interacted with the tool earlier. I wanted to understand their overall experience and pain points with both, the process and the tool.
I tailored my questions to gain further insights into their experience and issues encountered with each screen, overall sentiments experienced while interacting with the application, their response to the email communication throughout the process, and whether the process was easy to follow.
I documented their responses in Excel & created a user journey map and bucketed the pain points into several themes using an affinity diagram. This process helped me identify the most common pain points, which in turn helped me set priorities for improvement.
Affinity diagram: Collating and prioritizing pain points by creating themes
User Journey Map
Key Takeaways:
Main themes from the focus group interview:
Theme 1: Uncertainty about the process and its impact
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Email communication was confusing and generic.
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Users are unsure how this process will affect their current job.
Theme 2: Difficulty navigating the tool
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Confusing UI with instructions provided in red.
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Unclear which step to complete first.
Theme 3: Lack of feedback or acknowledgment
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Users do not receive any feedback or acknowledgment after uploading their resume.
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Unsure if the steps at any stage were completed successfully.
USER FLOW
" Understanding user journey and identifying opportunities to improve user experience"
User Flow - All Employees
User Flow - Leadership
Key Takeaways:
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The process is largely manual and can be automated at several stages to streamline it. For example, managers currently have to review each resume manually to verify the job title and description.
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The process can be further simplified to remove any ambiguity. For example, there are currently separate screens for uploading resumes and reminding employees to upload their resumes. These two steps can be combined into one to simplify the process.
HEURISTIC ANALYSIS
"Evaluated the tool' UI to identify areas of improvement"
After conducting a focus group interview, I had enough qualitative data to understand users' experiences with the process and the tool and their issues at each stage. To enrich the results, I also conducted a heuristic analysis of the tool to uncover any violations in the user interface (UI).
My manager and I audited 12 different screens using the 10 principles provided on the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) website. We uncovered a total of 39 violations that violated one or more UI principles.
I documented and synthesized this data to determine the severity level of each violation and prioritize the screens, functionalities, or features that needed to be redesigned.
Violoations Severity Distribution
Heuristic Analysis: Total 39 Issues were uncovered during the UI audit of the tool
Key Takeaways:
Heuristic analysis and the focus group interviews, both together helped me to identify the key areas for improvement in the tool. I used this information to inform the redesign, which resulted in a more user-friendly and efficient process.
DESIGN
" The Final Test"
Note: Since this redesign was for an internal tool I cannot upload the actual designs
Our research showed that the resume upload process was too complex and time-consuming for both employees and leadership. We decided to redesign the process to make it simpler and more efficient.
We started by redesigning the homepage. We simplified the layout and made it easier for users to find the resume upload tool. We also added clear instructions and guidance to help users through the process.
Next, we redesigned the upload resume screen. We made it more intuitive and user-friendly. We also added clear error and success messages to help users troubleshoot any problems.
Finally, we redesigned the screen that allows leadership to view the resumes of their offline employees and send reminders when needed. We made it easier for leadership to find the information they need and to take action.
OUTCOME
"Home Run"
After weeks of hard work, I was finally ready to present the design to the key stakeholders, including the product owner and the developers. I was nervous, but also confident in our work.
I started by presenting the analysis and initial sketches. I explained the pain points that we had identified and how the design addressed them. I also showed the stakeholders how the design was simpler and easier to follow than the original one.
The stakeholders were impressed with the work. They agreed that the design was a significant improvement over the original one. They were also excited to see how the design would come together in the final product.
We were thrilled to get the go-ahead to redesign the project. We knew that our hard work had paid off, and that we were one step closer to delivering a product that would have a positive impact on the users.
NEXT STEPS
"Our minor victory was just the beginning"
After our successful presentation to the stakeholders, we knew that we had a lot of work ahead of us. I had to finalize the designs and hand over the product to the developers.
Due to the pivot, we had taken earlier, I still had a lot of legwork left to do. I needed to gather more information from the product owner and the developer to make sure that the design was feasible and met their needs.
I, along with the UX team, set up a follow-up meeting with the Product Owner to learn more about his long-term vision and goals for the product, as well as his insights on the current state and pain points. This session was very informative and helped us to better understand the needs of the users and the business.
I also interviewed the developer to learn more about the technology used behind the tool and the constraints we were working with. This information was essential for ensuring that the design was feasible and could be implemented without any major problems.
Once all the necessary information was gathered, we reassessed the priority of the redesign and made some necessary UI changes, such as stylistic updates to improve technical feasibility. We then began the process of finalizing the designs.
Currently, the UX team is working on redesigning the tool by making some minor but necessary changes. We are excited to see the final product come together and to know that we are making a positive impact on the user experience.
PERSONAL LEARNINGS
"Insights, Challenges, and Growth"
I have learned about the importance of user research, heuristic analysis, and data synthesis in identifying key areas for improvement in a product or service. I have also learned about the importance of prioritizing and focusing on the most important issues. This project has also taught me the importance of teamwork.