Establish your Brand Identity!
JENNIFER BECKER
Workstream Automation (AA)
Revolutionize your customer service experience with Workstream Automation: The AI-powered platform for seamless, personalized interactions
Project Overview
As the UX Lead for Workstream Automation, my team and I were responsible for enhancing the conversational AI platform that allowed developers to build NLP chatbots, voice assistants, and IVR systems for various applications. Our focus was on Workstream Automation, the visual design tool that Workflow Designers used to create, configure, and manage self-service workflows.
Challenge
Our goal was to improve user engagement, increase conversion and sales, stay competitive, improve usability and accessibility, and keep up with technological advancements. However, we faced several challenges, such as an outdated user interface, lack of personalization, and limited capabilities for automation.
Digital Transformation
To overcome these challenges, we initiated a digital transformation project that included the integration of new features and functionalities to improve the platform's usability, accessibility, and automation capabilities. We implemented a user-centered design approach that involved extensive user research and testing to ensure that the platform met the needs of our target users.
Service Innovation
One of the key aspects of this project was service innovation, as we aimed to provide an innovative platform that met the evolving needs of our customers. Our team worked to ensure that the platform was intuitive, user-friendly, and customizable, allowing Workflow Designers to create a consistent user experience across all channels and enable seamless handoff between touchpoints.
Solution
The outcome of this project was a significantly improved platform with enhanced capabilities and features. Workflow Designers could now import or create new flows and configure automation flows to collect information that a live agent would require. Additionally, customers could interact directly with a virtual agent through a self-service flow, and designers could add announcements and collect customer information that could be saved in the interaction details and passed to the agent.
Orchestration original screens
Project Scope
CCaaS Web Application
Tools
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Figma
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Adobe XD and Illustrator
Role
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UX Designer
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UX Research
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Accessibility
Team
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Lead UX Designer
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Jr. UX Designer
Responsibilities
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User Interviews
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Usability Testing
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Market Research
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Competitive Analysis
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UX Workshop
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Personas
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Customer Journey
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User stories
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Lo-fi and Hi-fi UI
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Prototypes
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Accessibility Evaluation
Identify the users
I identified the product's target audience and their needs, behaviours, and expectations. The platform is suitable for a wide range of users, including:
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Business owners: Business owners who want to automate their customer service and improve the customer experience by deploying chatbots on their website or social media channels.
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Workflow Designers: Workflow Designers who want to build custom chatbots and voice assistants using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to create powerful conversational experiences.
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Customer service representatives: Customer service representatives want to reduce the volume of repetitive queries by automating responses to build chatbots that can answer frequently asked questions.
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Marketers: Marketers who want to engage with their target audience by creating interactive chatbot experiences can build engaging and personalized chatbots that can help them collect valuable customer data.
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IT professionals: IT professionals who want to integrate chatbots with existing systems and platforms can create scalable and secure conversational experiences.
Product Analysis
Using a checklist that combines Nielsen's Heuristics and WCAG, I conducted a UX audit on the application. I documented various issues, including a lack of design consistency, system-oriented language, and cluttered screens.
The application did not prevent problems before they occurred, lacked confirmation before critical actions, and did not provide documentation within the application.
Additionally, the application did not meet "A" accessibility standards for navigation and contrast.
Usability Issues
During the audit, I also identified several usability issues, including confusing navigation, mandatory fields that were not indicated, and ambiguous icon language. The "Cancel" button was highlighted and seemed to be the primary action, which was confusing.
Additionally, there was no feedback to alert users when mandatory fields were left blank, and no clear instructions or help was available. Information on some screens was confusing, and toggle switches lacked feedback when selected.
Mental Model
The current UX process for describing the mental model of our workflow designer does not align with how our application is currently set up. Users expect a visual tool that enables them to drag and drop elements. Our competitors are already providing such tools for designing IVR systems.
Understanding the project
Once I presented the UX audit findings to the stakeholders, it was decided to initiate a project redesign. As part of the redesign process, I created an architecture flow to map out the product's content and features and establish a clear structure and organization. My goal was to plan out the user experience by identifying the different paths users might take through the product, as well as how they would access and interact with various features and content.
The architecture flow aided in collaborating with other stakeholders, including developers and content creators. By offering a comprehensive visual representation of the product's structure, I facilitated conversations and ensured that everyone was on the same page before commencing the design phase.
Iterate, iterate, iterate
As the UX team lead, I spearheaded the project and worked closely with the designers, providing guidance and mentorship throughout the process. Together, we identified several primary tasks for the project, including Questions, Announcements, data collection, transfer, and Bot. These tasks were made accessible directly through the menu or a right-click option on the canvas.
To ensure ease of use for the users, we designed multiple paths within the tool, and incorporated a clear flow direction for better navigation. The overall design of the tool aimed to maintain consistency with other tools, but with a vertical orientation for optimal user experience.
The project has started on a positive note, with our focus on creating a user-friendly interface, incorporating multiple paths, and a clear flow direction. These aspects should enable users of various personas to easily understand and use the tool to achieve their goals.
Design Options
Initially, we aimed to maintain consistency with our other workflow tool, Engagement Designer. However, during user testing, we identified a misalignment between the user's mental model and our current design. Specifically, users expected to view the flow from top to bottom, rather than from side to side.
Getting closer
As the lead designer, my team and I worked tirelessly to design a product suite that catered to the needs of our users and stakeholders. During the design process, we made several adjustments to enhance the user experience and improve accessibility.
One significant change was allowing users to add tasks anywhere on the screen, which provided more flexibility and better usability. We also updated the color scheme to make the product more inclusive and user-friendly.
We understood that design is an iterative process, and there is always room for improvement. As such, we remained open-minded and identified areas where we could make additional changes to enhance the product's overall user experience. Our efforts ultimately aimed to ensure that the product suite met the needs of our users and exceeded their expectations.
Final Designs
Early Iteration
Final Design
Final Documentation
