SmartWe • 2024

Reduced time taken by teams in executing manual tasks and ensuring error-free processes

A long-awaited automation feature was introduced to our CRM to address the challenge of manually handling an overwhelming amount of data. Designed and prototyped key UI components to improve feature usability and overall user experience.

Team

Product Manager
2 engineers
UX Researcher
UI/UX Designer

Duration

4 months

My Role

Conceptualization
Design
Usability testing
Dev handoff

Context and Challenge

Current CRM processes depend heavily on manual work

Many CRM systems rely heavily on manual processes for critical workflows such as employee offboarding.

HR and IT teams must track deadlines, send notifications, update records, and coordinate handovers all manually. This not only consumes hours of staff time but also introduces risks of missed steps, inconsistent data, and delayed actions.

This is what the manual process looked like.

~60%

projected reduction in manual offboarding task time

8–12

manual steps eliminated per employee exit cycle

3–5 hrs

estimated saved per offboarding cycle for HR & IT teams

DISCOVERY

Why automation mattered to our users

To uncover how users managed daily tasks in the CRM and where automation could deliver the most value, we conducted semi-structured interviews and contextual observation sessions with 15 users from diverse industries and business sizes.

7 of 15 users

Found manual data entry in the CRM time-consuming

9 of 15 users

Frustrated by the difficulty of automating repetitive tasks

6 of 15 users

Missed important follow-ups without workflow tools

IDEATION

Exploring ideas with wireframes

Idea 1

Displaying the options to build the workflow on the left and was playing with both horizontal and vertical layout.

Idea 2

Displaying a plus icon button after every node in order to add new nodes.

Idea 1 won – with vertical layout.

We ran short preference sessions with 5 users, testing both layouts side by side. The findings were clear:

The horizontal layout broke down once workflows grew beyond 4–5 nodes, users had to scroll sideways unexpectedly. This caused confusion and resulted in their sense of progress being lost.
The vertical layout felt natural because it mirrored how users already described their processes, as a top-to-bottom sequence of steps.

Solution Overview

Crafting the ideal automation feature for our CRM

Automations are listed with the most important information so users can find them easily.

A workflow which was meant to save hours for the IT and HR team for employee off-boarding.

Upselling Opportunity Workflow Screenshot

This is another example for a workflow. An upselling opportunity distributing a sales opportunity based on zip code.

Results and Takeaway

What I learned on this project

It was such a pleasure working with some of the most talented software engineers on this project who have been implementing anything I’ve come up with.

Lean on collaboration and proactive questioning
As complexity increased, so did the need to ask more questions, both to clarify requirements and to better understand technical feasibility.
Designing with confidence
Working with exceptional engineers who questioned and refined my designs not only improved the outcome, but also strengthened my own design practice, making me more aware and intentional in future projects.
Balance detail with flexibility
While deeper attention to edge cases and technical implementation was necessary, this experience also made it clear not to over-design early ideas.

Next case study

Pet tracker for dog owners