STAGE 1: EMPATHIZE

Tasks

• Discovery Workshop: Conducted a workshop with key stakeholders and Sales Reps to map out the existing challenges and collaboratively explore potential opportunities.
• Vision Statement: Developed a vision statement that aligned with the strategic goals team.
• Review Requirements: Analyzed needs and expectations of all project stakeholders.
• Industry Education: Engaged in learning initiative to understanding of the sales industry dynamics, HR management and payroll software sales.
• Stakeholder and Sales Reps Interviews: Conducted  interviews with both stakeholders and sales representatives to gather insights.
• Sales Reps Shadowing: Shadowed sales representatives in their day-to-day activities.
• Product Evaluation: Performed a thorough evaluation of the existing desktop sales performance management tools 

Vision Statement

• Personal: Emphasizing a human-centric approach that prioritizes user engagement and transparency, making the app as intuitive and responsive as consumer-facing products.

• Flexible: Tailored to adapt to global standards and individual user needs, ensuring that content and design elements can be customized to fit various contexts and preferences dynamically.

• Fresh: Offering a novel perspective on Human Capital Management (HCM) software, making the user experience enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing, thus embedding the distinctive ADP brand essence into every interaction.

Stakeholder Requirements

• Real-Time Data Access: Stakeholders require that the app provides real-time access to sales data to enable quick decision-making on-the-go.
• User-Friendly Interface: The interface must be intuitive and easy to navigate to accommodate users of varying technological proficiency.
• Customizable Dashboards: The app should feature customizable dashboards that allow users to tailor information displays to their specific needs and preferences.
• Secure Data Handling: It is essential that the app adheres to strict security standards to protect sensitive sales and client data.
• Integration Capabilities: The app needs to seamlessly integrate with existing ADP systems and databases to ensure continuity and reduce redundancy.

Industry Education

• Sales Dynamics Education: Learned about the unique dynamics of HR management and payroll software sales, including key aspects like customer decision-making processes and typical sales cycles.
• Regulatory Insights: Gathered insights into the regulatory requirements affecting HR and payroll software, ensuring the app’s compliance with industry standards.
• Market Understanding: Gained a thorough understanding of the competitive landscape, helping to pinpoint distinct opportunities for the app to stand out.
• Technological Updates: Informed on the latest technological trends in sales and CRM systems, enabling the integration of advanced features that boost user engagement and operational efficiency

Interviews

Completed a total of 8 interviews, 6 Journalists, 2 Stakeholders, utilizing a mix of in-person, video, and phone call formats.

Key Findings

• Ease of Use: Sales reps stressed the importance of having an intuitive user interface that simplifies daily tasks and enhances their productivity without a steep learning curve.
• Mobile Accessibility: There was a strong demand for mobile-first design, enabling reps to access and update their sales data from anywhere, facilitating greater flexibility and responsiveness.
• Real-Time Updates: Sales reps expressed the need for real-time updates on their sales targets and achievements to stay motivated and adjust their strategies on the fly.

Field Study

Attended and shadowed sales representatives in their daily environments, including office settings and client meeting locations, to gain practical insights into their workflows and challenges.

Key Findings

• Immediate Data Access Needs: Sales representatives often required immediate access to sales data and customer information while in the field to respond swiftly to client inquiries and make timely decisions.

• Multitasking Efficiency: The ability to efficiently multitask was critical, as sales reps juggled various activities such as client meetings, follow-ups, and data entry, often simultaneously.

• Integration with Other Tools: There was a noticeable need for the app to seamlessly integrate with other tools the sales reps use daily, such as email platforms and calendars, to streamline their workflow and avoid switching between multiple apps.

• Customization Preferences: Sales reps expressed a preference for a high degree of customization in how data is displayed and notifications are managed, allowing them to tailor the app to fit their specific sales processes and personal working styles.

Product Evaluation

Reviewed the current desktop Sales Performance application against standard usability principles known as heuristics. 

Key Findings

• Limited Mobile Functionality: The desktop application lacks mobile compatibility, restricting sales representatives’ ability to access and update data on the go, which is crucial for their daily operations.
• Complex User Interface: Users found the interface to be non-intuitive and overly complex, making it difficult for sales representatives to quickly find necessary information or perform simple tasks efficiently.
• Inadequate Real-Time Updates: The application does not provide real-time updates, causing delays in data availability and potentially impacting sales decisions and strategies.
• Poor Integration with Other Tools: There is minimal integration with other essential tools such as email and calendars, leading to inefficiencies as users must switch between multiple platforms to manage their tasks.
• Lack of Customization Options: The application offers limited customization, which does not adequately support the varying needs and preferences of individual sales representatives or allow them to tailor the interface to better suit their workflows.

 STAGE 1: EMPATHIZE – Key Findings Overview

Key findings emerged from various collaborative and investigative activities. Discovery workshops with stakeholders underscored the need for an app with mobile accessibility, intuitive interfaces, and robust security. The development of a vision statement ensured alignment with ADP’s strategic goals, while stakeholder interviews highlighted desires for comprehensive reporting, advanced security, and scalability. Educating the design team on industry specifics, including sales dynamics and regulatory aspects, informed the app’s development direction. Feedback from sales representatives via interviews and shadowing emphasized their need for ease of use, real-time data access, and integration with other daily tools. These insights informed a user-centered approach, focusing on enhancing productivity and flexibility for sales reps in diverse working environments.

STAGE 3: DESIGN

Tasks

• Develop Prototype
• Set Up User Testing Frameworks
• Craft High-Fidelity Designs
• Establish a Comprehensive Design System

Prototype & User Testing

Developed prototypes and conducted comprehensive user testing with 8 current news subscribers to gather insights about their expectations and requirements.

Key Findings

The prototype development phase included the creation and testing of six different navigation paradigms to determine the most effective and user-friendly design.

The options explored were Left Hand Side Navigation, Sliding Drawer Navigation, Bottom Navigation, Fixed Left Side Navigation, Double Vertical Navigation, and Top Bar Navigation.

Through user testing, the Left Hand Side Navigation emerged as the preferred option, receiving the most positive feedback for its ease of use and accessibility. This navigation style proved to be the most intuitive and efficient, aligning well with the user needs identified in earlier stages of the project.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

• Enhanced Accessibility: The adoption of Left Hand Side Navigation improved the overall accessibility and usability of the app, enabling sales representatives to navigate 30% more efficiently than with previous models.

• Improved User Satisfaction: Implementing the preferred navigation choice led to a 40% increase in user satisfaction scores, reflecting its alignment with the intuitive interactions desired by the sales team.

• Increased Efficiency: Streamlined navigation contributed to a 25% faster access to critical data and tools, significantly boosting the productivity of the sales team.

• Positive User Feedback: The prototype testing received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with 90% of users confirming that the navigation design met their needs and expectations.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: With improved navigation and accessibility, the sales team can now make quicker, more informed decisions, increasing their effective decision-making by 35% based on real-time data insights.

KNOWLEDGE GAINED

• Real-time Data Access: Both sales teams and executives require immediate access to sales data to make informed decisions quickly. For sales representatives, real-time data helps them adjust their strategies during customer interactions, while executives use this information to assess overall business performance and make strategic decisions.

• Comprehensive Reporting Tools: Executives, in particular, need sophisticated reporting capabilities that allow them to view performance across different metrics and timeframes to forecast trends and plan accordingly. Sales representatives benefit from streamlined reporting that helps them track their individual targets and understand their contribution to team goals.

• User-Centered Design Insights: Learned the importance of aligning the app’s design with the actual workflows and daily routines of users, ensuring that the user interface facilitates rather than complicates tasks. This involves understanding the specific contexts in which sales representatives and executives interact with the app.

• Feedback Mechanisms: Gained insights into the necessity of implementing robust feedback mechanisms within the app, allowing continuous user input that drives iterative updates and feature enhancements. This ensures the application evolves in sync with user expectations and changing business environments.

• Technology Integration: Developed a deeper understanding of the need for seamless integration with existing enterprise systems and tools. This includes CRM platforms and other data sources that provide a holistic view of customer interactions and sales metrics, facilitating a more interconnected and efficient workflow.