Quality teams need an affordable supplier certification solution to save time while getting better results, not another time-consuming manual process or a software that is too expensive and unwieldy for their business. The journey was getting from a rough idea to a working model within a year.
In-House – RizePoint
UI/UX Design, UX Researcher, Creative Direction, Branding
Desktop, Tablet, Mobile
Gain visibility, save time, and nurture supplier relationships.
RizePoint had started building their software over a decade before my hiring. They had realized that finding engineers who knew their programming language and trying to fix the system was proving very costly. So they hired me on to design a new SAAS product that they could grow upon.
I was the sole UX designer/researcher, along with 2 backend engineers, 2 frontend, and our project manager. Due to the time it took them to find and hire me, we were already a few months behind. I started doing user interviews with clients to get an understanding of their pain points with the current software. Then we put together a roadmap, and moved into sketches and wireframed ideas. With that roadmap, we were able to build the right type of framework design system that made moving quickly on design ideas a breeze.
Once we had working prototypes and even a rough site, we were able to go back to the clients and get their feedback in association to the early feedback they gave. The results were very positive. Some clients saying they could even cut their full workdays down to a few minutes. This would free them up to do those outstanding tasks that they couldn’t get to before.
Coming into a company with a lot of history using the old platform, I received quite a bit of feedback on what our platform should do and how it should interact. All of this feedback was given before we had shown clients the prototype. My challenge was to find a way to show them my thinking and stop making guesses as to what the user wanted.
With that, I started looking in to how to collect user feedback easily and transparently. I started adding user walkthrough software, feedback tools, and metric collection. Using the data I pull from those, I was able to give qualitative and quantitative discoveries that either helped or removed toughed decisions.
The new look, colors, UI, and experience gave RizePoint a product they could sell. With a plan to pull more and more of the old features into Ignite, they will soon only be using this software. Clients were involved with our designs, so they felt more heard and connected to the final product.
I learned so much from this experience. Things like how a small team of talented workers, working together, can build a functional SASS product from the ground up within a year. I learned that talking to clients before, during and after the product comes out will only result in a better product. Lastly, I know now that solid data metrics will stop debates, give you confidence in your decisions, and create a goal lines for you to reach.
