Case Study

Enabling enterprise accountants to track millions in cash flow.

Enabling enterprise accountants to track millions in cash flow.

Overview

Overview

Overview

When asked to expand the functionality of an internal team's accounting platform, we thought it would be as simple as adding columns to a table, but discovery uncovered missing requirements that would have created data architecture that was not scalable.

By digging into the business process and bringing all of the stakeholders to the table, I was able to design a solution that scaled across the entire business, eliminated hundreds of hours of manual process, and created visibility for millions of dollars moving through the system on a daily basis.

Background

Background

How did we get here?

How did we get here?

How did we get here?

The current solution tracked one-time fees. It was a quick fix that saved the business millions in delinquent payments.

Now we wanted to expand it to manage monthly payments, automating the process for hundreds of transactions per day.

The current solution tracked one-time fees. It was a quick fix that saved the business millions in delinquent payments.

Now we wanted to expand it to manage monthly payments, automating the process for hundreds of transactions per day.

Problem

Problem

Why can't we just add a couple columns?

Why can't we just add a couple columns?

Why can't we just add a couple columns?

In mapping out the user processes for these new transactions, I realized that our product discovery had left a lot of stones unturned - some of which would cause us major problems as the platform grew and evolved.

In mapping out the user processes for these new transactions, I realized that our product discovery had left a lot of stones unturned - some of which would cause us major problems as the platform grew and evolved.

We weren't accounting for the whole process.

We were missing a lot of data on the upstream and downstream workflows, and we were building to accommodate the data, not the users.

Users weren't on board with the future state.

Our vision for the platform didn't match the users' or their current needs. We needed better alignment before we built anything else.

Our solution wasn't going to scale.

We had boxed ourselves in on the navigation. When it came time to add other transaction types to the system, we would find ourselves here again.

Solution

Solution

Getting out of the users' way.

Getting out of the users' way.

Getting out of the users' way.

We're giving our users whiplash.

Our users are matching dozens of transactions per day. When I mapped out the process for each transaction, it was easy to see where time was being wasted.

Users had to search for information that wasn't displayed clearly, and would have to scroll through the page to access information that they always needed in a particular order.

  1. User checks the unallocated total to estimate their workload for the day.

  1. User identifies the first transaction to match.

  1. User scans the second table to find a likely matching expected record.

  1. User checks the total amount received.

  1. User checks the total amount expected to ensure that the two numbers match.

  1. User clicks submit to confirm the allocation.

From ending the user whiplash.

Much of the most important information was on the right side of the screen, or buried alongside text that was similarly formatted — requiring users to search for information in a process they were completing dozens of times per day.

To enabling laser-focus.

By observing how our users interacted with the system, I made significant improvements to workflow with minimal UI changes, bringing the data our users needed into a more conventional "F" pattern while making it more findable.

Solution

Solution

Building for the future state.

Building for the future state.

Building for the future state.

The current solution doesn't scale.

As we finalized the updates to the solution, it became obvious that the existing navigation wouldn't suit the future needs of the platform.

As we dug further into the future state, we realized that the navigation wasn't going to scale for more transaction types or more accounts. Moreover, we would be forced to maintain up to 13 pages that shared formatting and layout elements.

And worse yet, the dropdown pattern used to navigate between full-screen versions of the table were being used elsewhere in the system to denote custom table views where all data was coming from the same source. It needed to be reworked to maintain system-wide consistency.

We would need to rethink how we navigated this platform module.

Overcrowding the global nav.

The current solution uses the global navigation to switch between transaction types. As we add other transaction types or need to create high-level navigation for other tools, the navigation will quickly become crowded and unintuitive.

Perpetuating a misused pattern.

The dropdown pattern used to navigate between full-screen versions of the table were being used elsewhere in the system to denote a different kind of data. It needed to be reworked to maintain system-wide consistency.

Designing for the future state.

Designing for the future state.

In the updated navigation, we moved all functions of the process we were tackling out of the global navigation and created something more streamlined.

A more familiar nav pattern.

By moving the table views to a nav bar, we created more visibility for the users' options and brought the navigation in line with other parts of the platform.

Simpler and scalable.

By putting all of the transaction types on one page and enabling users to filter via a dropdown, I simplified the data architecture and created more flexibility as transaction types are added.

Outcome

Outcome

Retired hours of monthly and daily manual process, eliminated two layers of manual approval, and created a shared portal that enables downstream teams to see when payments have come in without having to pick up the phone or wait for an email response.

"Fumiko has been so easy to work with and responsive. I appreciate her diligence and attention to detail."
- Product Owner

Let's build something

Let's build something