VoIP B2B UX/UI Restyle: -45% time on task
Research surfaced an information architecture problem that couldn’t be touched because of technical constraints on the stakeholder side. I brought the data to the table and, with the engineering team, we solved the same need from a different angle.
context
The project involved a B2B VoIP platform used by very different organisations: from banks to public administration. The client needed a complete UX and UI restyle (code refactor included).
The existing platform had a chaotic information architecture, confusing flows, and an outdated look & feel. The project was complex: many different stakeholders, and highly technical sections to understand before being able to intervene.
results
- Reduction in time on task of approximately 45% to reach the most frequently used platform areas
- Drop of 29.5% in support tickets opened by operators for navigation issues
- New features (search bar + “Recent Activities”) were approved and implemented, respecting the technical constraints on information architecture
- Wireframes for the new structure required only minor changes after the first round of testing, a sign the direction was solid from the start
my role
Sole designer on the project, with end-to-end ownership: from research to the final hi-fi prototype and the new design system. Always in dialogue with the client (multiple stakeholders), the engineering team and the project manager.
process
- I studied the existing platform and documentation to get into the technical context
- I ran interviews, surveys, remote contextual inquiry with operators, and usability tests on the existing platform, organising scripts, responses and recordings in Notion with a tagging system to manage insights
- I carried out a heuristic evaluation shared with the client, using a priority matrix to assess areas of intervention
- I worked on ideation and brainstorming with the engineering team, using a priority matrix to validate the feasibility of ideas in terms of time and budget
- I built wireframes, tested with a first round of usability tests
- In parallel, I designed the platform’s new design system: reusable components, styles and patterns to underpin the entire restyle
- After validation, I produced the hi-fi prototypes for final client approval and a second round of user testing
the key decision
Solving without changing the root cause
Research had surfaced a clear problem: users (both new and experienced) had very high time on task to reach the areas they used daily, due to a massive menu full of sub-menus. It was an information architecture problem.
Changing the information architecture, however, wasn’t an option: it carried technical implications too significant for the stakeholders.
Instead of pushing for a solution that would have required touching that constraint, I reframed the problem: not “redo the menu”, but get people to the areas they use most, fast. With the engineering team I worked on an alternative that left the structure alone: a search bar and a “Recent Activities” component, both validated positively in subsequent tests.
reflection
Sometimes the “right” solution on paper hits non-negotiable real-world constraints, and the challenge becomes finding another one that solves the same need.
Research data was still the foundation for orienting the new direction, and for getting client and engineering behind the same solution: just applied to a different scope than I would have chosen initially.