Our design team collaborated with Wishup to understand the interaction patterns between their Clients and Virtual Assistants (VA), identify pain points, and devise a product-based solution.
The goal was to create a seamless platform that bridges the gap between Clients and VAs, ultimately enhancing productivity and user satisfaction.
Additionally, our team worked on Wishup's branding and multiple web and mobile applications to ensure a cohesive user experience across all touch points.
Enhancing Productivity and User Retention for Wishup
Lead Experience Designer
MY ROLE
Stakeholder Interviews
Design language system
Visual direction and UI design
Prototyping and Branding
Managing a team of 4 designers
Design QA
Driving product innovation through collaborative leadership
Key Achievements
At Wishup, I've encountered some of the most rewarding challenges in my journey thus far. I had the opportunity to lead a remote design team comprising of three members and played a pivotal role in shaping the foundational elements of Wishup's product and visual identity.
To establish a robust design framework, I introduced various practices such as design sprints, ideation sessions, and design critiques. These practices were complemented by a strong emphasis on user testing and the development of a comprehensive design system and documentation library.
Collaborating closely with cross-functional agile teams, including User Researchers, Engineers, Product Leads, and Founders, we collectively pursued the shared goal of enhancing the customer experience and driving key business metrics such as growth, revenue, and retention.
Analysing value addition of all the existing features
Research takeaway
In our exploration, we uncovered critical areas for improvement:
Communication Streamlining
Users predominantly utilized external apps due to familiarity and the absence of superior alternatives.
Task Management Simplification
Tasks were informally assigned via platforms like Slack and email, lacking a structured system for creation and updates.
Revised Target Audience Focus
Initially the Wishup team considered the power users as the target users. But upon completing the interviews and primary research we realised that the users we needed to focus on are the top 5% clients as they contributed to over 70% of the company revenue. This was a crucial discovery.
Enhanced Entry Points
Recognizing the scarcity of entry points, we devised strategies to augment engagement with the application.
Community Building Initiatives
Introducing features like EOD streaks and Hall of Fame incentivized timely report submissions and fostered a sense of community among remote workers.
Centralized Management
We identified key tasks for clients and VAs, such as leave management and payment reminders, necessitating a centralized homepage.
Mobile Accessibility Prioritization
As most of our users were using the app on the go, we shifted focus from the web app to mobile and iPad devices for enhanced user experience and accessibility.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
How might we optimize Client-VAs interaction to enhance productivity and user satisfaction in Wishup's virtual assistance platform?
Context
Wishup, an Indian startup with over 200 employees, offers virtual assistance services, meticulously matching clients with skilled professionals. Our goal was to enable seamless communication between clients and their VAs. Collaborating with Wishup, we designed their website, a tailored web dashboard for VAs, and a client mobile app. This case study focuses on the creation journey of the client app, detailing the challenges we faced and conquered.
Challenge
Our main challenge involved comprehending the interaction dynamics between clients and VAs, identifying their pain points, and crafting a product-driven solution to bridge the gap between them. Our aim was to boost productivity and enhance user satisfaction through seamless collaboration.
Outcome
We developed a comprehensive solution comprising separate interfaces for clients, VAs, and the Wishup team. Each interface was tailored to its specific purpose: VAs could efficiently complete and update assigned tasks, while clients could create, assign, and track task progress, facilitating seamless VA management.
Thorough examination informs strategic design decisions
Research approach
Our process commenced with a thorough examination of the existing workflow:
We engaged in comprehensive interviews with the in-house team to gain insights.
Utilizing Clarity screen recordings, we meticulously observed user behavior to uncover valuable insights.
We carefully analyzed and reconstructed the Information Architecture (IA) for the current dashboards and website, ensuring clarity and efficiency.
To deepen our understanding, we conducted further User Interviews and surveys, validating our initial research findings and refining our approach accordingly.
November 2023 - January 2024
Story
End-of-the-day reports or EOD reports were the main form of contact and the ones that got the highest traction. It acted as a point of attendance daily. Every VA compiled all the tasks for the day and this is shared as a mail with the client. The clients as well as Wishup relied on this as the marker of attendance.
Challenge
Transitioning users from email to app for information access posed a challenge, as reliance on email hindered app engagement. Virtual Assistants (VAs) faced time constraints creating End of Day (EOD) reports, lacking motivation for daily submission despite its attendance significance.
Solution
By redesigning the EOD for mobile we ensured it can be more useful for the Clients as well as the VAs. We retained the mail but with just an overview of core insights being shared on mail. We nudged the user to view the detailed report on the app that further acts as an entry point to the app. We further linked Tasks module and EOD for making the process more efficient. VAs were now required to update the tasks assigned to them which automatically was compiled as a EOD draft. This saved them time and helped with better documentation of work done. Filters and sort were also introduced to enable the clients to make the best of these reports.
Final Designs
user interface
EOD Reports
“We would want the EOD reports to be more interactive”
FEAture #1
Solution
The research helped up come to a list actions that has to be highlighted on the homepage. These took into consideration the interests of multiple stakeholders such as the client, the VAs and Wishup. The onboarding process ensured smooth introduction of the new features while helping personalise the app for the user. The feedback design was made more interactive with micro interactions.
Onboarding and Feedback
"I need to go through at least 3 apps at all times to stay updated or complete a particular action"
Story
The app directly opened with a dashboard with most actions present up front. This was heavy on the cognitive load. There was no effective onboarding or overview of key activities of any kind. A one glance location for all the top information did not exist. Feedback loops were also not effective as it was not easily accessible. The feedback process lacked delight and this was a module were it was important for the users to be expressive.
feature #3
Challenge
Designing a homepage meant understanding the core functions that has to be taken from this screen while making sure its not heavy on the cognitive load but rather nudging the users to explore the application further. The feedback module had to revamped without bombarding the user with major changes from the present process.
impact
Positive results
and more to do
Efficiency Boost for VAs
The redesign significantly reduced redundancy for both clients and VAs, saving VAs approximately 15% of their productive time, which is crucial as they are charged per hour.
Unified Design System
A comprehensive design system was developed to ensure consistency across all products, saving time in development and allowing for quick iterations.
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Enhanced Client Participation
Clients were incentivized to use the app more, resulting in increased client retention and user numbers.
Subscription Upselling Success
Subscriptions increased due to strategic upselling designs implemented across various sections of the app.
EOD Submission Success
The introduction of a streak system for EOD submission led to more timely report submissions and fostered a sense of community among VAs with real-time updates and a Hall of Fame for recognition.
Solution
We revamped the entire mapping to ensure an intuitive flow and added value. Introducing Default roles for standard functions and Custom Roles for specific permissions enhanced team management. This also allowed clients to incorporate their internal members, maximizing productivity. Additionally, we facilitated seamless switching between multiple organizations for clients with multiple ventures.
Role and Organisation Management
"The Wishup app is solely for managing the VAs and we would rather onboard them onto our internal applications than use separate apps for in house members and the VAs”
Story
The current application's limitation to a two-tier hierarchy posed challenges for Wishup. Onboarding clients with diverse tier systems highlighted the need for flexibility.
feature #4
Challenge
Upon analyzing the flow, inconsistencies emerged, necessitating restructuring. Additionally, edge cases involving clients with multiple organizations required consideration. Customization of permissions and access, particularly regarding sensitive data like payment details, was crucial for different app users.
Solution
We realised a better linking of Tasks and EOD modules will help enhance the experience. We redesigned the flow so that the tasks status can be updated from both parties. The tasks for the day will be combined automatically to create a draft of the EOD reducing redundancy. We also added AI based suggestions for repeated tasks and speech to text inputs for task generation to push the clients to create and assign their tasks through the app.
Task Management
“A lot of time is spent on just task documentation. We discuss it with the client, then write them down again and then again update them for EOD”
Story
The tasks had to be manually put in by the VAs after a discussion with their clients on a daily basis. The initial expectation was for the clients to add and assign tasks through the web application but this was not the case.
feature #3
Challenge
VAs experience a loss of time as they must first engage in discussions with clients, then manually input the information, and subsequently rewrite it for the End of Day (EOD) reports. Additionally, there is a lack of real-time updates, further exacerbating the inefficiency.
The imperative need for a mobile application.
Previous adjustments failed to yield desired outcomes, with users failing to engage. Thus, we reevaluated the core features, analyzing and improving upon successful elements from the web app in light of our newfound insights.
A pivotal decision emerged:
Sitemap and Restructuring
IA and user journeys
The creation of the mobile application gave us the opportunity to analyse the current architecture and user journeys.
We also had insights on app usage such as the screens that had more traffic, screens that led to higher conversions, screens that were hardly used but placed quite high in terms of the level.
Some important features were multiple clicks away and some were not grouped according to the mental model of the users.
Keeping in mind to solve these, we reworked on the IA, tested them with our users and finalised on a new flow that helped solve the existing problems
Designing for the right users
USER persona
