SW-INTRO
SOFTWARE TRANSFORMATION
SW-INTRO
SOFTWARE TRANSFORMATION
Create an easy-to-use and seamless software licenses management system for IBMers
Background
One can only imagine what IBM spends yearly on internal software. Some employees use software without proper security and privacy vetting.
There are a few pain points.
1. IBMers sometimes purchase redundant software, which means they buy software for which the company already has licenses or a license agreement.
2. They sometimes buy software from new vendors (not in the company’s established circle), which means IBM can't get the best deals.
3. Some workers buy licenses for their teams, but by doing so the rest of IBM can't reclaim those licenses.
4. Some employees obtain software outside of allowed channels, for example, by getting private licenses, buying via Amex, or downloading "free" software, which creates legal, privacy, and security risks and makes it hard to track what has been purchased.
User pain points
There is no one-stop-shop for acquiring work software, as users look in various places.
Users don't know if they already have software access, such as licenses. Sometimes, the licenses aren't available now but could be later.
Users feel too much pressure from the process and try to find faster ways to get things done.
Objective
Our primary objective is to develop streamlined and highly efficient user flows that empower users and managers to manage their licenses effortlessly in every aspect. This will boost the productivity of IBM's workforce and significantly reduce the company's unnecessary expenses.
Design Thinking
Design Thinking
Design Thinking
Design Thinking
Initial thoughts
In the beginning stage of the design process, I identified two crucial areas that required attention. To exemplify the process, I chose the task of "requesting a license". The user can request a license by searching for it or looking at a software license catalog on the company's internal website. After the request is approved, the user will receive an email notification or a reminder through a notification.
Initial user flows
User needs
User flows
Design Process
Design Solution
Design Process
Design Solution
Before creating the wireframe, I considered two scenarios for the user journey. Since most users are unfamiliar with the third-party software licenses portal, it will not be considered as the starting point. Many users may search for the software keyword and land on the product detail page. Secondly, if they are familiar with the company's internal website (the w3 website), they may navigate to the w3 app page (the product catalog page) to locate the software product.
Start with the Home Search
Home search—>Search result page—>Product details page
Start with the Product catalog page
Product catalog page—>Search the product—>Product details page
Concepting
My initial concepts aimed to create a seamless experience for users to manage licenses on our company's internal website without navigating to the third-party portal, ServiceNow. To ensure a smooth process, I focused on how our users interacted with the product detail page from start to finish.
Design for all users
During the initial design exploration, I focused on the essential activities for all IBMers. These activities include requesting a license, upgrading a license, getting different licenses, and installing one. The user journey begins with the product detail page of Microsoft Visio.
Entire licensing flow for all users
1. Request a license:
The user needs to use Microsoft Visio to work on some diagrams. Steps 4 to 5 might take a few business days.
2. Upgrade a license:
After two months, the user realizes he needs to upgrade Visio with more features to create the diagrams his team
needs for the next month. (From 2016 Professional to 2019 Professional)
3. Request another version:
After that, the user needs to open and edit a file of the older version from the client.
(Get M3 2013 Professional)
4. Install a license flow:
Now, the user has the correct version (2013 Professional) and wants to install the application so he can update his
client’s file.
Design for managers
After discussing with our product owners and other stakeholders, I collected feedback and updated my design screens. In addition, I added some new flows for managers on top of what we had, as they also need to handle licenses for others. Therefore, the managing license activities for managers are listed below:
1. Request a license
2. View the request
3. Request for someone else
4. Check the request status for someone else
5. Download
6. Upgrade a license
6A. Request another license
7. Renew a license
8. Return a license
9. Transfer a license
10. View my licenses
User research
User research
User research
User research
Licensing flows user test (for all users)
After finishing the initial design phase, I created four use cases and questions for testing. Our goal was to understand if our concepts align with the users' needs and how they compare to their current experiences. We wanted to identify significant gaps and determine if our designs addressed the users' known pain points. I collaborated with a researcher to conduct the user test, and we obtained some insightful findings.
Managing licenses survey (for managers)
While I was working on the design exploration, our researcher surveyed to validate our hypothesis and determine which features should proceed.
The survey focused on four activities:
1. Do managers need to know which software licenses their employees have?
2. Do managers ever need to request licenses for employees?
3. Do managers transfer licenses between employees within and outside their departments?
4. How do managers typically perform these tasks?
Note: Survey was focused on people managers (not specific personnel roles that manage licenses).
SWT-Iteration
Iteration
SWT-Iteration
Iteration
Design Iteration
After analyzing the feedback on the previous design and the insights gathered from the survey, we have decided to work on six critical flows for managers. To achieve this, I created different flow scenarios and developed prototypes. Additionally, I wrote some design questions and collaborated with the researcher to plan the user test.
These user scenarios include:
1. The manager wants to request licenses for their direct reports
2. The manager wants to upgrade licenses for their direct reports
3. The manager wants to cancel a pending request for himself or someone else
4. The manager wants to transfer a license for himself or someone else
5. The manager wants to return licenses for himself or someone else
7. The manager wants to review the existing licenses in their team and check some request history
8. The manager wants to export a software report
Executive summary
Why are we exploring these?
Past research has shown managers have difficulty with current licensing processes.
There is currently a disconnect between the IBM internal website and the ServiceNow UIs.
Manager information that resides in w3 can help improve the licensing process.
Can this become a “first-class” licensing experience for managers?
Do these concepts resonate with managers?
How do these concepts compare to the current experiences?
Are there any big gaps?
Can we push our designs to solve known manager issues?
Examples: No single place to view team licenses, no reports for end-of-year license expenses, and cannot see licenses inventory for teams.
Design key screens (High-level)
For all users
For managers
Next Steps
To bring our design concepts to life, we must first ensure the feasibility of these stretch concept flows. This involves developing APIs to enable the transfer of data from ServiceNow and building out the actual user interfaces that showcase all the use cases. Once the UIs are finalized, we can proceed with user testing to ensure they meet our requirements.