Internal User Panel Database

Made at Pegasystems

Pegasystems is a software company specializing in low-code platforming, AI-powered decisioning, and workflow automation.

I worked with the UX Research and Usability Testing Squad to streamline the participant recruitment process for internal usability testing. To do so, I developed an Internal User Panel Database. The new system includes a robust filter search system of all Pega employees, a systematic way to collect Personal Information (PI) from Pega employees and keep it up to date, and strategic communications to encourage participation in Pega’s usability studies.

Role

Team

Duration

Project Lead

Rachel Safir

(Solo)

7 months

May - Nov. 2022

Problem

The current recruitment process for usability tests is clunky and inefficient. I identified the following pain points: long load times, inflexible search criteria, and excessive navigation maneuvers required for simple tasks.

Because of these barriers, the UX Research and Usability Testing Squad relies heavily on their knowledge of Pega employees for participant recruitment. This leads to testing pools that are repetitive, lack diversity, and take a long time to assemble.

Solution

An easily searchable Internal User Panel Database that allows the UX Research and Usability Testing Squad to efficiently recruit participants for internal usability tests.

Process

Early designs and prototypes
Revise

Research

Interviews

I conducted a group interview with all three (3) members of Pega’s UX Research and Usability Testing Squad because this product is being developed for them. I sought to understand their recruitment process, identify pain points, and uncover their wishes for the future product.

Key Insights

Pain Points:

  • The program used for participant recruitment had long load times and inflexible search criteria. Excessive clicks and other maneuvers were required for simple tasks. Overall, using the program was time consuming.

  • Because the search criteria was so inflexible, team members had to rely heavily on their individual knowledge of Pega employees for recruitment.

Needs:

The new application must include:

  • A database of all Pega employees, which can be easily searched using filter criteria

  • A systematic way to collect Personal Information (PI) from Pega employees and keep it up to date

  • Strategic communications to schedule usability tests, allow for easy cancellation or rescheduling, and encourage participation in Pega usability studies

  • Tracking of participant information including previous tests, performance, and interest in future user studies

Competitive Analysis

I conducted extensive research on the design and management of user panel databases. Topics of interest were vast: screeners, algorithms, search filters, scheduling and communications, panel management, incentives, preventing no-shows, and rating participant performance.

Ideation

When I’m reading and looking over interview notes, ideas begin buzzing in my mind. I write down any and all spontaneous ideas that pop into my head during this time: potential features, remaining questions, possible challenges, and other consideration factors.

I meet with my team to strategize. We create this Product Roadmap to:

  • Clarify our goals

  • Brainstorm potential features

  • Create a timeline

  • Decide what to prioritize

Product Roadmap

Making Preparations

In order for this database to function, we needed permission from HR to sync non-confidential employee information to the application.

I made a presentation to HR explaining what we were building and why we needed employee information. We got the needed permissions to move ahead.

I met with the head of the accessibility department in order to preemptively ensure I was considering accessibility and inclusivity as part of the app’s design from the beginning.

I presented my research findings and plans for the project to my team. They were excited by my ideas and I was given the go-ahead to start designing!

Meeting with HR

Meeting with Accessibility Department Head

Presenting to my Team (the Stakeholders)

Creating Epics, User Stories and Checklists

Considering the complexity of the project, I decided to create a checklist where I could keep track of what I needed to accomplish.

I also created project Epics and User Stories in Agile Studio.

Wireframing, Prototyping & Usability Testing

I began by wireframing the navigation menus and main pages.

Next, I began wireframing in Sketch.

I then made revisions and turned them into a low fidelity prototype.

Wireframes

Wireframing & Prototyping

Usability Testing

I tested the prototype with 3 participants: the members of the UX Research and Usability Testing Squad. I had them walk through a recruitment scenario and think aloud as they did so.

The goals of this usability test were to:

  • Validate the application flow

  • Identify pain points

  • Find more opportunities to increase the efficiency of the recruitment process

Key Takeaways

  • Some redundancies needed to be removed (i.e. unnecessary steps)

  • A few unfamiliar actions needed clarifying. In some places, additional instructions were needed. In others, important information or actions needed to be moved to a more prominent location.

  • Some planned features were too time-intensive for Phase 1 and needed to be moved to Phase 2 of development.

Final Prototype

Made in Figma