Sharon Orienza
Thomson Reuters Invoice Tracking Project
The Thomson Reuters Invoice Tracking project looked to achieve a more streamlined workflow that allowed a firm's billing staff to process and assess the status of invoices that had been submitted to client's eBilling vendors. After the initial project of overhauling the site's architecture, new workflows were devised and I developed new concepts for the Tracking module. To determine if the new design was meeting user's needs, a usability test was created and presented to several firms on the TR User Board of volunteers. The results of the test highlighted some concerns of missing functionality as well as new opportunities for development.
overview
The eBH Tracking module is part of the more robust, user-facing eBH application. The module not only assists billers in tracking the status of an invoice submitted to the eBilling vendor, but it gives them a historical record of all modifications and submittals of an invoice.
step 1 - identify the issues
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Too much scrolling is required on every task - both vertical and horizontal scrolling.
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Too many tasks are placed in popups which don't allow for batch processing of some actions.
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The same task is redundantly placed throughout the UI without rhyme or reason.
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Too many tasks have side by side tables that require opening for each task.
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Users must jump from one section to another part of the Tracking module and recall information from the previous screens.
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Icons are reused throughout grid and may have a different meaning in another areas.
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Labels are not always intuitive nor are they consistently used.
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Filters on search results work in reverse of how a typical search filter would work.
step 2 - identify the goals to achieve
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Streamline the workflow for Tracking so that a User does not have to go to multiple screens to complete one task.
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Reduce the number of clicks necessary to complete a task.
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Utilize usability tactics such as Progressive Disclosure to display only the task(s) at hand.
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Make Labeling more transparent to Users so that new users can grasp the concepts of the Tracking module quickly.
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Reduce the amount of side by side tables within the application.
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Reduce the number of overlays and popups within the workflow.
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Make use of icons sparingly – and when used, make more appropriate and intuitive visually.
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Make the search and filters more intuitive and user-friendly.
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Make each grid's data easier to read.
discovery: review the current state of the module
I conducted several pluralistic walkthroughs with the customer service team members as well as the implementation teams on the old application. This gave me much needed user feedback to identify the pain points Users were experiencing with the current application and the workflow process.
After gaining an understanding of the work that was done and generated within the module, I undertook a heuristic evaluation of the site. The combination of the pluralistic walkthroughs and the heuristic evaluation identified the goals that the new redesign needed to achieve.
elicit requirements and create wires
The next stage was to elicit requirements from both the PMs as well as from the Customer Service and Implementation teams. I did this through a combination of whiteboarding sessions, followed by rough wireframing workshops where I modified the wires on the fly.
create prototype and usability test
From the base wireframes and requirements, I created a prototype witha scripted set of "happy path" actions for the users to complete. I had less than a week to conduct the usability study and report back to the director and product managers the results. Below is a link to the final report that outlines the process and results. The test has identified several areas where the application could be improved, as well as opportunities where new functionality could be developed within the application.
final reporting
After testing was completed, reports were created for both business and development groups to present the outcomes of the results. The reports not only contained information on what was needed to improve the application, but it also included recommendations for areas of improvement as well as potential opportunities for growth. A full SWOT analysis was not done as threats could not be identified during the testing. Since both groups were very different and looking to achieve different yearly goals, I customized the communications to meet the audience's needs and objectives.