Getting to the Root of a Problem (and Not Rushing to Solutions)
One pain point we learned from the IPM pilot experience was many customers experienced pain setting up and reconciling their imported client data. Many customers asked to change the client list to better allow them to do this. While many on my project team pushed for a radical redesign of the client list itself (which wasn't seen as the cause of the problem), I made the case to test a unique experience separate from the client list that is optimized for the office manager role that experienced this pain the most (and not redesign the client list, which affects all users). Our partner and staff preparer roles would continue to have a streamlined client list experience as a result, and only improve with more accurate client data based on this new and optimaized experience. It tested extremely well and will be implemented into the product. Below are several of the initial mockups I created that was part of this proposed experience.
When you complete importing your cleint data, you will now see a high level summary of what was done, and potential areas that will need your attention.
If this is a user's first time using IPM (and based on the use case the answer will almost always be yes), we do offer a quick overivew of what this solution helps the user do and why they should care.
If the user clicks the "Show Me How..." button, 3 tips are offered as "stepped" overlays on top of the Client Manager. This is one of the three overlays.
Design of the Client Manager. There is a lot of client information that can be imported, and the design accounts for it by showing the most important information to identify a client, then offering multiple ways to drill down to more information.
Example hover states, Note that hover text is also being leveraged as a way to drill down to addtional information as well.
Ability to see all client information in one place, if needed.
Ability to manage how client data relates to each other.
