Improving Management Processes for Third-Party Integrations
BRIEF
Konstellation functions as a standalone platform for data observability but aims to allow users to connect to other software (called an Integration) to make it even more powerful.
I was responsible for asssessing the current design of the two Integrations (Slack and Email) on the platform, identify opportunities for improvement, and propose redesigns.
One of the features of Konstellation's data observability platform is the ability to connect with third-party services to enhance the product.
Problem
The designs of the Slack and Email Integrations in the demo site were not implemented with the user in mind.
Because it was added to the demo site to test functionality, the current design for managing it wasn't intuitive for users; just adding or editing an alert for either Integration was unclear and difficult.
SolutionS
By focusing on the JTBD, I centralized and simplified the designs of the management pages so that the different functions are streamlined and clearly indicated.
For the Slack Integration, this meant to a more linear design to ensure a user knew when they were adding or editing an alert.
My goal for the Slack Integration redesign was to make creating, editing, and managing alerts intuitive for all users.
JTBD #1: Creating Alerts
Specifying a recipient Slack channel, a threshold for the Criticality Score, and the data source being monitored
JTBD #2: Editing Alerts
Editing the Slack channel, Criticality Score threshold, or the data source for an existing alert
JTBD #3: Managing Alerts
Having the ability to delete, enable, disable, or test an alert
The current design made all of the JTBDs either very difficult or impossible to do.
When considering different solutions for the redesign, I wanted to ensure each function had a clearly defined space.
Simplified into a Single Table
The previous design had users create an alert in one table and then manage it in another. Editing an individual alert can now occur right in the table by selecting the element that needs to be changed. Separating the editing/management of alerts from the creation of alerts makes the screen more digestible for users.
Focused Screen for Adding Alerts
By having the add alert feature as a pop-up window, the user can focus on the required inputs without the clutter of existing alerts. A copy button allows users to create multiple, similar alerts quickly.
Bulk Actions to Ease Management
To make managing multiple alerts easier, the design allows for bulk actions regarding testing, certain edits (Criticality Score and enable/disable), and deleting. In the old design, most of these actions would need to be done individually.
As a less complex Integration, the Email Integration needed to be super easy for the user to interact with.
JTBD #1: Managing Recipients
Adding recipients, removing recipients, and seeing who the full recipient list
JTBD #2: Managing Email Notifications
Turning Email notifications on/off
In the original design, the Email Integration was located in Connections and it was unclear who was being sent an email or what the email contained.
Due to technical limitations on customizing send times and email contents, I focused on improving how users could manage the recipients for the redesign.
Inspired by Listservs
I took common features in managing listservs, such as the ability to see and search the list of recipients and buttons to add or remove contacts, and recreated them in the style of the Konstellation product.
Focused Screen for Adding Recipient
Similar to the design for the Slack Integration, a pop-up window to add new recipients focuses the user on the task.
Working Around the Limitations
To signal to users that Schedule Sends were linked to the Scheduled Sync of the Connections, I piped in the exact time format used in the Connections table. The heading for the Integration is also changed to 'Email Summary,' so users can get a sense that it will not be a notification/alert.
The stakeholder loved the redesigns and felt they were a big improvement in user-friendliness over the original designs.
OUTCOME
Because engineering resources were limited, these changes were placed in a queue to be implemented in the near future.
Reflections
Time spent on each screen and number of clicks would be good metrics to compare against the old design.
Because the old design was cluttered, complicated, and sometimes misplaced, I would expect users would be much quicker and click around less when executing a task like setting up a new alert.
I would love to user test the redesigns.
While an improvement over the old designs, looking back, I think there could be a few areas in my redesigns that may still cause some confusion.
Doing some user testing could help provide insight on whether it's actually a problem. If so, seeing how users interact wth the designs could help inform future iterations.
I'd love to work with you!
Get in touch at hello.tiffanytan@gmail.com