Support platform definition for an innovative product

UX research and user requirements for a call-center tool linked to an e-commerce website.

The context

- Pre-industrial context (industrial patent)

- 2 overlapping projects : call-center platform interacts with the e-commerce knowledge centre

- 3 pilots markets with different end-users and legal restrictions

- 4 weeks to define the needs

The objective

The basis of the tool was a decision tree that would help call center people to

- identify the defects (hard-ware / software),

- classify them

- suggest the right action to take for call centre people

- feed the knowledge centre in the support tool and on the e-commerce website

In a word, we were building an artificial intelligence with very few data as a start.

But all along the definition phase, more and more internal users would contribute to build the embryo of this intelligent system.

The challenge

- Define the business objectives and clarify user expectations for a new support platform, for an innovative product that was not commercialized at that time.

- We relied on internal users first to build our assumptions. That means a lot of hypothesis that we could hardly test live as the product could not be revealed to the public before the launch.

The objectives

- identify the number and types of defects on the new product

- help call-center people to identify quickly the defect to take the right decision

- ensure after-sales quality service

- answer quickly to an expected growing demand

Key success factors

- A client highly invested

- A good use of UX tools

- A lot of pedagogy

- an ambitious planning

My contribution

Pre-sales

- Concept definition

- Macro user scenarios

During the project

- End-users interviews (call-center)

- Field observations

- Concept models

- Proto-personae

- Flows design

- Sitemap structure

- Wireframes

- Functional specifications

Deliverables samples

Proto-Personae

- We started with assumptions on proto-personae, based on business people's knowledge.

- Then we went to the field to validate our assumptions and adjust our models.

- These personae were used all along the definition and specification process through a large business requirement matrix based on user's goals.

Concept-models

An intelligent tool that learns with users and help users to learn

The results

One of my most successful project in terms of UX approach: personae, scenarios, sitemap, flows, system models... each complete and supports each other.

Everything just clicked together because it was the right time to do so and there was no way to step back for such a crucial project for the company.