Vendor Dashboard
TL;DR
As part of a collaborative design effort, I helped create a vendor dashboard from the ground up to centralize essential functions such as managing RFPs, viewing invoice details, handling compliance documents, monitoring invites, and selecting subscription plans. Through collaboration and iterative design, we delivered an intuitive interface that streamlined vendor workflows and improved overall efficiency.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Vendors lacked a centralized platform to manage their account, including tracking RFPs and invoices. With no existing design in place, vendors found it difficult to understand what needed to be completed and they missed out on bidding opportunities. The goal was to create a user-friendly dashboard that would centralize all vendor activities, allowing them to track invoices, monitor RFP statuses, find new bidding opportunities and view other important info regarding their account.
Key Challenges Identified:
- No existing design or system for centralized vendor activities.
- Difficulty in tracking and managing RFP statuses and active invoices.
- Need for an intuitive interface to enhance productivity and efficiency.
RESEARCH
1. Stakeholder and Support Team Brainstorming Sessions:
Without being granted access to interview active vendors, we set up brainstorming sessions with stakeholders as well as the customer support team. Both teams were able to provide valuable insight in regard to the vendor pain points, especially the customer support staff.
Key Findings:
- Vendors frequently call the support team for seemingly simple tasks.
- Vendors typically do no know how to find RFP opportunities available to them.
- Vendors generally feel overwhelmed when using the system.
2. Inspiration:
We explored multiple UI design websites for design inspiration. We compiled screenshots of various dashboards with different components that we thought might fit with the needs of our user such as charts, graphs, lists and tables.
Key Insights:
- Including customization on widgets when available allows the vendor to tailor the experience to their business needs.
- Using color to show urgency or importance is encouraged.
- Grouping widgets by module ensure related widgets stay together, improving the overall user experience.
DESIGN PROCESS
Planning:
We created a list of all possible widgets that could be useful to a vendor on the platform based on information we learned during the brainstorming sessions. We then worked with stakeholders to prioritize that list and began working on the widgets that were identified as most important.
Wireframing:
Low-fidelity wireframes were sketched, focusing on a clean and minimal interface that emphasizes hierarchy.
Validation:
Once wireframes were sketched, we met with the business team to validate our ideas. Their feedback guided iterations and helped us make decisions between certain widget variations.
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
1. Simplified Dashboard Layout:
The header and left-hand navigation bar are consistent with the rest of the system. Widgets that pertain to the system on a global level are shown at the top. Widgets that belong to a module were grouped and placed in a collapsible section.
2. Customizable Widgets:
We were able to easily identify two widgets that could benefit from vendor customization, Quick Links and Counts. These widgets contain links that allow the vendor to easily navigate to different areas of the system.
IMPLEMENTATION
1. High-Fidelity Prototypes:
Once the wireframes were refined and approved, high-fidelity prototypes were created using Figma. By utilizing our newly developed design systems, attention to detail was given to color schemes, typography, and interaction states to create a polished UI.
2. Development Handoff:
Collaborating with the development team, we ensured all design components were clearly annotated with necessary specifications (e.g., pixel-perfect spacing, color codes, interaction states). The development team was provided links to all Figma files.
RESULTS
Stakeholders were pleased with the end result, however, this project was still in development when I left the company and I am unable to attain results or user feedback in regard to the new dashboard.
REFLECTION
What Went Well: We were successful in identifying many different widgets that would be valuable to the user. Narrowing the focus down to a few modules was a good idea in order to get the dashboard up and running to attain feedback before tackling widgets for other modules.
Challenges: Balancing the needs of different types of vendors was tricky. Some users will need even more in-depth analytics, while others will likely desire further simplification. Due to stakeholders insisting on certain widgets, this caused the design to be less visual that desired. While the information is useful, we need to find a way to make it more visual and less text heavy.
Next Steps: Future iterations will include deeper customization and a mobile version. We also want to consider adding the ability to add and/or remove widgets based on the vendors specific needs. In addition, the ability to reorder widgets seems to be a popular idea. User interviews and feedback would be essential in future iterations.
Description
VendorSmart
2024
Centralized Hub for Vendor Insights and Account Management