Web app | Netenrich | 2021

Creating a self-service portal for IT Automation

ROLE

Lead designer - user research, end-to-end design process & implementation support.

TEAM

Design Manager, VP, CTO, Product Manager, Developers, Automation team, UX Designer (me)

DURATION

9 Months

OVERVIEW

Netenrich is a SaaS company that focuses on AI ops and cybersecurity. I designed an experience for a self-service portal called Automations that allowed users to use pre-defined templates to automate repetitive tasks.

Project Under NDA

Unfortunately, due to NDA restrictions, I am unable to share the details of the project. This page contains a brief overview of the project but doesn't reflect everything I worked on— please contact me for the complete portfolio walkthrough :)
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THE BEGINNING

How might we reduce manual intervention and find a way to automate day-to-day IT tasks?

At the beginning of 2021, I got pulled into a brainstorming session with the design and Automation teams. The initial meetings were filled with words such as Ansible, Yaml, and change management- all of which went over my head. The VP had the vision to create a platform where users could come and automate repetitive tasks thus saving time and reducing manual intervention. Soon I was part of this exciting project of bringing this vision to life.

THE PROBLEM

Existing Scenario

The manual method of managing different IT services is cumbersome and requires significant time and effort. The tasks and commands for different devices are stored in a spreadsheet linked to a GitHub repository. To perform a task, the user must create a separate script for each task and further create a separate task for each device manufacturer. This process becomes even more tedious as the scripts must be updated every time the device’s OS is updated.

Illustration of a spreadsheet containing templates with instructions to perform IT service tasks
OUTCOME

Over 300 workflows automated through Automations in September 2021.

Automations resulted in a 100% task completion rate and allowed our analysts to reduce their time spent in completing these tasks by over 40%. This resulted in overall reduction in the time to resolve a ticket as well.

RETROSPECTIVE

What would I have done differently?

1. Clearly defining the product roadmap: With multiple PM’s and a changing vision of the product, one of my major learning was that without clarity on the goals, there can be multiple visions. Going forward, I would focus on detailing the use cases and clearly defining the acceptability criteria.

2. A/B testing: For design decisions that were heavily debated, I would use data to drive the decision. Given the opportunity, I would include usability testing for different features to choose a direction based on user data.

LEARNINGS

Preference to familiar patterns

Defining design processes

Principles like familiarity matter. No matter how ‘good’ a design is, people might stick with an older version if it is not easy enough to learn.

Learning to collaborate and communicate with different team members allowed us to work much more effectively. Through this project, I was able to define processes which were then implemented across the design team and in every project I did later on.