1. Challenge

The team (I work on) was engaged to conduct a 10-week review to understand what the future/best in  class sales and service care agent experience could look like as it relates to the implementation of two  new systems, 1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and 2. Billing.

Expected outputs would provide an overview of the day-in-the life of the agents, highlighting pain  points, obstacles or inefficiencies while developing proposed solutions.  Solutions would center around  system enhancements such as dashboards or revised screen layouts.  Enhancements would align to the  product and technical roadmaps of the new CRM and Billing systems, which have a mandate to minimize  software development customizations.

2. Selection & Application

We selected Learning Launch as the most appropriate tool given the visual nature of the ‘proposed’  solutions.

We started with secondary research to ground ourselves on the current state, systems, functionality,  Methods & Procedures, reporting, etc.  We then conducted primary research (Discovery) consisting of 1  on 1 interviews/discussions with front line agents and managers.  The objective was to understand their  everyday tasks, their pain points, and where they see the biggest opportunities for improvement.

Research was synthesized and led to the development of dashboards and new screen layouts.   Wireframes and mockups were developed and presented back to the interviewees during Design  interviews to test and obtain feedback so we could iterate on the proposals.  The Design interviews  focused on talking thru scenarios to understand and determine if the proposal would help.  Multiple  rounds of Design interviews were conducted to ensure the proposals addressed the root cause problem  and not a symptom.

Below is an example of the proposed dashboards that were developed and iterated upon.

3. Approach & Insights

By applying the Learning Launch approach, we placed visuals in front of interviewees that provided  them something to respond and react against.  These mockups were used to guide the interviewees thru  the scenario understanding when, how and if the ‘proposal’ would be used and either help or hinder.

Our initial assumptions regarding metrics (their formats, colors) and screen layouts were challenged and  required us to iterate on the design.  For example, the customer satisfaction metric started out as  percentage, then a color-coded smiley or sad face, only to be removed when it was discovered this  metric could lead agents to pursue the wrong behavior.

The Design/testing discussions challenged the overall engagement mandate to focus on system  enhancements shedding light on some possible methods & procedure changes along with the need to  provider newer agents more coaching and training.

The ability to put something in front of agents to react to, generated a wealth of insights that would  likely have been missed or misunderstood leading to the wrong solutions moving forward.  Given our  iterative approach we ensured that we address the root cause.


1 . Challenge The team ( I work on ) was engaged to conduct a 10 - week review to understand what the future / best in class sales and service care agent experience could look like as it relates to the implementation of two new systems , 1 . Customer Relationship Management ( CRM ) and 2 . Billing . Expected outputs would provide an overview of the day - in - the life of the agents , highlighting pain points , obstacles or inefficiencies while developing proposed solutions . Solutions would center around system enhancements such as dashboards or revised screen layouts . Enhancements would align to the product and technical roadmaps of the new CRM and Billing systems , which have a mandate to minimize software development customizations . 2 . Selection & Application We selected Learning Launch as the most appropriate tool given the visual nature of the ‘ proposed ’ solutions . We started with secondary research to ground ourselves on the current state , systems , functionality , Methods & Procedures , reporting , etc . We then conducted primary research ( Discovery ) consisting of 1 on 1 interviews / discussions with front line agents and managers . The objective was to understand their everyday tasks , their pain points , and where they see the biggest opportunities for improvement . Research was synthesized and led to the development of dashboards and new screen layouts . Wireframes and mockups were developed and presented back to the interviewees during Design interviews to test and obtain feedback so we could iterate on the proposals . The Design interviews focused on talking thru scenarios to understand and determine if the proposal would help . Multiple rounds of Design interviews were conducted to ensure the proposals addressed the root cause problem and not a symptom . Below is an example of the proposed dashboards that were developed and iterated upon . 3 . Approach & Insights By applying the Learning Launch approach , we placed visuals in front of interviewees that provided them something to respond and react against . These mockups were used to guide the interviewees thru the scenario understanding when , how and if the ‘ proposal ’ would be used and either help or hinder . Our initial assumptions regarding metrics ( their formats , colors ) and screen layouts were challenged and required us to iterate on the design . For example , the customer satisfaction metric started out as percentage , then a color - coded smiley or sad face , only to be removed when it was discovered this metric could lead agents to pursue the wrong behavior . The Design / testing discussions challenged the overall engagement mandate to focus on system enhancements shedding light on some possible methods & procedure changes along with the need to provider newer agents more coaching and training . The ability to put something in front of agents to react to , generated a wealth of insights that would likely have been missed or misunderstood leading to the wrong solutions moving forward . Given our iterative approach we ensured that we address the root cause .