Sage ESS

Overview

Company
The Access Group (formally Sage)

Role
UX Designer

Platform
SaaS | Responsive

Date
2017

Product
Sage ESS

Key Contributions

• User Research & Synthesis
  (Market Research, Interviews, Surveys, Competitive Analysis, Personas)
• Information Architecture & Interaction Design
  (Sitemaps, User Journeys, User Stories, Wireframes)
• Visual Design & Prototyping
• Usability Testing

The Challenge

Sage's existing client-hosted employee self-service portal, ESP, was a stop-gap measure. While functional, its poor code management and lack of a true SaaS offering made it difficult to scale and integrate new features.

Recognising this, the business committed to building a new, flexible, and scalable employee self-service SaaS solution from the ground up, designed to meet a broader range of customer needs.

Research & Strategy

I conducted extensive research to understand the core problems faced by our current and prospective customers, and to identify existing market solutions. Our methodology included: clientele and ABS statistical analysis, market research, surveys, stakeholder interviews, competitive audits, and contextual observations of ESP user feedback.

This research revealed key pain points with the legacy ESP system:

• Non-responsive layout
• Counterintuitive tree navigation
• Limited browser support
• Dependencies on workflows and organisational structures
• Poor performance
• Insecure generic accounts

Customers clearly expressed a need for an employee self-service solution that was:

• Simple to set up
• Easy to integrate with other solutions
• Accessible on any screen, anytime, anywhere.

Persona Development: Personas were formulated based on the Professional Services industry – our primary clientele – to inform the ideation process. This helped us map out direct and indirect user interactions, from requesting and approving leave to managing teams, roles, and permissions.

User Stories & Workflows: User stories were crafted around common scenarios, defining how users, teams, roles, permissions, and workflows would be governed within the new system.

Based on this rigorous process, a set of key features was agreed upon to define the Minimum Marketable Product (MMP).

Design & Prototyping

I initiated the design process by sketching concepts to identify effective patterns. These concepts were then prototyped and rigorously user-tested using Axure. Subsequently, a comprehensive style guide was developed, adhering to Sage's established branding guidelines.

Impact & Adoption

Following extensive research, analysis, design, and testing, we successfully launched the new Minimum Marketable Product (MMP). We received overwhelmingly positive and constructive feedback from our customers, which proved invaluable in continuously refining and evolving the product.

Sage ESS quickly gained traction, becoming available and widely adopted across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Strategic Integration & Growth: Sage ESS's success and robust architecture paved the way for its integration as a core component of Access Micropay (formerly Sage Micropay). As another product where I enhanced the user experience, this strategic move not only expanded the reach and value proposition of both offerings but also demonstrated the scalability and long-term impact of the initial Sage ESS design and development.

The Team

Product Manager Janice Aldinger
Senior Product Analyst Sharon Anderson
Business Analyst Luciana Soewito
Product Development Manager Art Czernecki
Senior Analyst Programmer Mark Foster
Senior Analyst Programmer Enrico Boentaran
Full Stack Software Developer Abethan Rajendram
Analyst Programmer Cemson Zhang
Technical Writer Mary Claffey
Test Analyst Vaasu Checllathurai
Former National Software Development Jason Fischer
Former Senior Web Developer Chen Lin
Former Senior Business Analyst Barry Jose

Special Thanks

Managing Director Michael Smith
Business Analyst Thu Dinh
Technical Implementation Consultant Jiba Gurton
Software Implementation Consultant Kim Rinquest
The Sales and Marketing Team

"Sage adds self-service to MicrOpay"

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