Improving Administrator Work Areas
Overview
Oracle Netsuite is an all-in-one business management and ERP software. The software has many different capabilities, from financial management to customer service management, and even customization through integrations. As a UX Design intern on the Platforms team, I was responsible for improving an audit log and other administrator work areas.
Why an Audit Log?
Administrators of organizations using Netsuite are the ones responsible for managing the software, which can be difficult and stressful. Because Netsuite has so many capabilities, an audit log is critical for administrators to see the who, when, and how the system was changed for troubleshooting, audits, and more.
Project Scope
During my internship, my project focused on improving the experience of a specific user goal: how do administrators use an audit log during an external financial audit?
Project Dates:
May '23 - Aug '23
Role:
UX Design Intern
Design Team:
Danielle Urban, Mery von Bernard
Core Team:
Ales Hrncarek, Elena Urbanovska, Anton Stasche, Zuzana Benickova
Tools:
Figma
My Impact
○ Ideated and created end-to-end designs using the Oracle Redwood design system
○ Collaborated with a global team of PMs, content designers, UX researchers, and developers
○ Facilitated user testing sessions with subject matter experts
○ Documented detailed design specifications for the developer handoff process
The Process
During my internship, I was responsible for three phases of the project. While I am unable to share my designs due to confidentiality, I've provided a brief walkthrough of my process.
Discovery
A broad discovery for this project had already been completed before I started this project. However, I conducted my own smaller discovery phase to orient myself with the project and provide direction for my designs.
Understanding
I conducted secondary research, talked to subject matter experts at Netsuite who were previously auditors, and created a competitive analysis to answer a few key questions.
The Users
After doing this research combined with the prior discovery work done, I had a better understanding of who was using the audit log during the auditing process.
While administrators are the users who typically would be using the audit log, this is not the case during the process of a financial audit.
During auditing, the accountant of the organization uses the audit log to send transactions to an external auditor.
Defining Design Goals
From this research I conducted, I defined a set of goals for our designs to fulfill.
Ideation to Design
Key Design Considerations
Based on these design goals, I centered my design solutions around 5 key considerations.
Using the discovery, further conversations with subject matter experts, collaboration with my team, and ideation with the design system, I ideated on an improved audit log design.
User Testing & Feedback
While I was unable to meet with real users due to time limitations, I facilitated user testing with subject matter experts within Netsuite who had experience auditing.
I also presented my designs to my Platform team of designers, my core project team, and the Netsuite design system team, using the feedback I received to finalize my designs.
Developer Handoff
After finalizing my designs, I created detailed design specifications and presented them to developers. My designs are currently in the process of being implemented.
Learnings
○ How to design around design system constraints while maintaining creativity
○ Balancing technical accuracy with user understanding for content design
○ How to best gather information for an unknown, large-scale, technical project
○ Subject matter experts are not perfect users
○ Going back and forth on a design decision feels frustrating but can lead to new insights
Reflections
This internship was unlike any previous UX experience I've had. It was a first time of many things: my first time working with an extensive design system, my first time working with a project manager, content designer, and larger design team, and my first time starting a project in the middle of the design process.
During this 12 week internship, I've become better at presenting my work, communicating across time zones, and being more assertive and confident in my voice as a designer. I had the privilege of working with an amazing team, and I have learned so much from everyone I talked to and worked with!
All of my work during the internship is under an NDA. Please reach out to me if you have any questions regarding my work.
