Centralizing Communication on Employee Order Requests

OVERVIEW

GE employees, through an internal e-commerce site, can request the technology they need to be successful in their jobs. However, a majority of employees fail to provide a detailed business justification with their request, leading to significant delays. The average time requests remained open without an update was a staggering 7.6 days, directly impacting employee productivity and frustrating both approvers and requestors. In an effort to decrease this critical bottleneck, my solution was to integrate a commenting feature directly into our platform.

MY ROLE

Lead designer. Conducted user interviews and usability testing.

THE TEAM

Myself, UX Researcher, Product Manager, and 3+ engineers

DURATION

3 Sprints Q1 2022

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Approvers were receiving technology requests with insufficient business justification, forcing them to leave the platform and initiate time-consuming email threads with requestors.

This fragmented communication led to significant delays in decision-making and a frustrating experience for both approvers and employees awaiting essential technology.

Goals

  1. Reduce the number of days a request remains pending.

  2. Keep conversations recorded in the site, linking them directly to the open request, and eliminating the need to use email.

  3. Provide transparency to employees about the status of their request.

  4. Decrease service desk inquiries related to pending requests by providing in-platform updates and clarity.

EARLY EXPLORATION AND TESTING

To understand the core challenges, myself and another researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 8 approvers. We focused on understanding their current approval workflows, criteria for decision-making, and points of friction.

A critical insight that emerged was that approvers were consistently forced to leave the internal site to follow up via email for crucial business justification details, leading to significant delays and frustration.

We heard statements like, 'I'm constantly bouncing between the platform and my inbox, trying to piece together information.'

Recognizing a similar, successful commenting feature existed elsewhere in our platform, I hypothesized that adapting this familiar pattern could be a viable solution. To validate this hypothesis and gauge user receptiveness, I conducted a remote, unmoderated usability test via Maze with 16 users. Users were tasked with simulating the approval process, including requesting more information and viewing comment threads.

The test confirmed my hypothesis, showing a high success rate (95% task completion) and positive user feedback on the intuitive nature of the proposed commenting feature, largely due to its consistency with existing platform patterns.

FINAL DESIGNS

My final design integrates a seamless commenting feature within the existing request approval flow. When an approver reviews a pending request and requires further detail, they can now initiate a 'Request More Information' action directly from the request summary.

I strategically chose a side sheet interaction for this feature for two key reasons:

  1. it maintains consistency with other primary actions across the platform, leveraging existing user mental models, and

  2. it allows approvers, who manage large volumes of requests, to view crucial request details in the main interface while engaging in a conversation, minimizing context switching and improving efficiency.

Upon sending, the requestor receives a clear in-app notification and email alert prompting them to provide additional information. They can then engage in a real-time, threaded conversation directly tied to their specific request, eliminating the need for fragmented email exchanges and providing a transparent record of all communication.

RESULTS & IMPACT

My solution delivered significant improvements in both efficiency and user experience.

Reduced Approval Time: Prior to launch, the average time requests remained open without an update was 7.6 days. Based on internal projections, I anticipate a 25% decrease in this metric, translating to a projected average approval time of 5.7 days. This improvement directly contributes to faster technology provisioning and enhanced employee productivity across GE.

Centralized Communication: The integrated commenting feature successfully eliminated the need for external email exchanges, centralizing all communication directly within the platform. This has improved traceability and reduced context switching for both approvers and requestors.

Enhanced Transparency: Employees now receive real-time notifications and can view the status and ongoing conversations related to their requests, significantly reducing uncertainty.

Decreased Service Desk Inquiries: By providing clear in-app updates and communication channels, I expect a notable reduction in service desk inquiries related to pending requests, optimizing service desk resources.