Modernizing SaaS Systems: Creating Personalized Homepages for Enhanced Workflow Efficiency

Modernizing Saas application system by creating a personalized homepage with customizable widgets to consolidate data and have users streamline their workflows.

SaaS


Role

Role

Product Designer

Industry

Industry

Government/B2G

Team

Team

Project Director

Project Manager

Developers

Engineers

Timeline

Timeline

8/01/2024- 3/10/2025

Challenge

Regional specialist users are required to work within
a government grant tracking system for their report processing and data collections. The system is vast and fragmented, causing delays in report processing and the regional specialists do not have
a customized way of accessing their time sensitive reports quickly. This project is about streamlining workflows, modernizing grant tracking systems, and increasing efficiency.


*Please note: due to NDA clauses sensitive information can not be presented to this case study. Visual mockups shown here will demonstrate
design logic, reasoning and eludes to similarities of the final deliverables for this project but final results of actual modernized system cannot be shown.

Results

  • 50% reduction in search time for key reports, improving efficiency in grant processing.


  • High user satisfaction from initial testing, with positive feedback on streamlined workflows and ease of access.


  • Refined design decisions through multiple usability testing cycles, ensuring alignment with real user needs.

  • 50% reduction in search time for key reports, improving efficiency in grant processing.


  • High user satisfaction from initial testing, with positive feedback on streamlined workflows and ease of access.


  • Refined design decisions through multiple usability testing cycles, ensuring alignment with real user needs.

  • 50% reduction in search time for key reports, improving efficiency in grant processing.


  • High user satisfaction from initial testing, with positive feedback on streamlined workflows and ease of access.


  • Refined design decisions through multiple usability testing cycles, ensuring alignment with real user needs.

Process

Key user research methods used:

  • Interviews with 3-4 representatives to understand workflows

  • Heatmaps to assess navigation patterns.

  • Usability testing to refine the design.


Defining metrics that scoped out the exact problem:


  • Difficulty in retrieving relevant reports quickly.

  • Inefficiencies in grant assessment workflows.

  • Increased time spent searching for critical information.


Trade-offs:

Personalization requires significant design effort but yielded high impact. In order to maximize efficiency and work with the constraints of the current system and assess the direct pain points of our current users, we limited the design scope to personalized homepage widgets.


Considerations:


Scalability: The solution had to be extendable to other users in the future
User adaptability: Balancing modernization with maintaining familiarity in workflows.


*We decided that the widgets will address two key pain points: the difficulty of retrieving data quickly and the need for a centralized location where users can access multiple data points on the homepage. Due to confidentialtiy, color schemes, final widget designs, and presented data is modified for these visual mockup presentations.


Key user research methods used:

  • Interviews with 3-4 representatives to understand workflows

  • Heatmaps to assess navigation patterns.

  • Usability testing to refine the design.


Defining metrics that scoped out the exact problem:


  • Difficulty in retrieving relevant reports quickly.

  • Inefficiencies in grant assessment workflows.

  • Increased time spent searching for critical information.


Trade-offs:

Personalization requires significant design effort but yielded high impact. In order to maximize efficiency and work with the constraints of the current system and assess the direct pain points of our current users, we limited the design scope to personalized homepage widgets.


Condsideration:


Scalability: The solution had to be extendable to other users in the future
User adaptability: Balancing modernization with maintaining familiarity in workflows.n.


Usability Testing: We conducted usability tests with a diverse group of users to validate the design and identify areas for improvement. Based on the feedback, we made necessary adjustments to the design.


Visual Design & Style Guide: We developed a cohesive visual language, including color schemes, typography, and iconography, ensuring consistency throughout the app. We also created a style guide to maintain design consistency in future updates.

Key user research methods used:

  • Interviews with 3-4 representatives to understand workflows

  • Heatmaps to assess navigation patterns.

  • Usability testing to refine the design.


Defining metrics that scoped out the exact problem:


  • Difficulty in retrieving relevant reports quickly.

  • Inefficiencies in grant assessment workflows.

  • Increased time spent searching for critical information.


Trade-offs:

Personalization requires significant design effort but yielded high impact. In order to maximize efficiency and work with the constraints of the current system and assess the direct pain points of our current users, we limited the design scope to personalized homepage widgets.


Condsideration:


Scalability: The solution had to be extendable to other users in the future
User adaptability: Balancing modernization with maintaining familiarity in workflows.n.


Usability Testing: We conducted usability tests with a diverse group of users to validate the design and identify areas for improvement. Based on the feedback, we made necessary adjustments to the design.


Visual Design & Style Guide: We developed a cohesive visual language, including color schemes, typography, and iconography, ensuring consistency throughout the app. We also created a style guide to maintain design consistency in future updates.

Conclusion

This project improved how regional specialists accessed hyper-specific grant reports within the government grant tracking system, reducing search time and streamlining workflows. The main challenge was simplifying a vast SaaS platform while balancing customization with usability, leading to trade-offs like limiting personalization to five key widgets. These constraints shaped both short-term efficiency gains and long-term scalability, reinforcing the need for adaptable design solutions. As part of a larger modernization roadmap, future enhancements could expand personalization, improve filtering, and optimize performance. The key takeaway is that high-impact efficiency requires continuous iteration, strategic prioritization, and a long-term vision for usability at scale.