Student enrollment system utilizing Salesforce LDS
Challenge
Design a student enrollment system tailored to the diverse needs of Nexus administrators. With students joining from various backgrounds - some attending in person, others online, some enrolling in groups, and others as corporate trainees - the system must ensure a seamless enrollment experience while integrating Salesforce LDS.
Impact
Replaced an old redundant application which restricted user needs by creating new flows and implementing Salesforce Lightning Design System. This boosted user satisfaction by 68%, reduction in ticket volumes by 50% and drove a 65% increase in efficiency. Nexus website link: Nexus
Tools
Salesforce LDS, SF Trailhead, Figma, Balsamiq, Miro
Team
Individual
Duration
May - Aug 2023
Role
UX Design Intern
Process
Context
Nexus at Michigan Engineering offers flexible professional education, connecting global learners with renowned U-M faculty through online, in-person, and hybrid formats. I was working with the IT department in the team of 2 web developers and a manager.
Currently, student enrollment is done with an outdated tool called iWeb. It was built in-house 20 years ago, which had several updates over the years pushing some features to become redundant.
During my time at Nexus, I was assigned a task to streamline student enrollment process considering the specific needs of the administrator. I started by analyzing iWeb and user workflows to grasp on the missing features. Simultaneously, I took detailed notes in interviews on breaking point in the current tool, which helped me prepare targeted questions for stakeholders. Considering the large scope of this task, my attention was directed towards the invoicing system catering to three distinct scenarios: individual registeration, group registrations, and tailored registrations.
Problem Space
Current Scenario
User Interviews
Insights
After analyzing current state and holding interviews with the users several insights emerged.
Difficult to use: Training a new person is challenging since many parts rely on workarounds adapted by the team to function properly.
Customization: They are unable to transfer, split or change an invoice adding to manual work load.
Design System: They look forward to having an application that can be built upon with changing needs in the future.
Automation: The admins have to type in each line item every time they make a registeration or create an invoice with little to no automation.
Autosave: There is no way they are able to save a form while it is in progress. They have to redo typing the whole form again if they are not able to complete it.
In-house developed application: Since it is an in-house developed application it cannot handle the permutation and combination of data usage required to carry out various tasks. E.g., grouping registeration, splitting an invoice.
Paywall Integration: Integrating the Blackthorn payment gateway into the enrollment system will enable partial payments, a feature currently unavailable.
User groups
Direct Users
Indirect Users
Salesforce Lightning Design System
I took up a bunch of Trailhead modules to understand SLDS. The examples put me in real-world scenarios, allowing me to step into the user's role. For e.g., in one module, I took on the role of a company administrator, which gave me firsthand experience of the system's functions. This made it much easier to grasp the flow of data and understand the user journey.
Some other key points -
Step-by-step guides and challenges for working with buttons, forms, modals, data tables, cards, and grids.
Understanding how pre-built Lightning Components fit within the Salesforce ecosystem.
Design tokens provide standardized values for color, spacing, and typography to ensure consistency.
Education Cloud Recruitment & Admissions Data Model Image source: Salesforce
I analyzed how different entities including contacts and applications interact within the system gaining a deeper understanding for the hierarchy of information and data relationships.
By mapping these relationships, I was able to optimize the navigation and prioritize key information.
Model's modular structure allowed me to customize user flows based on specific needs.
Process
I started by creating an Information Architecture diagram for a single registrant and then built upon it for other tasks that require additional steps. Setting small goals and creating one flow at a time made it easy to visualize the end goal without getting overwhelmed. Moved the lo-fi flows from paper prototype into Balsamiq for iteration.
The Hi-Fi prototype was built using SLDS, but I created a Mid-Fi version in Figma with elements resembling the Lightning Design System. Due to an NDA with the company, I am unable to share the Hi-Fi screens.
Solution Space
Home
Upon signing up and logging in, users land on the home page, which serves as the initial access point.
It has real-time updates from Contacts, Offerings, Invoices, and Registrations - keeping the team informed and aligned with daily activities.
Events are displayed in the order of occurrence making it easy to track them and stay accountable.
Customizable filters can be applied to focus on specific details and track ongoing activities.
The home page features recently visited links, enabling quick and efficient navigation.
Contacts
Title is a profile of a person, a group or a company based on how they are register.
Each profile includes past registrations, invoices, addresses, and personal details relevant to the contact.
'Company' type profile include nested learner profiles and company contacts. For example, Ford Motors has profiles for all past and current learners, along with the Company PoC.
The system makes it easy to look up past enrollments and retrieve information quickly for automated registering and invoicing.
Registrations
It includes registrations made by learners online, created by external entities like Points of Contact, or added internally by the Nexus team.
Pre-populated registration details streamline the invoicing process, making it especially useful for group registrations with multiple profiles to manage.
Multiple individual registrations can be grouped and moved directly into Invoice creation.
It enables easy splitting and transferring of invoices as needed usually done in agreement with company requirements.
Invoices
At the heart of the system lies the Invoices section. Users can retrieve, create, and split invoices seamlessly.
The platform allows users to track payment statuses and due dates, sending timely reminders.
Invoices can be auto-generated with pre-filled line items from registration records.
Single invoice generation from online registration
The invoice data is automatically retrieved from the learner's registration details submitted during the online enrollment process.
Auto-fill lessens the load of repetitive typing, increasing efficiency.
The form of creating an invoice is divided into smaller chunks with breadcrumbs trail instead of one lengthy form.
Once an invoice is created, it appears on the home page as an update.
Group/Company invoice generation from online registration
For a company there is a Point of Contact (PoC) assigned to the trainees for enrollment.
Similar to single registrant, the data is pulled from the registration details provided by the PoC while registering so it autofills the line items.
There is an option to move the registrants from one invoice to another by utilizing the 'Dual list box'. Segregating learners on invoices is done as per PoC's request.
Outcome
Review
Now that the prototype is ready, it is important to assess whether we have effectively addressed all the initial problems we set out to solve.
Personalization: Designed user flows to seamlessly align with individual needs, optimizing paths so users can complete tasks with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. Specifically, within Contacts, Registrations, and Invoices, users can easily organize and locate data, making the process intuitive.
Salesforces CRM: iWeb was initially an in-house developed application but now it is built on Salesforce CRM which is the largest Customer Relationship manager. It provides increased integration capabilities to connect with other systems and applications. These capabilities include APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), payment gateways, student information systems, and document verification tools.
Autopopulated fields: Most fields are pre-populated, minimizing the need for manual entry by administrators. This is made possible by the seamless integration between the Contacts database and the registration system, where fields are automatically mapped. Whether it’s a Point of Contact or a self-registering learner, their profiles are stored in the Contacts database, streamlining the process of invoicing and saving a lot of time.
Ease of use: It is very easy for the team to get acquainted to this system because it uses consistent UI elements and scalable framework utilizing Salesforce LDS.
Impact
After testing with 4 participants - 2 from Nexus and 2 from the general audience - we gathered quantifiable metrics to measure the success of the new designs. Comparing the old tool to the new designs is challenging, as many of the features in the updated version were not present in the previous one.
Task Duration: The updated system reduces task time by breaking data into smaller, purpose-driven segments. New features like automatic creation of registration record and pre-filled invoice line items streamline the process. Eliminating manual steps like repetitive data entry for splitting and transferring invoices further saves alot of time. Measuring the time spent completing the task we achieved a 65% increase in efficiency.
Number of clicks: In the previous system, generating invoices for a group of learners required repetitive clicking - for example, adding 10 registrants meant at least 30 clicks (one for "Add Another," one for "Save," and one for "Next"). The updated system now supports group invoicing, automatically adding line items and allowing invoice creation directly from registration records. This reduces the task to just 5 clicks, significantly enhancing efficiency.
Satisfaction rate: After user testing, we send out a feedback form to gauge user satisfaction, which yielded a 68% satisfaction rate.
Ticket volume: According to the support specialist at Nexus, 50% of the tickets were related to the invoicing system. By implementing these changes, we anticipate a significant reduction in ticket volume as well.
Limitations
This is still a very small part of a larger system that includes other features of enrollment system including courses, schedules, academic history, waitlist and payment. It is suppose to seamlessly blend with the other parts of the enrollment system.
During my internship, I primarily worked on the admin side of the portal rather than the learner side, which still needs significant improvements.
The public facing website requires updates to align with back-end changes. For example, learners will soon be able to register in groups by selecting the 'Group' option and choose the 'Enterprise' plan if registering from a company.
There are several edge cases that still needs to be worked upon. For example, a student registers multiple times for the same course online or a student provides incomplete information to complete the registration process.
Learnings
By taking up modules on Trailhead, a UX designer can master SLDS, collaborate better with developers, and create intuitive and scalable experiences within Salesforce products.
Design system is a great asset when you’re building a tool over time. It makes future updates and additions much easier by providing a consistent foundation to work from.
I took full ownership of the subject matter by being involved in every step of the process. I collaborated with teams, gathered feedback, and refined designs, making informed decisions that kept the product aligned with user needs.