Hardware Return Management Platform

A streamlined and customer-focused return experience for all types of Cisco hardware

Impact: Finalized designs and prototype were approved by leadership team. Development phase in progress.

Roles: Visual Designer, Interaction Designer

Duration: 5 Months

Deliverables: Lo-Fi Sketches, Wireframes, Hi-Fi UI, Prototype

Tools: Figma, Miro, Jira

⚠️ Confidentiality Agreement

NDAs and confidentiality agreements are the death of me, but here’s a peek at some stellar work I’ve been doing at Cisco.

Now that we got that out the way, lets dive in.  

🔑 Key Project Takeaways

Design Is Just As Important As Functionality

Design breathes life into the purpose that function brings. A good user experience requires more than just the functionality to be included. The application needs the right structure, and visual design to keep users engaged throughout the experience. Something engineers occasionally forget :)

Think Big, Start Small

Small sketches can carve the path to groundbreaking design. It may seem easier to jump right into Figma or whatever your design tool of choice is, you can save yourself significant time by doing low-fidelity paper sketches instead and quickly gathering feedback from potential users.

Know The Politics

UX skills get you started, building connections with stakeholders keeps you ahead. Having a deep understanding of UX principles is important, but understanding the organizational structure and developing deep relationships with stakeholders early is just as important for success.

PROBLEM

What pain point am I trying to tackle?

Customers are required to navigate through three different tools to initiate and track hardware returns, creating an overwhelming experience. At the same time, internal teams must consult several systems to verify returns, leading to inefficient workflows and customer dissatisfaction due to a lack of process transparency.

Diagram of project Design process

🧐 How might we...

How might we create a more consistent and unified experience across all touchpoints of the return process?

🎯 Vision

Why use three tools when one can do it all? The return process for outdated or damaged Cisco hardware has long been fragmented, requiring customers to use three separate tools.

This caused significant frustration and inefficiency for both customers and internal teams. The RMA Returns Tool introduces a streamlined solution within the Customer Experience Cloud Platform. It centralizes all return-related actions into one location, significantly simplifying the process for customers and reducing workload for the Cisco support team.

The design prioritizes simplicity, efficiency, and an enhanced user experience.

Existing Experience

Selected screens from the current cisco hardware return experience prior to being redesigned. Confidential information has been blurred.

📋 Criteria for Success

Due to the time constraint, limited access to current cisco enterprise customers and research team backlog, a small research study was done by the part-time researcher attached to the project

🧐 Research Constraints

At a minimum we need to deliver a MVP that allows Cisco customers to create and view returns within the existing CX Cloud infrastructure.

Customer Experience (CX) Cloud is a unified platform that allows Cisco customers to manage their hardware, software and licenses in one central location.

🎯 Research Findings

Here are some of the opportunities for improvement uncovered during the research phase. Research was synthesized into common themes recognized among participants.

🔁 User Flow Diagram

Multiple iterations of the user flow diagram were explored during a research workshop in conjunction with the product manager and researcher. This iteration encapsulates simplicity, efficiency and customer needs.

🆕 Reimagined Return Experience

Due to the time constraint, limited access to current cisco enterprise customers and research team backlog, a small research study was done by the part-time researcher attached to the project

Return Management Integration

Pain: Lack of ability to create return request from CX Cloud. Multiple tools needed

Design Solution:

Start with ease. Everything you need to manage returns, right in one central hub.

Stay in the loop. Every return in progress, clearly displayed for you to track.

Pickups made simple. Schedule a return pickup with just a few taps.

RMA 360 Panel

Pain: Difficulty finding return status and staying updated

Design Solution:

Everything at a glance. Your returns, clearly organized, instantly accessible.

Stay in the know.
Real-time return status, always up to date in CX Cloud.

Simplified Return Creation Workflow

Pain: Customers didn't find the current UI easy to follow even after multiple uses

Design Solution:

Everything at a glance. Your returns, clearly organized, instantly accessible.

Stay in the know.
Real-time return status, always up to date in CX Cloud.

🤩 Appreciate you stopping by!

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P.S. I'm open for freelance gigs too!