Project Overview
As the Senior Product Designer and UX Researcher for Aidium's enterprise CRM platform, I led the research and design of an automation engine that would revolutionize how mortgage loan officers manage customer communications throughout the loan application process.
Problem Statement
Workflows and campaigns need to be automated for loan officers to advance the loan application in a personalized manner. Manual management of customer contacts was time-consuming, inefficient, and prone to inconsistency, preventing loan officers from scaling their business effectively.
Context & Challenge
Business Context
Aidium's CRM served mortgage loan officers who needed to manage complex, multi-step loan application processes while maintaining personalized communication with each customer. The manual effort required to track and follow up with customers was a major pain point preventing user adoption and satisfaction.
User Pain Points
- Loan officers spent hours manually tracking where each customer was in the application process
- Inconsistent follow-up led to dropped opportunities and frustrated customers
- No systematic way to run time-bound marketing campaigns
- Difficulty scaling personalized communication as customer base grew
Project Goals
- Create an automation system that reduces manual effort while maintaining personalization
- Support both ongoing workflow automation and time-bound campaign management
- Design an intuitive interface accessible to non-technical loan officers
- Drive measurable increases in automation adoption and efficiency
Research Approach
Research Methods
I employed a multi-method research approach to deeply understand user needs and pain points:
User Interviews (n=15)
Conducted in-depth interviews with mortgage loan officers to understand their daily workflows, communication patterns, and automation needs. Sessions focused on current pain points and desired capabilities.
Surveys (n=45)
Distributed surveys to quantify pain points and prioritize feature requests across a broader user base. Helped validate interview insights and identify patterns.
Behavioral Analysis
Analyzed support tickets, user activity logs, and product usage data to identify where users were struggling and what manual workarounds they had created.
Key Research Questions
- What communication workflows do loan officers perform most frequently?
- Where does manual customer management create the most friction?
- What triggers should initiate automated communications?
- How do loan officers balance automation with personalization?
- What are the differences between ongoing workflows and time-bound campaigns?
Key Research Insights
1. Two Distinct Automation Needs
Users had fundamentally different needs for two types of automation:
Campaign Automations
Short-term, goal-specific communications with defined start and end dates. Examples: seasonal promotions, rate change announcements, educational webinar series.
Workflow Automations
Continuous, ongoing process guidance that persists over time. Examples: loan application progression, post-closing follow-up sequences, customer anniversary communications.
"Sometimes I need to send a one-time campaign about a rate drop. But I also need ongoing automation that guides every customer through the application process. Those are totally different things." — Senior Loan Officer, Regional Bank
2. Setup Complexity Was a Barrier
Users wanted powerful automation but were intimidated by complex configuration interfaces. Many had tried automation tools before but abandoned them due to steep learning curves.
"I'm not a technical person. If I have to watch a 30-minute tutorial just to set up a simple follow-up sequence, I'm just going to do it manually." — Loan Officer, Independent Mortgage Broker
3. Need for Contextual Guidance
Users needed help understanding what was possible and how to configure automations effectively. They wanted examples, templates, and tooltips that educated them during the setup process.
- 72% wanted pre-built templates for common scenarios
- 85% needed contextual help explaining what each setting does
- 91% wanted to preview what customers would receive before activating automation
4. Visibility and Control
Users needed to easily see which automations were active, understand their impact, and make quick adjustments. They feared "set it and forget it" scenarios where customers received inappropriate communications.
"I need to know at a glance what automations are running and be able to turn them off instantly if something goes wrong." — Team Lead, Mortgage Lending Firm
Design Solutions
Solution 1: Separated Dashboard
Based on the insight that campaigns and workflows serve different purposes, I designed a dashboard that clearly separates these two automation types, allowing users to quickly find and manage the right type of automation.
Dashboard with clear separation between campaign and workflow automations
Design Decisions
- Visual distinction: Used different icons and colors to differentiate campaigns (time-bound) from workflows (ongoing)
- Quick actions: Surfaced key actions like activate/deactivate, edit, and duplicate directly in the list view
- Status indicators: Clear visual indicators for active, paused, and draft automations
Solution 2: Wizard-Style Setup for Campaigns
Designed a step-by-step wizard that guides users through campaign creation, reducing cognitive load and preventing configuration errors.
Wizard-style interface for campaign automation setup
Wizard Steps
- Campaign Details: Name, goal, and timeframe
- Audience Selection: Who receives this campaign
- Communication Schedule: When and how often to send
- Message Content: Email templates and personalization
- Review & Launch: Preview and activate
Solution 3: Visual Workflow Builder
Created a drag-and-drop workflow builder that makes complex automation logic visual and intuitive, allowing users to see the customer journey at a glance.
Drag-and-drop workflow builder with visual flow representation
Key Features
- Drag-and-drop nodes: Add triggers, actions, and conditions by dragging from a palette
- Branching logic: Visual representation of conditional paths based on customer behavior
- Inline editing: Edit node content without leaving the canvas
- Real-time validation: Immediate feedback on configuration errors
Solution 4: Contextual Help & Templates
Integrated contextual tooltips, onboarding guides, and pre-built templates to reduce the learning curve and help users understand best practices.
Smart Tooltips
Context-sensitive help that explains what each option does and when to use it
Template Library
Pre-built automation templates for common scenarios that users can customize
Design Process
Research & Ideation
Conducted interviews and surveys, analyzed data, and sketched initial concepts in Miro
Low-Fidelity Prototyping
Created wireframes and user flows, validated with stakeholders and early user feedback
High-Fidelity Design
Developed detailed mockups in Figma, created interactive prototypes for testing
Usability Testing & Iteration
Conducted usability tests with 8 users, iterated based on feedback, finalized design specs for engineering
Impact & Results
Success Metrics
User Feedback
"This automation system has completely changed how I run my business. I can now manage 3x more clients without sacrificing the personal touch. The wizard makes it so easy to set up campaigns that I actually use it." — Power User, Independent Loan Officer
Business Impact
- User retention: Automation became a key differentiator, reducing churn by 25%
- Efficiency gains: Users reported saving an average of 10 hours per week on manual communication tasks
- Competitive advantage: Automation capabilities positioned Aidium as a leader in the mortgage CRM space
- Feature adoption: 78% of active users created at least one automation within their first month
Before/After Comparison
Customer communication workflow: manual process (before) vs. automated process (after)
Reflection & Learnings
What Went Well
- User-centered approach: Deep user research revealed the critical distinction between campaigns and workflows, which became the foundation of the design
- Iterative design: Regular usability testing allowed us to refine the workflow builder and catch usability issues early
- Cross-functional collaboration: Close partnership with engineering ensured feasibility while maintaining design vision
- Measurable impact: Clear success metrics allowed us to demonstrate value and inform future iterations
What I'd Do Differently
- Earlier engineering involvement: Some initial design concepts had to be scaled back due to technical constraints; involving engineers earlier would have saved time
- More diverse user testing: We focused heavily on experienced loan officers; testing with newer users would have revealed additional onboarding needs
- Performance testing: Should have tested with more complex workflow scenarios to ensure the UI scaled well
Skills Developed
- Deepened expertise in automation UX and complex workflow design
- Learned to balance powerful functionality with ease of use
- Improved ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative research data
- Strengthened skills in creating design systems for complex enterprise products
Key Takeaways
On complexity: Users want powerful tools, but power doesn't have to mean complexity. Progressive disclosure, wizards, and visual workflows can make sophisticated automation accessible to non-technical users.
On research: The insight that campaigns and workflows serve different purposes came directly from user research and became the organizing principle for the entire design. Time invested in deep user understanding always pays dividends.
On enterprise UX: Enterprise users aren't just looking for features—they're looking for solutions to specific business problems. Understanding the business context is as important as understanding the UI interactions.