SmartADC - Creating assessment centers of tomorrow
SmartADC - Creating assessment centers of tomorrow
SmartADC - Creating assessment centers of tomorrow
Driving Operational ROI: 86% increase in successful workflow optimization
Curious about the process? I'd be happy to walk you through the full case study. Let's connect.
Curious about the process? I'd be happy to walk you through the full case study. Let's connect.
Project overview & Context
Project overview & Context
My Role
My Role
Lead UX Designer
Lead UX Designer
Team
Team
Product Manager, 5+ Engineers, 3 QA Specialist.
Product Manager, 5+ Engineers, 3 QA Specialist.
Product Focus
Product Focus
Virtual Assessment & Development Center (ADC) Configuration Flow
Virtual Assessment & Development Center (ADC) Configuration Flow
Core Business Goal
Core Business Goal
Streamline time spent by HR & Ops on complex ADC workflows to lower operational bandwidth and make the entire process self-served.
Streamline time spent by HR & Ops on complex ADC workflows to lower operational bandwidth and make the entire process self-served.
Problem Context
Problem Context
Process was manual (using shared Excel sheets for scheduling, defining ADC criteria, sharing with candidates and Report configuration)
Process was manual (using shared Excel sheets for scheduling, defining ADC criteria, sharing with candidates and Report configuration)
Foundational Research and Problem Quantification
Foundational Research and Problem Quantification
Discovery & Qualitative Research
Discovery & Qualitative Research
Research Method
Research Method
Initial Finding vs. Final Finding
Initial Finding vs. Final Finding
Strategic Influence / Outcome
Strategic Influence / Outcome
Initial Ops Perception
(Original Problem)
Initial Ops Perception
(Original Problem)
Problem was post-analytical:
Consolidated Report Generation was a nightmare for Ops because of volume of candidates
Problem was post-analytical:
Consolidated Report Generation was a nightmare for Ops because of volume of candidates
Initial research prevented the team from solving the wrong problem
Initial research prevented the team from solving the wrong problem
Semi-Structured Interviews (Ops & HR)
Semi-Structured Interviews (Ops & HR)
Revealed Report Generation was the one part of the problem; the core issue was the pre-analytical phase (Scheduling, Defining ADC, Sharing), currently being handled via error-prone Excel sheets
Revealed Report Generation was the one part of the problem; the core issue was the pre-analytical phase (Scheduling, Defining ADC, Sharing), currently being handled via error-prone Excel sheets
Pivoted the project's focus to Workflow Reliability and Input Enforcement to solve the self-service goal
Pivoted the project's focus to Workflow Reliability and Input Enforcement to solve the self-service goal
Brainstorming Activity (Ops & HR)
Brainstorming Activity (Ops & HR)
With everyone's collaboration, we defined the necessary workflow to guarantee a reliable configuration across the board
With everyone's collaboration, we defined the necessary workflow to guarantee a reliable configuration across the board
Established the design requirement for a controlled, linear workflow to eliminate manual errors, which eliminates the need of Excel sheets handlings
Established the design requirement for a controlled, linear workflow to eliminate manual errors, which eliminates the need of Excel sheets handlings
Strategic Prioritization
Strategic Prioritization
Research Method
Research Method
Strategic Focus
Strategic Focus
Key Insight Gained
Key Insight Gained
Competitive Analysis (with PMs)
Competitive Analysis (with PMs)
Reviewed competitor ADC platforms to identify the solution offerings and in-market workflow patterns
Reviewed competitor ADC platforms to identify the solution offerings and in-market workflow patterns
Summarized that a linear but guided workflow is the industry standard for complex configurations - which is in line with our initial concept direction
Summarized that a linear but guided workflow is the industry standard for complex configurations - which is in line with our initial concept direction
Feature Bucketing (with PMs & Tech)
Feature Bucketing (with PMs & Tech)
Used MoSCoW prioritization framework for picking features for an MVP that can strikes the balance between expected ROI versus the engineering effort
Used MoSCoW prioritization framework for picking features for an MVP that can strikes the balance between expected ROI versus the engineering effort
Confirmed that optimizing the pre and post ADC workflow & configuration flexibility provided the greatest, most immediate ROI in terms of Time-to-Completion (TTC) reduction.
Confirmed that optimizing the pre and post ADC workflow & configuration flexibility provided the greatest, most immediate ROI in terms of Time-to-Completion (TTC) reduction.
Quantifying the Baseline Problem
Quantifying the Baseline Problem
I ran a baseline study observing HR & Ops administrators attempting to create ADC, use the scheduling flow and configure the reports on the legacy system to quantify the exact operational cost of the existing design's friction.
Metric (The Problem)
Metric (The Problem)
Success Criteria
Success Criteria
Impact on Strategic Goal (Self-Service)
Impact on Strategic Goal (Self-Service)
Time to Completion (TTC)
Time to Completion (TTC)
Time user took to complete the workflow
Time user took to complete the workflow
High OpsEx;
Directly consumed Ops bandwidth in critical tasks
High OpsEx;
Directly consumed Ops bandwidth in critical tasks
Error Rate (ER) Non- Critical
Error Rate (ER) Non- Critical
How many non-critical mistakes user makes during workflow - back buttons, wrong inputs
How many non-critical mistakes user makes during workflow - back buttons, wrong inputs
Root Cause of Delay:
The interface was confusing with high micro-friction (to-fro from Excel to Mettl System, forcing users to rely on the Ops team for support and error correction
Root Cause of Delay:
The interface was confusing with high micro-friction (to-fro from Excel to Mettl System, forcing users to rely on the Ops team for support and error correction
Task Success Rate (TSR)
Task Success Rate (TSR)
User is able to complete the workflow in single go, without encountering any error.
User is able to complete the workflow in single go, without encountering any error.
Unreliable Process:
Low success rate confirmed the process was not self-served and required manual oversight; requiring Ops bandwidth.
Unreliable Process:
Low success rate confirmed the process was not self-served and required manual oversight; requiring Ops bandwidth.
User Pain Scale (UPS)
User Pain Scale (UPS)
User undertook a survey form which asks basic question about workflow
Unreliable Process:
The user felt the process was overly complex and frustrating; contradicting in Self-service goal (High Pain Score).
Unreliable Process:
The user felt the process was overly complex and frustrating; contradicting in Self-service goal (High Pain Score).
Workflow bias: Teams are used to work on Excel, and more often they have defined templates for each process, mitigating errors in workflow, making it optimal
Workflow bias: Teams are used to work on Excel, and more often they have defined templates for each process, mitigating errors in workflow, making it optimal
Curious about the process? I'd be happy to walk you through the full case study. Let's connect.
Iterative Design and Solution
Iterative Design and Solution
Concept Exploration and Definition
Concept Exploration and Definition
Design Type
Design Type
Goal
Goal
Outcome
Outcome
Paper Sketches
Paper Sketches
Rapidly explored layout and interaction alternatives for the linear flow - where to place CTAs, contextual information, progress visualisation and more
Rapidly explored layout and interaction alternatives for the linear flow - where to place CTAs, contextual information, progress visualisation and more
Decided over the necessity of a controlled, sequential flow segregated based on logical information
Decided over the necessity of a controlled, sequential flow segregated based on logical information
Low-Fidelity Designs
(Wireframing)
Low-Fidelity Designs
(Wireframing)
Defined information hierarchy and engage Product and Engineering teams early for buy-ins.
Defined information hierarchy and engage Product and Engineering teams early for buy-ins.
Used to negotiate early technical trade-offs - Realtime validations, information dependencies between sections
Used to negotiate early technical trade-offs - Realtime validations, information dependencies between sections
High-Fidelity Designs
High-Fidelity Designs
Build final screens with visual polish and functional micro-interactions.
Build final screens with visual polish and functional micro-interactions.
Developed the final In-Line Validation system that directly countered the baseline ER.
Developed the final In-Line Validation system that directly countered the baseline ER.
High-Fidelity Design and Rationale
High-Fidelity Design and Rationale
Developed the final user interface, incorporating visual design and specific components designed to solve the quantified problems.
Developed the final user interface, incorporating visual design and specific components designed to solve the quantified problems.
Design Feature
Design Feature
Metric Solved
Metric Solved
Design Rationale
Design Rationale
Linear wizard with Progressive disclosure
Linear wizard with Progressive disclosure
Task Success Rate (TSR)
Task Success Rate (TSR)
The Linear Wizard was chosen because it enforces compliance logic (e.g., must define Candidate Groups before selecting Assessor Slots) to prevent critical failures.
The Linear Wizard was chosen because it enforces compliance logic (e.g., must define Candidate Groups before selecting Assessor Slots) to prevent critical failures.
In-Line, Real-Time Validation
In-Line, Real-Time Validation
Error Rate
Error Rate
Real-time, in-line validation with contextual feedback was implemented to provide immediate feedback, minimizing the wasted time associated with the error rate.
Real-time, in-line validation with contextual feedback was implemented to provide immediate feedback, minimizing the wasted time associated with the error rate.
Component-driven Inputs
Component-driven Inputs
Time to Completion
Time to Completion
By enforcing data selection based on the prior information using Dropdowns, Date pickers and more, directly leads to reduced support load on Operations team
By enforcing data selection based on the prior information using Dropdowns, Date pickers and more, directly leads to reduced support load on Operations team
Validation Testing
Validation Testing
Methodology
Methodology
Conducted a final round of validation testing on the functional High-Fidelity prototype with the same sample group
Conducted a final round of validation testing on the functional High-Fidelity prototype with the same sample group
Outcome
Outcome
The observations provided the final post-redesign data, confirming the success of the new workflow and ensuring the system was ready for deployment.
The observations provided the final post-redesign data, confirming the success of the new workflow and ensuring the system was ready for deployment.
Quantified Impact and ROI
Quantified Impact and ROI
The final metrics demonstrate the success of the self-service focus, proving that design clarity translates directly into massive time savings and ROI.
The final metrics demonstrate the success of the self-service focus, proving that design clarity translates directly into massive time savings and ROI.
Metric
Metric
Post-Redesign
Post-Redesign
Impact on Strategic Goal
Impact on Strategic Goal
Time to Completion (TTC)
Time to Completion (TTC)
47.58% Reduction
47.58% Reduction
Directly reduced operational bandwidth; HR can now launch almost two ADCs in the time it took to launch one.
Directly reduced operational bandwidth; HR can now launch almost two ADCs in the time it took to launch one.
Error Rate (ER)
Error Rate (ER)
26.19% Reduction
26.19% Reduction
Self-service validation; Proves the process is clear and robust enough to scale without needing manual support.
Self-service validation; Proves the process is clear and robust enough to scale without needing manual support.
Task Success Rate (TSR)
Task Success Rate (TSR)
14.28% Improvement
14.28% Improvement
Increased user confidence, ensuring the entire process can be trusted end-to-end.
Increased user confidence, ensuring the entire process can be trusted end-to-end.
User Pain Score (UPS)
User Pain Score (UPS)
70% Improvement
70% Improvement
Proves the design successfully eliminated friction and achieved high user acceptance.
Depth of Collaboration and Strategic Learning
Depth of Collaboration and Strategic Learning
Collaboration Aspect
Collaboration Aspect
Conflict/Decision
Conflict/Decision
Strategic Outcome and Learning
Strategic Outcome and Learning
Strategic Influence
Strategic Influence
My research redefined the project.
Initial focus was on Report Generation; Research I conducted pivoted the team to focus on Workflow Reliability
My research redefined the project.
Initial focus was on Report Generation; Research I conducted pivoted the team to focus on Workflow Reliability
Design research influenced the shaping the what and why, not just executing the how
Design research influenced the shaping the what and why, not just executing the how
Trade-Off Negotiation
Trade-Off Negotiation
Compromised with a non-intrusive left-hand panel solution
Compromised with a non-intrusive left-hand panel solution
Successfully aligned the PM's Feature Adoption goal with the Business ROI goal, proving data can resolve internal conflict
Successfully aligned the PM's Feature Adoption goal with the Business ROI goal, proving data can resolve internal conflict
Key Learning
Key Learning
Solved the macro-problem (TTC) by solving the micro-problem (ER)
Solved the macro-problem (TTC) by solving the micro-problem (ER)
For B2B self-service, eliminating micro-friction is the most effective path to achieving large-scale operational savings
For B2B self-service, eliminating micro-friction is the most effective path to achieving large-scale operational savings
By strategically redefining the problem through research, my design eliminated the pre-analytical friction (a 26% Error Rate), directly translating into a 47.58% operational efficiency gain and fulfilling the promise of a fully self-served platform.
By strategically redefining the problem through research, my design eliminated the pre-analytical friction (a 26% Error Rate), directly translating into a 47.58% operational efficiency gain and fulfilling the promise of a fully self-served platform.
Interested in exploring this product? View this product live at www.mettl.com/smartadc
Interested in exploring this product? View this product live at www.mettl.com/smartadc
Curious about the process? I'd be happy to walk you through the full case study. Let's connect.
Copyright © 2025 Ankit Passi
11:13:18
•
Wednesday 15 October, 2025
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