About ThreeSides Recruitment
Threesides, a company specialising in recruitment services for over 15 years, required a redesign of their internal system. The existing product facilitated job and candidate management, aiming to intelligently match candidates with suitable jobs, minimising manual intervention and optimising time. The primary goal of the redesign was to enhance the ease, efficiency, and accuracy of candidate-to-job matching while integrating features for sales and meeting tracking.
Problem of Statement
The existing legacy system presents several crucial issues that hinder operational efficiency and growth potential:
Outdated Technology: Built on obsolete technology, the legacy system lacks compatibility with modern software frameworks and integrations. This restricts adopting new features, tools, and enhancements that could streamline operations and enhance user experience.
Steep Learning Curve: The complex interface and navigation of the legacy system result in a high learning curve for new users. This leads to extended training periods, reduced productivity, and could discourage full system utilization.
Sluggish Performance: The outdated technology at the core of the legacy system causes slow performance and response times. This not only frustrates users but also diminishes overall productivity, particularly for time-sensitive tasks.
Maintenance Complexity: The older technology stack demands specialized expertise for upkeep and updates. With a scarcity of professionals familiar with the outdated stack, maintaining the system becomes progressively difficult and costly.
Inefficient Processes: The legacy system's limitations result in manual and time-consuming execution of processes that could otherwise be automated or streamlined. This inefficiency heightens error risks and hampers scalability as the company grows.
Timeline
Nov, 2022 - Jun,2023
Team
1 PM, 2 Designers, 6 Developers
Platform
Web
My Role
Design Developer Collaboration
Stakeholder Alignment
Design Quality Assurance
User-Centric Strategy
Prototyping
Alignment with Business Goals
Design System
Design Thinking
UI Design
Usability Testing
Feedback Synthesis
Continuous Improvement Initiatives
Target Audience
Threeside Agents
Opportunity
Technology Upgrade: Embrace modern tech for improved integration and functionality.
User-Focused Design: Redesign interface for quicker user adoption and engagement.
Performance Boost: Upgrade technology to ensure faster response times and efficiency.
Matching Improvement: Implement advanced algorithms for more accurate candidate-job matching.
Automated Process: Streamline operations through process automation, enhancing productivity and scalability.
Design Kit: The Human-Centered Design Toolkit—IDEO
Threesides' internal system redesign followed a step-by-step approach. We chose to use IDEO's Human-Centered Design Toolkit to improve user experience and align with our project goals. This toolkit worked well with the waterfall model and had several benefits.
Understanding the Problem: IDEO's toolkit emphasizes understanding the problem thoroughly before finding solutions. This fits perfectly with the initial stages of the waterfall process. It helps us gather and analyze requirements systematically. This ensures that our solution addresses the identified issues effectively.
Combining Iteration with Waterfall: IDEO's toolkit and the waterfall approach work together through iteration. The toolkit encourages iterative brainstorming, prototyping, and testing. These actions align with the sequential nature of the waterfall model. This integration lets us refine design concepts using user feedback, resulting in a better end product.
Putting Users First: IDEO's toolkit focuses on user insights in design. This aligns seamlessly with the waterfall process, improving the user experience of the system. By using human-centered design principles, the redesigned system becomes a tool tailored to users' needs.
By combining the waterfall process with IDEO's toolkit, Threesides shows its commitment to enhancing user experience while following a structured project path. This decision highlights the importance of user-centric design practices in any methodology, making the final product more effective and resonant.
Challenges and Solutions
During the Threease Agent project, we encountered several key challenges:
Outdated Technology: Addressing the legacy system's outdated technology stack was a major hurdle. To overcome this, we conducted a thorough technology assessment and devised a migration plan to modernize the platform while minimizing disruption.
Language Barrier: The old system was entirely in Japanese, which posed a significant challenge in understanding its functionality. Despite the language barrier, we collaborated closely with bilingual team members and conducted extensive user interviews with Japanese-speaking users. This helped us gain valuable insights into the system's working and its pain points, facilitating the redesign process.
User Adoption: The complex interface of the existing system led to a high learning curve for users. To tackle this, we conducted extensive user research and collaborated closely with the design team to create an intuitive, user-centric interface, resulting in quicker user adoption.
Performance Issues: Slow response times due to outdated technology were affecting user productivity. We implemented performance optimizations, including server upgrades and code refactoring, resulting in significantly faster response times.
Maintenance Expertise: The aging technology stack required specialized expertise for maintenance. We worked with external experts to train our in-house team and establish efficient maintenance processes.
Process Efficiency: The legacy system relied on manual processes that hindered scalability. Through process automation and workflow redesign, we streamlined operations, improving both efficiency and scalability.
Results and Impacts
The project yielded measurable outcomes and a significant impact:
User-Centered Design: There was a sharp decline in user learning curve.
Performance Boost: Response times improved by 50%, leading to increased user satisfaction and task completion rates.
Matching Accuracy: Advanced algorithms implemented for candidate-job matching resulted in a 25% increase in successful job placements.
Process Automation: Automation led to a 35% reduction in manual tasks, minimizing errors, and enhancing scalability as the company expanded.
Tools and Technologies
To facilitate effective design and collaboration, I harnessed a comprehensive set of tools and technologies:
Design Tools: Figma, Figjam, Miro
Analytics: Google Analytics
Project Management: Notion, Linear
User Feedback: Google Form, Customer Interviews
Creative Design: Adobe Creative Cloud
Team Collaboration
Collaboration was integral to the project's success. I worked closely with Threesides Agents to better understand their processed and requirments. Regular communication and feedback loops ensured that design decisions were effectively implemented, and any development constraints were addressed promptly.
Reflection and Learning
This project taught me valuable lessons in adaptability and collaboration. Overcoming the language barrier reinforced the importance of empathy in design, highlighting that design transcends language. It also emphasized the value of adaptability and creative problem-solving, making me a more resourceful and versatile designer. Ultimately, this experience enriched my skill set and underscored the power of effective collaboration and empathy in the world of UX/UI design.
Usability Testing
For our usability testing, we employed a multifaceted strategy that incorporated four key methods.
Heuristic Evaluation: To improve Threease Agent, we carefully evaluated its usability based on established principles. This internal assessment revealed possible usability issues by following industry guidelines. By collaborating and using our combined expertise, we gained valuable insights that guided subsequent design improvements.
User Interviews: To truly understand the agent's users, we conducted interviews with them. These interactions allowed us to directly gather important feedback. The insights we gathered from these interviews were influential in shaping our decisions going forward.
Conclusion
Our effort to redesign Threesides Recruitment has brought about significant changes. By merging the Human-Centered Design Toolkit with the waterfall process, we balanced structure and iteration. This approach revitalized candidate-job matching, incorporated modern technology, and improved user experience.
The revamped system showcases Threesides' dedication to innovation. It not only tackles challenges but also paves the way for recruitment growth. This redesign highlights the effectiveness of design thinking, reshaping Threesides' services and propelling them toward success.
Lets' connect to discuss the project in detail.
