Rabbet Project Creation Rabbet

Rabbet is a B2B SaaS platform that streamlines financial processes for general contractors, including pay applications, invoices, and budgets using OCR technology. Effective project setup is crucial for user satisfaction and retention.

The Problem

The initial project uploading process was cumbersome:

  • Users started with an empty project and no guidance.

  • They needed to upload a budget file in a specific format, set up funding sources, and input historical financial data (referred to as "draws").

  • This process was confusing, labor-intensive, and often required Customer Success (CS) intervention, delaying value realization and burdening the CS team.

 
 

My Role

As the lead product designer, I spearheaded the initiative to overhaul the project uploading process. My responsibilities included:

  • Conducting user research and interviews with the CS team.

  • Mapping out the existing process and identifying pain points.

  • Designing the project creation wizard, incorporating user feedback and iterative testing.

  • Collaborating with stakeholders, including CS, product managers, and the CEO, to ensure alignment with business goals.

  • Worked closely with the development team to ensure they understood the purpose behind each feature, fostering empathy for users and aligning technical implementation with user needs.

Identified User Pain Points

Lack of guidance on post-project creation steps.

  • Complexity in correctly formatting budget files.

  • Redundant work inputting historical financial data.

  • Delayed value realization.

  • Heavy reliance on the CS team.

Methodology

To address these issues, we employed a structured methodology:

  1. User Research: Conducted in-depth interviews with the CS team and end-users to understand their pain points and needs.

  2. Flow Chart Creation: Mapped out all potential project statuses and required steps, creating a comprehensive flow chart to visualize the process.

  3. User-Centered Design: Applied principles of user-centered design to develop a wizard that guided users through each step in a clear, intuitive manner.

  4. Iterative Testing: Developed prototypes of the wizard and conducted usability testing with users to refine and optimize the design.

  5. Stakeholder Collaboration: Worked closely with CS, product managers, and the CEO to ensure the solution met business needs and user expectations.

The Solution

To address these issues, we developed a project creation wizard with key features:

  1. Guided Steps: A wizard guided users through the necessary setup steps instead of dumping them into an empty project.

  2. Customizable Setup: Options for different project setups and budget formats, with downloadable templates.

  3. Error Checking: Allowed users to review and correct parsing errors after budget import.

  4. Manual Budget Entry: Option for users to manually build their budgets in Rabbet.

  5. Funding Sources: Guidance for correctly setting up funding sources.

  6. Project Status Options: Enabled users to specify current project status and choose to upload individual or summary financial data for past periods.

  7. Financial Data Guidance: Assisted users in updating financial data accurately by comparing entered values with summary totals.

The Outcome

User Independence: 76% of users completed the project setup independently, 15% with minimal help, and only 9% required strong CS intervention.

  • Positive Feedback: Users reported a more intuitive and less confusing setup process.

  • Operational Efficiency: Reduced the burden on the CS team, allowing them to focus on more value-added tasks.