We took on the challenge of revitalising WorkflowMax by Xero, a well-loved but sunsetting product. Through meticulous research and user-driven design, we've overhauled the UI and streamlined core workflows. This project demonstrates the power of breathing new life into established software.
Lead Product Designer
Workflow Max by BlueRock
May ‘23 - Jan ‘24
Xero's decision to sunset WorkflowMax by Xero, a popular workflow management platform, presented a unique opportunity. BlueRock, an existing implementation partner, recognised the potential to acquire the company and transform it. Our vision for Workflow Max was to revitalise the platform with a modern user experience and long-awaited updates, ensuring continuity for loyal WorkflowMax users.
BlueRock acquired Workflow Max from Xero
BlueRock saw the potential in WorkflowMax. Despite its impending retirement, it had a loyal base of over 10,000 customers. By revitalising the platform with essential updates and a refreshed user experience, we could address longstanding user frustrations and transform WorkflowMax into a truly exceptional product. This presents the opportunity to not only exceed the expectations of existing users but also attract a new wave of customers
Our primary objective was to strike a delicate balance: redesign and rebuild WorkflowMax with a refreshed, contemporary interface, while ensuring that familiar features remained intact. Alongside this, we sought to improve usability by pinpointing and addressing key pain points for our users.
We did have our work cut out for us, however we were confident in the teams ability. We had vast existing knowledge of the platform from being implementation partners and we had constant feedback from customers over the years so we understood their pain points. We approached the project strategically, first conducting a thorough audit of the existing UI. Then, user interviews and implementation partner interviews helped us identify critical user journeys and essential features for improvement. A priority that immediately stood out was a UI refresh. WorkflowMax's dated interface, unchanged for 15 years, suffered from usability issues and cumbersome navigation. Some users perceived this as a sign that the product itself was outdated.
BlueRock acquired the product in April 2023 and faced a June 2024 sunset date. This set a clear deadline that required careful management to complete the full product redesign and rebuild.
Project timeline visual
Our research and discovery phase focused on two key areas:
Product Audit: screenshots of every section of the product
Component Audit: Screenshots of all the different table variations in the existing product
Benchmarking features across competitors
Price vs end-to-end product features
Requested features vs features currently in use
We gathered insights directly from two key groups:
Interview content in Dovetail
Pain point insights gathered in Dovetail
To ensure the voices of WorkflowMax's loyal customers shaped the redesign, we implemented UserVoice. This allowed us to collect ongoing feedback and feature requests with an upvote system. This provided two key benefits:
UserVoice Overview
Example feature requests
We faced the challenge of balancing comprehensive improvements with the urgency of our timeline. Recognising that we couldn't address every single issue, we carefully prioritised changes that would:
The Problem: The outdated interface created usability issues, including poor readability and hidden features. This negatively impacted user perception, suggesting WorkflowMax was lagging behind modern software.
Our Solution: We completely overhauled the UI. Key improvements included:
The Problem: The product audit revealed unnecessarily varied screen layouts. This created a jarring user experience, forcing users to re-learn patterns for similar actions.
Our Solution: We consolidated layouts, particularly within table-based pages. This improved usability by creating consistency and reducing the need to reorient on different screens with the same structure.
The Problem: Users found the workflow overly complex, requiring too many clicks to complete tasks. Key factors included:
Our Solution: We carefully analysed core user journeys, identifying where additional contextual information would improve efficiency. We then implemented slide-overs to allow quick navigation and editing, keeping users focused on their primary task.
The Problem: The lack of inline editing and the inability to reorder table items created a frustrating and inefficient user experience.
Our Solution: We prioritised making inline editing a core feature throughout the platform. Additionally, we introduced drag-and-drop functionality to tables, enabling easy content reordering.
The Problem: Users encountered roadblocks in certain areas due to not having certain information created yet. This forced them to break their workflow, leading to frustration and lost progress.
Our Solution: We implemented nested flows that allowed users to create missing elements (such as users or settings) directly within the original task flow. This streamlined the process, preserving context and preventing work interruptions.
The Problem: The existing permission system lacked flexibility, hindering users from tailoring access levels to their specific needs. This forced them to create multiple, overly-narrow user roles.
Our Solution: We introduced customisable user roles that streamline permission management. Users can now apply these broad roles and, where necessary, fine-tune permissions on an individual basis for greater control.
The Problem: While popular, custom fields were inconsistently available (missing from quotes) and lacked mandatory/optional settings. This limited users' ability to tailor workflows effectively.
Our Solution: We made custom fields universally accessible, including within quotes. Additionally, we implemented mandatory/optional controls, giving users greater flexibility to enforce their data collection needs.
The Problem: The dashboard offered limited insights and personalisation, leading users to rely on external reporting. This represented a missed opportunity for quick, at-a-glance information.
Our Solution: We overhauled the dashboard, consolidating key reports and data from across the platform. Users can now personalise their view and easily drill down for detailed insights. This makes the dashboard a powerful tool for quickly monitoring business health.
The Problem: Finding critical information about jobs required digging through complex details. This made it difficult to quickly assess project status, profitability, and timelines.
Our Solution: We introduced a job data snapshot on each job page. This streamlined overview provides instant insights into key performance metrics, allowing users to quickly monitor progress and identify areas needing attention.
Customer feedback
We've launched our beta and are preparing for the full product launch in February 2024. The positive and constructive feedback from our beta users is fuelling our drive to make the product even better!
