Case Study:
Proposals Module for ERP System.
Streamlining Proposal Management for Increased Efficiency
Overview:
The Proposals Module in Cinqd was designed to help businesses efficiently create, manage, and track proposals. The goal was to eliminate manual proposal creation, improve collaboration, and provide a structured workflow for seamless proposal management.
Final Design:
Problem Statement:
Before the Proposals Module, businesses faced multiple challenges in proposal management:• Time-consuming manual document creation.• Inconsistent formatting and branding across proposals.• Lack of tracking—no visibility into proposal status or client interactions.• Difficulty in collaboration between teams working on the same proposal.
Key Objectives:
The key objectives of the Proposals module were:• Simplify Proposal Creation.• Ensure Consistency.• Enhance Collaboration.• Improve Tracking & Analytics.• Seamless Integration.
Research & User Insights:
To create an intuitive and efficient proposal system, we conducted user interviews with business owners, sales teams, and project managers. Key findings included:• Business owners needed a standardized process to maintain consistency.• Sales teams wanted an easy way to duplicate and modify past proposals.• Project managers required collaboration tools to review and approve proposals before sending them.
Collaboration:
The development of the Proposals Module involved close collaboration with:• Sales and marketing teams to understand proposal pain points and workflows.• Developers to ensure smooth integration with CRM and automation features.• Product owner to create an intuitive interface for quick proposal generation.• Stakeholders to align the module with business needs and industry standards.
Design Process:
a. Wireframing & Prototyping:•Designed low-fidelity wireframes outlining key user flows.• Built interactive prototypes to test proposal creation and management workflows.
b. UI/UX Design:•Created a clean, structured layout for easy proposal drafting.•Developed a template library section for quick and standardized proposal creation.• Implemented customizable filters to quickly find customers/suppliers details.• Manage columns feature to customize the order of data and save them as presets.• Help sections for quick access to help center.
c. User Testing & Feedback:• Conducted usability tests during design walkthroughs with different teams (Design, Management and Development).• Iterated designs based on feedback to enhance user experience.
Impact & Results:
• 50% faster proposal creation with ready-to-use templates.• 30% reduction in time spent on formatting and revisions.•Improved collaboration between sales, marketing, and project teams.• Better tracking of proposal performance with real-time insights.