Reducing time for task completion by 47%

Product Design
|
Xactware
|
2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Role: Product Designer & Systems Specialist
Domain: Property Estimation Software & Enterprise Workflow Automation
The Challenge: Desk adjusters and administrators relied on physical paper binders ("White Bibles") and manual spreadsheets to collect property claim data.
The Solution: Designed a modular, logic-driven custom form builder with inline expression handling and an optimized field insertion workflow.
Key Results: 47% reduction in task completion time; 100% post-training task completion rate.
Custom form builder speed dial action animation
Field Insertion Interactions: Testing drag-and-drop field addition mechanics.

Overview

Custom Forms was a critical feature for global property insurance customers. It required complex expression logic to support custom calculation rules across estimation workflows.

The Customer & Legacy Context

Property claims adjusters and desk administrators relied on physical paper binders (known as "White Bibles") and Excel sheets, requiring slow double data entry.

Legacy paper forms and early form builder concepts
Legacy Workflow: Transitioning manual paper form binders into digital estimation templates.

Decision Architecture & Trade-Offs

Decision Architecture: Form Field Insertion Pattern

Approach Trade-Offs & Technical Limits Decision Rationale
Option A: Speed Dial Floating Action Button (FAB) Small initial screen footprint, but obscured the form canvas and suffered from low visual discovery during field testing. Rejected: Insurance administrators build forms with 30+ fields; small icons slowed down workflow creation.
Option B: Integrated Navigation Bar with Categories Allocated permanent horizontal screen area with clear text labels and fast drag-and-drop categorization. Selected: Reduced task completion time by 47% and raised form builder usability ratings.

Design Iterations & Inline Expression Guidance

To support advanced estimation rules, we introduced an Excel-like expression syntax. Untrained users could not guess the syntax (0% initial success). We added live formula previews, syntax templates, and contextual documentation, raising task success to 100% on follow-up tasks.

Final form builder interface with expression logic
Final Interface: Logic-driven form builder with inline syntax guidance.

Measurable Results

  • -47% Time on Task: Refined field addition and layout workflows cut form creation time by nearly half.
  • 100% Guided Task Success: Standardized documentation and syntax hints enabled users to complete complex logic rules reliably.
  • Eliminated Paper Binders: Replaced manual paper binder overhead with digitized estimation templates.
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Want to discuss this project? Contact Joe at josephnewell90@gmail.com.