Streamlined data entry: 49% fewer clicks per log

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Goodbye Salesforce. Hello custom CRM!

Sole UX/UI Designer to re-architect Communitech's CRM from the ground up. Admins can now update client accounts with 49% fewer clicks and 10 fewer screens - a faster, simpler system built for how they actually work.

Client

Communitech Custom CRM

Year

May - July 2025

Roles

UX Research
 / 
Product Strategy
 / 
UX/UI Design

OUTCOME

Faster & higher quality data entry

By re-architecting the UX of data entry, Communitech admins can now update their client accounts with 49% fewer clicks and 10 fewer screens in comparison to Salesforce.

I identified admin's mental models through depth interviews and usability testing. The design solutions directly addressed key user pain points and promises to save the company significant yearly subscription costs.

With a user-centered approach, executives predict a sharp rise in engagement as the CRM transforms from a reporting obligation to an integrated productivity tool.

'Account' displays key client details at a glance, giving admins a clear view of each clients’s journey with the organization. The primary call-to-action opens a modal for the most common task: logging an Interaction.
Interaction: Admins can now update all relevant client information while logging an Interaction - a process that previously required navigating up-to 24 separate Salesforce sections.
Confirmation modal notifies the admin that the client’s account data is being automatically updated based on the Interaction they just logged.
The client’s account information now updates dynamically according to details captured in each logged Interaction.

PROBLEM

Too many clicks, too little buy-in

When Communitech’s Salesforce became more of a burden than a tool, admin engagement plummeted. Logging data meant jumping between 24 possible Salesforce Objects, totaling to an average of 83 clicks for the most common task.

Admins described the process as a difficult and inconvenient chore. Understandably, data was inconsistent and data quality suffered.

I was brought in as the sole UX/UI Designer to re-architect the experience and restore confidence in a system used daily by approximately 100 internal staff supporting 1200+ tech startups.

Quoted pain points from depth interviews with key stakeholders.

RESEARCH

Usability testing: mismatch between software and user's mental models

I led a research sprint of usability testing, contextual inquiry and stakeholder interviews across departments (Founder Services, Data & IT, Program teams & Executives). Admins needs, behaviours and contexts would reveal design priorities.

Testing confirmed what admins had long voiced: the mental model behind Salesforce does not match their workflow. The admins interfacing with clients weren’t thinking in data and reports, they were thinking in relationships. Every client call sparked rich account updates and the system forced them to scatter that data across a possible 24 separate sections in the clients' account.

Admins needed a simplified way of editing and interpreting data.

An overview of my users, Communitech admins from across 8 internal teams.

SOLUTION

Making data entry effortles

Rather than replicating Salesforce, I re-architected the data-entry experience from the ground up to optimize both workflow and usability,

  • Centering around one unified data-entry point that auto-populates relevant fields across the account
  • Redesigned account screens for clarity, hierarchy and speed
  • Refined data sets to include what's relevant today while preserving legacy information
  • Enabled self-service editing so admins and clients can update data directly
  • Reinforced trust with contextual help, smart defaults and auto-save

Together, these updates drastically reduced task time by removing redundant screens and unessecary clicks.

Logging a new interaction whilst on a call with a client enables the admin to update the clients' account information in 1 single screen.

IMPACT

Admins reclaim time, improved data quality and cut platform costs

Streamlining data entry was both a UX and an organizational win. Aligning the CRM with real admin workflows will help Communitech reclaim valuable time, data quality and eliminate reliance on licening costs - all while restoring trust in the system.

Admin feedback following the design validation process.

LEARNING

Iterative design drives lasting success

While I'm proud of delivering this transformation as the sole designer in just three months, the project reinforce the power of iteration. Revising the work post-handoff revealed new opportunities to refine flow logic and UI hierarchy - reminding me that even strong solutions evolve through continual testing and feedback.