DocuSign CLM - Workflow Templates
Goal
Make DocuSign CLM workflows – one of the most complex, core parts of the product – more usable by simplifying how users interact with them. We needed to ensure that users would not lose any functionality, but make it actually possible for them to edit their workflows without needing to learn how to code in XML.
Role
UX Copywriter
Team
Me
Designer
Project Manager
Developer Lead
UX Researcher
Audience
DocuSign CLM admins looking to utilize workflows, but who don’t want to learn how to code or interact with the advanced workflow designer; can’t blame them for either, honestly.
The problem: complexity
CLM’s workflow designer is a really powerful tool that lets organizations automate what happens to contracts they receive or create. It’s too bad that the interface is so complicated. To build a workflow properly can take dozens of hours and require many rounds of tweaking to ensure that every scenario is accounted for. It’s not really reasonable to ask our users to spend that much time dragging workflow steps onto CLM’s canvas and then tweak and code till everything is perfect, so most don’t. They pay for consultants to build them for them.
The solution: keep it simple
To help our users work with workflows themselves, we decided to create templates for some common document scenarios. After creating the list of common workflows, I came up with a name and description to help users pick the right workflow to use.
What is actually important to the user?
After that I worked with the designer and PM to create a standardized form for the user to fill out. By simply filling out these four sections, the user could create a fully functional workflow without needing to add dozens of steps or do any hard coding. They simply had to fill out some fields in plain language and we’d do the rest.