Redesigning a revenue-critical flow under strict business and system constraints.
IMPACT
Reducing cognitive load unlocked measurable revenue gains.
I led the redesign of a core enterprise workflow to reduce cognitive load while preserving critical business logic and system constraints.
The result was a clearer, more resilient flow that increased adoption and contributed to a measurable lift in monthly revenue following release.
CONTEXT AND STAKES
This workflow sat at the intersection of sales velocity and operational risk.
This feature supported enterprise sales associates in curating and managing large product collections for clients during live sales conversations.
As the system evolved, complexity increased. Associates were required to juggle multiple mental models, remember hidden states, and switch contexts frequently.
The risk was not usability alone, but whether this tool could remain a reliable part of a revenue-critical sales process as complexity grew.
THE PROBLEM
The system demanded more cognitive effort than users could sustain.
Creating or editing a client collection required too many steps spread across multiple screens, increasing memory load and decision overhead.
As a result:
Errors were easy to make and hard to detect
Associates hesitated during live conversations
The tool became slower and less trustworthy over time
Left unresolved, the feature risked becoming functionally abandoned. Not because it lacked capability, but because it demanded too much cognitive effort to use confidently.
Before: Items could only be added one at a time.
If a product already existed in the collection, it could not be added again even when a different size was intended, increasing friction and cognitive load.
CONSTRAINS AND NON-NEGOTIABLES
Clarity had to come from simplification, not expansion.
This work had to operate with strict constraints:
A backend structure and data model that could not be changed
An existing design system already in use across the platform
No new states or flows could be introduced
Any improvement had to come from clarifying what already existed, not adding new concepts or interactions.
After: Multiple items can now be selected and added at once.
Re-adding an existing product updates it to the most recently selected size. When no size is selected, the prior size is preserved, reducing effort without introducing new flows.
DECISION STRATEGY
DESIGN CHANGES
Each change directly reduced cognitive overhead.
Design adjustments were deliberately small and evidence-driven:
Clear hierarchy between primary and secondary actions
Reduced context switching by keeping related information together
Explicit feedback at key decision points
These changes respected existing constraints while making the system feel lighter, faster, and easier to reason about.
Final: System state is explicit at the point of action.
Actions are positioned alongside size selection to keep decisions in one place. Adding an item immediately reflects its collection state, while size changes update the selection with inline feedback and preserve inventory-only interactions.
THE OUTCOME
The workflow became faster, clearer, and more trustworthy.
Following the release:
Engagement with the feature increased significantly
Errors during live sales conversations decreased
The workflow felt more predictable and reliable to use
More importantly, associates regained confidence moving through the flow smoothly, even as system complexity remained.
REFLECTION
Clarity comes from making constraints visible, not from removing them.
This project reinforced a core belief in my design practice:
In complex enterprise systems, clarity doesn’t come from adding flexibility,
it comes from making constraints understandable.
Designing under constraint means prioritizing confidence and comprehension, especially when systems must support real-time, high-stakes decision-making.