Mentium automates document processing and data entry, ensuring continuous AI-powered audits of all payments. Captures, structures, and matchs all payment-related documents
I was in charge of redesigning and improving the overall user experience. My responsibilities included conducting research, UX and visual design, prototyping, and testing. I was fortunate to take ownership of the problem, lead the project with the help of the engineering team, and implement the improvements within a short time.
The Schema Builder in Mentium is a dynamic tool designed to facilitate the creation and management of data schemas that define how information is structured and processed within the platform.
Its nature is both flexible and user-centric, allowing for a range of customization options to meet specific business and operational needs.
The Schema Builder allows users, Business analysts, accountants, and financial teams to define how their data is structured, including data types, relationships, and rules.
By creating schemas that dictate how data should flow and be processed within the system, users can automate complex workflows.
Aside from the limitation that users can only manage their fields on schema, we identified several other pain points in two scenarios in
the experience.
1. When observing fields on Schema
> Information hierarchy needs some work
> Inherited fields are hard to define
> UI looks like a data list
> Confusing Search, Filter, Sort Functionalities
2. When managing fields and Objects posts
> No differences between Object and Field
> Hidden, complicated steps to open the fields
> No way to view fields number inside the object
> Predifined Fields can find another good place
> Adding fields module page is same as Create new Field Module page
Users' goal is to build and modify schemas quickly, with streamlined workflows for adding new fields or adjusting inherited objects. Whereas the business goal is to increase the adoption of the Schema Builder ultimately leading to more accurate and consistent data management across the platform.
If the goals are met, users will be able to build and manage schemas more efficiently, leading to increased productivity and a more seamless workflow. This improvement will result in a more accurate data structure across the platform, reducing errors and enhancing system reliability.
Challenge
We broke the challenge down into three key objectives and began to tackle them simultaneously. These "how might we" questions guided our exploration and experimentation as we brainstormed and refined concepts for redesigning the Schema Builder.
To understand schema creation and management in different contexts, we analyzed the interaction models of other data management platforms like Paragon and Spell.
Defining who we're designing for helped us understand the needs of the power users who regularly post using the schema builder: Accountant, Financial team, Data analysts.
I collaborated with the Data team to gain insights into schema management on the platform. I asked questions like: How frequently do users modify their schemas? Which data types and structures are most commonly used?
While sketching for design solutions, I studied Mentium's design system to find existing patterns and UI components to ensure consistency and clarity. Since there were no pre-established patterns, I worked on new ones.
Exploring design solutions
Since there were no pre-established patterns in Mentium’s design system, I explored various design treatments to identify opportunities for making the management of fields
After loops of feedback and daily design critiques from the Stakeholders and the Engineering team, we learned that design treatments that are native Material Design would drive greater efficiency and create more coherent experience for users.
I continued to collaborate with teams for feedback. Validating design solutions through user testing especially helped to become confident in my design decisions.
One of the main pain points was that users struggled to grasp the concept of schema design and were confused by managing nested fields and object structures.
To address this issue, we focused on creating a seamless end-to-end experience. This involved designing the interface from the moment users start building their schema to the moment they manage and view nested objects, ensuring they receive clear, contextual information and feedback throughout the process.
It was crucial not only to give users the ability to manage their schemas within the tool but also to reduce complexity. We addressed this by organizing fields and nested structures by collapasble Objects.
Instead of overwhelming users with too many options, such as requiring them to manually configure each nested object and field, we grouped Objects and gave them Color coding to differentiate fields and Objects, and type of fields. This approach reduced cognitive load and made it easier for users to make informed decisions while building their schemas.
The snack bar confirms users' actions. Designed snack bars for all occasions
To optimize the Schema Builder redesign, we collaborated closely with the Data Team, UX Research Team, and Product Team. We asked questions like: Which fields and structures are most commonly used? How can we make the Schema Builder intuitive for the majority of users? How often they remove the fields from the schemas? Which field gets most errors? How user create new object: by grouping fields or by creating fields manually?
We identified key schema design patterns based on the most frequent user interactions and data structures within Mentium. While personalized schema recommendations could offer more value, we decided to focus on launching with these key patterns, gathering data, and iterating in future phases.
I explored various ways to create labels that would seamlessly correspond with different field and object input selections within the Schema Builder.
To maintain a consistent tone and usability, we considered options such as "Primary Data" for core fields, "Sub-Fields", after usability testing - I switched back to "Fields" for nested structures, and drag and drop from the library for frequently used fields, ensuring that each label clearly conveyed its purpose while being intuitive for users.
There were many terms that the user was not familiar with, such as "Transaction." I asked what defines a "Transaction" in Mentium. We know that a transaction involves movement from point A to point B. The stakeholders had not considered this and we decided to rename it "Audit," which refers to audited fields.
We successfully shipped the redesigning in 2 days. I believe in learning and iterating by shipping often and early.
Next case study I would like to showcase how Workflow implemented. It is totally new feature with a integrations and Schema included which makes Wrokflow Builder even more robust!
Daniël
The new Schema Builder is much more intuitive, with drag-and-drop functionality that makes customizing schemas a breeze. The visual clarity of nested structures and the ability to collapse them has improved my workflow
Fekry
Managing nested objects is now effortless with the updated Schema Builder. The clear visual representation and simple navigation have reduced the complexity of my data structures.
Dann
The redesigned interface is clean and user-friendly, making it easy to add and reorder fields. The smart defaults and grouped schema options save so much time, especially when working with complex data types.