SaasTexting Workflows
Role: Lead UI/UX DesignerFor tech gurus, automated mass texting can be a head-scratcher. But for overworked church staff, bright-eyed student volunteers, and little old ladies working 3-hour shifts at a non-profit desk, it can be a day-ruiner.
Bad UX is not an abstract design problem for these users; it keeps them from connecting with their communities.
At Clearstream, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to make those very real people's lives easier. As part of this, I tackled redesigning Clearstream's Automated & Keyword Workflows. This was a months-long project with complicated edge cases.
Challenges
Workflow steps couldn’t be visually identified.
Conditional branching was messy and complicated.
There was no efficient way to add new steps to the workflow or organize the structure.
The timing of texts couldn't easily be delayed—messages were showing up un-fashionably late or way too early.
Keyword Workflows, circa 2021
👆 I’ve since switched to Whimsical for wireframing, but I still enjoy a quick hand-done wireframe for in-meeting exploration and play.
Exploration & Solutions
Wrangling 9 steps, branches, and a wait feature
Steps:
Introduced a modal with icons and color that carried over into the workflow for quick visual identification. Color and icon variety ensured that all users (even color blind or visually impaired) could quickly identify the steps at a glance.
In this process, we explored and then scrapped a floating side menu. Prototyping was an essential step for testing out the look and feel of a modal vs. slide-over menu.
Conditional Branching:
I dug into Zapier's conditional branches. This guided us towards an else/if format.
We visualized the branching workflow in the UI and added the option to return to the main workflow.
Drag and Drop Step Organization with Delay
Introduced drag and drop with quick delete functionality
Added a 'Wait' step with a delay queue. This way, users could see which subscribers were affected by the wait period.
Results
In the year after the workflow redesign was launched, keyword usage increased by 81%.
Users could easily view options, rearrange steps, and get a quick snapshot of their workflows.
Users could plan thoughtful, personalized text interactions that resulted in real connections with their communities.