Dell Technologies Logo
Dell Technologies Servers

Brand

Dell Logo

Project

Unified Configurator Experience
Sales Application

Overview

The design groups mission at Dell Technolgies is to build best in class services for partners and agents. The Dell Sales Application and Dell Solutions Configurator are two applications used for configuring, pricing, quoting, and ordering complex IT infrastructure solutions.

Role

Product Designer

System Design, CPQO Workflows, Dell Design System, AI Agent

Team

Balanced Product Team: Business, Product, Design, Engineering,

Duration

8 Months

Disclaimer: In compliance with the projects confidentiality under an NDA, specific details of the work undertaken cannot be disclosed, due to sensitive customer data and proprietary tools and processes. However, the case study will focus on methodologies and approaches utilized during the project duration. To know more, please connect with me.

Unified Configuration Workspace

Restoring Trust in a Mission-Critical Sales System

Executive Summary

Dell sales agents configure complex IT infrastructure under tight deadlines, where errors directly impact revenue and customer trust. Over time, the legacy sales ecosystem became fragmented, dense, and reactive — eroding confidence and stalling CSAT at 72%.

I led the end-to-end redesign of the configuration experience, reframing the problem from “improving usability” to restoring trust and confidence under time constraints. The result was a unified configuration workspace that reduced cognitive load, minimized errors, and improved sales efficiency.

Impact
  • +11% increase in CSAT
  • +33% reduction in configuration errors
  • +17% decrease in support requests
  • Cognitive Load Index reduced from 84 → 68
  • +18% reduction in time-on-task
AICPQ Interface Screenshot
DSC Error state screenshot

The Problem: Erosion of Trust

Sales agents and partners relied on a fragmented set of legacy tools to configure complex infrastructure solutions. These tools were not designed to work together — forcing users to navigate dense interfaces, resolve errors reactively, and constantly switching contexts.

In high-stakes selling environments, this friction did more than slow users down — it reduced confidence in whether the system could produce viable, customer-ready solutions.

When trust in the system declines, users compensate with manual workarounds, rely on personal product knowledge for validation, and external communication. Over time, this behavior compounds inefficiency and risk. CSAT plateaued at 72% satisfaction rate of the tool, revealing deeper usability and confidence gaps.

Discovery: Understanding Confidence Under Pressure

Rather than auditing screens in isolation, I focused on how agents actually worked.

DnF Graphic

Research Highlights

  • Cognitive Load Index
    Measure areas of mental strain that cause user frustration
  • Contextual Interviews
    Job shadowing to understand users' roles, behaviors and workspaces
  • Value Stream Mapping
    Identify bottle necks and points of friction that result in business costs

What We Learned

The issue wasn’t just only usability (the assumed problem). It was confidence.

Four systemic breakdowns consistently surfaced:

Cognitive overload during exploration
Dense product catalogs and unclear hierarchy made it difficult to form mental models.

Reactive error handling
Validation errors were surfaced late and required manual resolution, often taking 10–15 minutes per issue.

Fragmented workflows
Agents switched across platforms to complete a single configuration, increasing risk of data loss and mental fatigue.

Inconsistent interaction patterns
Navigation and terminology varied across tools, forcing users to constantly remap behavior.

Research Highlights

Information Density: Cognitive Load

Our Cognitive Load Index ranges from 1–100, with scores above 75 indicating excessive mental strain that leads to user frustration, errors, and increased support requests. The existing experience scored 84, well into the frustration zone. This served as a baseline to improve on. By simplifying decision paths, clarifying system feedback, and aligning interactions with real user workflows, we reduced cognitive load to 68, resulting in an 18% reduction in time-on-task, fewer errors, and higher user confidence during complex configuration tasks.

Two moments in the configuration flow where excessive cognitive load disrupted user focus and decision-making.
Yellow/Red indicates areas of focus across the entire page rather than on key actionable elements.

Cognitive Load Index Results

User Interviews and Service Mapping

Through job shadowing, I conducted in-context observational research to understand how Dell agents and partners work in real-world conditions. Insights from these sessions were synthesized into a living research artifact that mapped pain points, behaviors, and unmet needs—helping product and engineering teams stay grounded in user reality as design and development evolved.

Service Map Graphic

Observation: Configuration Pain Points

  • Cognitive overload during exploration
    Dense information, unclear hierarchy, and competing signals overwhelm users while browsing the product catalog, making it difficult to form mental models.
  • Inefficient product discovery
    Product catalog selection lacks clear entry points and progressive disclosure, forcing users to rely on trial-and-error rather than confident navigation.
  • Redundant interaction patterns
    Users are required to repeat the same actions across steps, increasing friction, fatigue, and the likelihood of mistakes.
Service Map Graphic

Value Stream Mapping

By producing a value stream map I was able to visualize, end-to-end overview of the complex workflows, enabling our teams and stakeholders to identify non-value-added time (waste), reduce bottlenecks, and speed up delivery. By mapping current and future states, VSM enhances collaboration across departments, improves process efficiency, and fosters a data-driven culture of continuous improvement. 

Most Time-consuming actions:

  • Component selection
  • System Performance
  • Unclear Error Resolution
  • User Collaboration
  • Context swtiching between various tools
  • Number of Validation errors to resolve

Detours

Here is an example of how validation errors can affect users time on task which translates to lost sales.

Example Problem
“When configuring complex IT infrastructure solutions, compounding capatibility issues and unclear error resolution slows me down. ”

Solution
To solve this the user must scroll to view errors, which takes focus away from configuration. Then try to make sense of the error and resolve with personal product knowledge or raise a support ticket. This back and forth viewing errors and making the correct selections can take an average of 10-15min.

Here is a calculation of how simple detours can affect users time and sales Time on task: 10min>

Num. of Users Num. of Interactions Cost to Dell*
1 1 $1.34 USD
1 20 $26.81 USD
1000 20 $26,808 USD
$148.94 / second
*Average Sales Salary: $75,122 - $101,606 (base + commission).
10 min.
Time on Task

What appears to be a minor task is repeated 10–20 times daily, across dozens of quotes and multiple sales representatives—scaling into significant productivity loss and hours of avoidable operational overhead for even small changes.

Strategic Reframe

Originally, the initiative was positioned as a next-generation configurator redesign.

Through research, I reframed the opportunity: Design a unified, intelligent workspace that supports confident decision-making in complex, high-pressure work environments.

This shifted our focus from interface cleanup to workflow orchestration, error prevention, and system transparency.

Design a unified, intelligent workspace that supports confident decision-making in complex environments.

Design Principles

We established four guardrails that directly supported user trust and confidence:

Make System State Visible
Clear validation feedback at every step.

Prevent Errors Early
Shift from reactive error correction to proactive guidance using AI micromoments

Reduce Cognitive Load
Progressive disclosure and structured comparison to simplify decision paths.

Preserve User Control
Allow exploration without penalty or irreversible consequences. These principles guided all solution decisions.

Proposed User Flow

Proposed User Flow Map

Impact

More importantly, agents shifted from defensive behavior (manual validation, workarounds) to confident system reliance.
Trust was restored.

User Impact

  • Cognitive Load Index reduced from 84 to 68
  • 18% reduction in time-on-task
  • 33% reduction in configuration errors
  • Improved confidence and decision clarity

Business Impact

  • 11% increase in CSAT rating
  • 17% decrease in support requests
  • Faster, more accurate order processing
  • Improved operational efficiency and ROI

Prototype

Using Dell’s design system we were able to extend and customize design components and prototype hi-fidelity assets to present to stakeholders and further usability studies.

Dell Design System

Leadership and Collaboration

I led the initiative end-to-end — from discovery through delivery — partnering closely with product, engineering, research, and sales leadership.

Key contributions:

  • Defined the strategic reframe
  • Synthesized research into actionable system principles
  • Influenced roadmap prioritization
  • Advocated for incremental rollout to reduce technical and adoption risk

The shift from a single large redesign to staged releases allowed us to balance business continuity with meaningful transformation.

Key Learnings

Designing for enterprise sales environments means designing for:

Time Pressure
I had to support users who make high-stakes decisions under tight deadlines, where every added step or delay directly impacts revenue and customer experience.

Design Iteration
I approached design iteravely which balances user needs with phased rollouts, technical feasibility, and change management to ensure adoption at scale.

Organizational Constraints
I understood that solutions must account for layered approval processes, compliance requirements, legacy systems, and cross-functional dependencies that influence how quickly and safely change can happen.

Risk Mitigation
I observed that sales users often develop defensive workflows to avoid costly mistakes, so design must build confidence, surface validation early, and reduce perceived risk before behaviors shift.

Interconnected Back-end Systems
I discovered that e nterprise sales tools operate within complex ecosystems—pricing engines, inventory systems, fulfillment logic—so front-end decisions must align tightly with backend constraints and data integrity.