CRM Solutions
[Overview]
The Context
I led the UX research and design strategy for a suite of five off-the-shelf Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions; Sales, Events, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Training.
These were produced as part of a wider B2B SaaS ecosystem. The platform enabled Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deploy highly specialised Dynamics CRM solutions rapidly, without requiring deep Dynamics expertise or long, costly implementation cycles.
This initiative unlocked access for SMB-focused MSPs to compete in the lucrative Dynamics market by simplifying deployment, configuration, and ongoing CRM management.
The Context
I led the UX research and design strategy for a suite of five off-the-shelf Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions; Sales, Events, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Training.
These were produced as part of a wider B2B SaaS ecosystem. The platform enabled Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deploy highly specialised Dynamics CRM solutions rapidly, without requiring deep Dynamics expertise or long, costly implementation cycles.
This initiative unlocked access for SMB-focused MSPs to compete in the lucrative Dynamics market by simplifying deployment, configuration, and ongoing CRM management.
My Role
As Lead UX & Digital Product Designer, I was responsible for:
Defining research strategy and leading discovery for five distinct CRM solutions.
Driving cross-functional collaboration between Dynamics engineers, product managers, and sales teams.
Acting as the user advocate throughout ideation, design, and delivery.
Educating engineers and stakeholders on UX research methods and embedding user-centred thinking into engineering practices.
My Role
As Lead UX & Digital Product Designer, I was responsible for:
Defining research strategy and leading discovery for five distinct CRM solutions.
Driving cross-functional collaboration between Dynamics engineers, product managers, and sales teams.
Acting as the user advocate throughout ideation, design, and delivery.
Educating engineers and stakeholders on UX research methods and embedding user-centred thinking into engineering practices.
Key Contributions
Market & User Research
Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Implementing Better Documentation Practices
User Advocacy in Solution Design
Supporting Go-to-Market Strategy
Key Contributions
Market & User Research
Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Implementing Better Documentation Practices
User Advocacy in Solution Design
Supporting Go-to-Market Strategy
Skills Demonstrated
Miro
Insight-Driven Design
Service Design
SaaS Ecosystem Thinking
Cross-Functional Alignment
[Impact]
Accelerated CRM Deployment by 95%
Delivered five validated CRM solutions that cut MSP setup time from 3+ months to under 10 minutes, transforming complex Dynamics implementations into instant deployments.
25+ Hours of Research
Conducted 25+ in-depth user interviews across five industries, translating qualitative insights into feature roadmaps and solution architectures tailored to real business needs.
Improved Engineering Efficiency Through Structured Data
Redesigned documentation practices, capturing feature usage across 100+ bespoke CRM builds, enabling data-driven decisions and more consistent, user-focused statements of work.
[My Process]
1. Market & User Research
Analysed in-house Dynamics service data to identify target industries and prioritise solutions where demand and business opportunity were strongest.
Mapped the most requested features from existing custom CRM builds to inform the off-the-shelf offering.
Designed and executed extensive qualitative research, conducting 25+ depth interviews (25+ hours) with potential users across multiple sectors.
Partnered with Dynamics specialists to develop research frameworks, interview scripts, and scoping tools.
1. Market & User Research
Analysed in-house Dynamics service data to identify target industries and prioritise solutions where demand and business opportunity were strongest.
Mapped the most requested features from existing custom CRM builds to inform the off-the-shelf offering.
Designed and executed extensive qualitative research, conducting 25+ depth interviews (25+ hours) with potential users across multiple sectors.
Partnered with Dynamics specialists to develop research frameworks, interview scripts, and scoping tools.
2. Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Facilitated workshops and affinity mapping sessions with engineers to extract insights and co-create empathy maps for each solution’s user base.
Acted as a bridge between technical and user-focused teams, ensuring all design decisions were grounded in research evidence.
Introduced time-boxed workshops and clear, outcome-driven processes to improve collaboration between engineering and design.
2. Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Facilitated workshops and affinity mapping sessions with engineers to extract insights and co-create empathy maps for each solution’s user base.
Acted as a bridge between technical and user-focused teams, ensuring all design decisions were grounded in research evidence.
Introduced time-boxed workshops and clear, outcome-driven processes to improve collaboration between engineering and design.
4. Improving Documentation Process
One of the key challenges I identified early was inconsistent documentation within the bespoke Dynamics CRM service. Engineers lacked a structured process, often failing to capture statements of work or feature details. This created blind spots, making it difficult to identify recurring customer requirements.
To address this, I designed a service blueprint for the CRM service and implemented a new process requiring engineers to log both the industry context and the specific features developed for each client implementation.
This created a reliable dataset that:
Exposed patterns in feature demand across industries.
Informed roadmap prioritisation and investment decisions.
Improved accountability through clearer statements of work focused on user impact and business value.
The operational shift had a lasting impact, providing better visibility into customer needs and aligning engineering output with a user-centred product strategy.
4. Improving Documentation Process
One of the key challenges I identified early was inconsistent documentation within the bespoke Dynamics CRM service. Engineers lacked a structured process, often failing to capture statements of work or feature details. This created blind spots, making it difficult to identify recurring customer requirements.
To address this, I designed a service blueprint for the CRM service and implemented a new process requiring engineers to log both the industry context and the specific features developed for each client implementation.
This created a reliable dataset that:
Exposed patterns in feature demand across industries.
Informed roadmap prioritisation and investment decisions.
Improved accountability through clearer statements of work focused on user impact and business value.
The operational shift had a lasting impact, providing better visibility into customer needs and aligning engineering output with a user-centred product strategy.
5. User Advocacy in Solution Design
Embedded user insights directly into the solution architecture and feature set.
Challenged assumptions and ensured every feature design decision was traceable back to validated research.
Created empathy maps, research artefacts, and feature justification frameworks to guide engineering and product teams throughout development.
5. User Advocacy in Solution Design
Embedded user insights directly into the solution architecture and feature set.
Challenged assumptions and ensured every feature design decision was traceable back to validated research.
Created empathy maps, research artefacts, and feature justification frameworks to guide engineering and product teams throughout development.
6. Sales & Marketing Team Collaberation
Collaborated with sales and marketing teams to create solution-specific positioning and supporting materials for web based marketing channels.
6. Sales & Marketing Team Collaberation
Collaborated with sales and marketing teams to create solution-specific positioning and supporting materials for web based marketing channels.
7. Marketing Collateral Creation & Messaging
Created marketing collateral to helped shape messaging around the 'Off-the-shelf CRM' services value proposition, making advanced CRM capabilities accessible SMB's.
7. Marketing Collateral Creation & Messaging
Created marketing collateral to helped shape messaging around the 'Off-the-shelf CRM' services value proposition, making advanced CRM capabilities accessible SMB's.
[Key Learnings]
Standardised Research Unlocks Scale
Learned how to create a repeatable UX research framework that scales across multiple products without sacrificing depth.
Data-Driven Ops Boost Product Clarity
Saw how improving engineering documentation can directly influence smarter, user-centred product decisions.
Cross-Functional Alignment Drives Adoption
Realised that embedding user insights early — and aligning stakeholders through workshops — increases design adoption and delivery speed.
[Persona]
Jhon Roberts
Marketing Manager
Content
Age: 29
Location: New York City
Tech Proficiency: Moderate
Gender: Male
[Goal]
Quickly complete purchases without interruptions.
Trust the platform to handle her payment securely.
Access a seamless mobile shopping experience.
[Frustrations]
Long or confusing checkout processes.
Error messages that don’t explain the issue.
Poor mobile optimization that slows her down.
CRM Solutions
[Overview]
The Context
I led the UX research and design strategy for a suite of five off-the-shelf Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions; Sales, Events, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Training.
These were produced as part of a wider B2B SaaS ecosystem. The platform enabled Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deploy highly specialised Dynamics CRM solutions rapidly, without requiring deep Dynamics expertise or long, costly implementation cycles.
This initiative unlocked access for SMB-focused MSPs to compete in the lucrative Dynamics market by simplifying deployment, configuration, and ongoing CRM management.
The Context
I led the UX research and design strategy for a suite of five off-the-shelf Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions; Sales, Events, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Training.
These were produced as part of a wider B2B SaaS ecosystem. The platform enabled Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deploy highly specialised Dynamics CRM solutions rapidly, without requiring deep Dynamics expertise or long, costly implementation cycles.
This initiative unlocked access for SMB-focused MSPs to compete in the lucrative Dynamics market by simplifying deployment, configuration, and ongoing CRM management.
My Role
As Lead UX & Digital Product Designer, I was responsible for:
Defining research strategy and leading discovery for five distinct CRM solutions.
Driving cross-functional collaboration between Dynamics engineers, product managers, and sales teams.
Acting as the user advocate throughout ideation, design, and delivery.
Educating engineers and stakeholders on UX research methods and embedding user-centred thinking into engineering practices.
My Role
As Lead UX & Digital Product Designer, I was responsible for:
Defining research strategy and leading discovery for five distinct CRM solutions.
Driving cross-functional collaboration between Dynamics engineers, product managers, and sales teams.
Acting as the user advocate throughout ideation, design, and delivery.
Educating engineers and stakeholders on UX research methods and embedding user-centred thinking into engineering practices.
Key Contributions
Market & User Research
Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Implementing Better Documentation Practices
User Advocacy in Solution Design
Supporting Go-to-Market Strategy
Key Contributions
Market & User Research
Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Implementing Better Documentation Practices
User Advocacy in Solution Design
Supporting Go-to-Market Strategy
Skills Demonstrated
Miro
Miro
Insight-Driven Design
Insight-Driven Design
Service Design
Service Design
SaaS Ecosystem Thinking
SaaS Ecosystem Thinking
[Impact]
Accelerated CRM Deployment by 95%
Delivered five validated CRM solutions that cut MSP setup time from 3+ months to under 10 minutes, transforming complex Dynamics implementations into instant deployments.
25+ Hours of Research
Conducted 25+ in-depth user interviews across five industries, translating qualitative insights into feature roadmaps and solution architectures tailored to real business needs.
Improved Engineering Efficiency Through Structured Data
Redesigned documentation practices, capturing feature usage across 100+ bespoke CRM builds, enabling data-driven decisions and more consistent, user-focused statements of work.
[My Process]
1. Market & User Research
Analysed in-house Dynamics service data to identify target industries and prioritise solutions where demand and business opportunity were strongest.
Mapped the most requested features from existing custom CRM builds to inform the off-the-shelf offering.
Designed and executed extensive qualitative research, conducting 25+ depth interviews (25+ hours) with potential users across multiple sectors.
Partnered with Dynamics specialists to develop research frameworks, interview scripts, and scoping tools.
1. Market & User Research
Analysed in-house Dynamics service data to identify target industries and prioritise solutions where demand and business opportunity were strongest.
Mapped the most requested features from existing custom CRM builds to inform the off-the-shelf offering.
Designed and executed extensive qualitative research, conducting 25+ depth interviews (25+ hours) with potential users across multiple sectors.
Partnered with Dynamics specialists to develop research frameworks, interview scripts, and scoping tools.
2. Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Facilitated workshops and affinity mapping sessions with engineers to extract insights and co-create empathy maps for each solution’s user base.
Acted as a bridge between technical and user-focused teams, ensuring all design decisions were grounded in research evidence.
Introduced time-boxed workshops and clear, outcome-driven processes to improve collaboration between engineering and design.
2. Driving Cross-Functional Alignment
Facilitated workshops and affinity mapping sessions with engineers to extract insights and co-create empathy maps for each solution’s user base.
Acted as a bridge between technical and user-focused teams, ensuring all design decisions were grounded in research evidence.
Introduced time-boxed workshops and clear, outcome-driven processes to improve collaboration between engineering and design.
4. Improving Documentation Process
One of the key challenges I identified early was inconsistent documentation within the bespoke Dynamics CRM service. Engineers lacked a structured process, often failing to capture statements of work or feature details. This created blind spots, making it difficult to identify recurring customer requirements.
To address this, I designed a service blueprint for the CRM service and implemented a new process requiring engineers to log both the industry context and the specific features developed for each client implementation.
This created a reliable dataset that:
Exposed patterns in feature demand across industries.
Informed roadmap prioritisation and investment decisions.
Improved accountability through clearer statements of work focused on user impact and business value.
The operational shift had a lasting impact, providing better visibility into customer needs and aligning engineering output with a user-centred product strategy.
4. Improving Documentation Process
One of the key challenges I identified early was inconsistent documentation within the bespoke Dynamics CRM service. Engineers lacked a structured process, often failing to capture statements of work or feature details. This created blind spots, making it difficult to identify recurring customer requirements.
To address this, I designed a service blueprint for the CRM service and implemented a new process requiring engineers to log both the industry context and the specific features developed for each client implementation.
This created a reliable dataset that:
Exposed patterns in feature demand across industries.
Informed roadmap prioritisation and investment decisions.
Improved accountability through clearer statements of work focused on user impact and business value.
The operational shift had a lasting impact, providing better visibility into customer needs and aligning engineering output with a user-centred product strategy.
5. User Advocacy in Solution Design
Embedded user insights directly into the solution architecture and feature set.
Challenged assumptions and ensured every feature design decision was traceable back to validated research.
Created empathy maps, research artefacts, and feature justification frameworks to guide engineering and product teams throughout development.
5. User Advocacy in Solution Design
Embedded user insights directly into the solution architecture and feature set.
Challenged assumptions and ensured every feature design decision was traceable back to validated research.
Created empathy maps, research artefacts, and feature justification frameworks to guide engineering and product teams throughout development.
6. Sales & Marketing Team Collaberation
Collaborated with sales and marketing teams to create solution-specific positioning and supporting materials for web based marketing channels.
6. Sales & Marketing Team Collaberation
Collaborated with sales and marketing teams to create solution-specific positioning and supporting materials for web based marketing channels.
7. Marketing Collateral Creation & Messaging
Created marketing collateral to helped shape messaging around the 'Off-the-shelf CRM' services value proposition, making advanced CRM capabilities accessible SMB's.
7. Marketing Collateral Creation & Messaging
Created marketing collateral to helped shape messaging around the 'Off-the-shelf CRM' services value proposition, making advanced CRM capabilities accessible SMB's.
[Key Learnings]
Standardised Research Unlocks Scale
Learned how to create a repeatable UX research framework that scales across multiple products without sacrificing depth.
Data-Driven Ops Boost Product Clarity
Saw how improving engineering documentation can directly influence smarter, user-centred product decisions.
Cross-Functional Alignment Drives Adoption
Realised that embedding user insights early — and aligning stakeholders through workshops — increases design adoption and delivery speed.