Transform Security Tool to Generate Reports into Web Application
Product
Assure Security
Company
Precisely
Role
Lead UX designer
Device type
Web application
Team
1 UX designer
2 Product managers
10 Engineers
2 QAs
1 Content writers
Sales engineers
Supports
Time
10 months
Status
Shipped
Overview
Background
Focus on Assure Monitoring and Reporting
Assure Monitoring and Reporting is one of Assure Security's features, allowing security administrators to generate security reports of users activities in order to monitor any potential security issues or errors.
Challenge
Requires extensive technical knowledge to operate
The product built on the 5250 emulator requires users to have a deep understanding of IBM i concepts and terminology, making it difficult for less-technical users to navigate.
Solution
Intuitive web interface to view, edit, and run reports easily
I designed a new web interface to display the reports, allowing users to view and edit the report definitions, and track the run status of the reports. Template reports are also provided by default for users to start with.
Outcome
Launched the first MVP and received positive feedback from customers
We have released our MVP in 2024. Customers have given us positive feedback on the significant progress on the user experience of the new web interfaces.
Project Context
Context
Assure Security is a third-party tool that enhances IBM i’s security capabilities
Assure Security is tool that strengthens IBM i security capabilities to help security administrators establish and automate effective, comprehensive, and auditable security practices. It provides features such as multi-factor authentication, monitoring and reporting, and encryption. IBM i is an older operating system that runs on a 5250 emulator, and as a result, Assure Security was built on that same emulator too.
Business Goal
Provide a less technical and easy-to-access web application to increase customers
Our business goal for this project was to transform Assure Security into a modern, user-friendly web application that’s easier to learn and use. By lowering the technical barriers, we aimed to attract a broader, less-technical audience while also exploring opportunities to improve the overall user experience.
We chose to focus on the monitoring and reporting feature, as 80% of our existing customers were actively using this functionality, highlighting a significant user need in the market.
Research
Target Users
Security Administrators & Auditors
Security administrators—our target users— configure and generate reports that capture IBM i system and database activity. These reports are then sent to security auditors, who review the results, monitor security events, and identify potential issues.
CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS INSIGHTS
Findings from interviewing Sales and Customers
01
Rarely create repots from scratch
Due to the time and effort involved to create a report from scratch, admins prefer to request pre-built reports from sales teams and make some adjustments by copying and customizing them.
02
Customize only essential report configurations
Presenting an overload of complex settings that admins don't use can be overwhelming and may create confusion rather than adding value.
03
Difficult to track report run progress
Currently, admins need to manually navigate through messages or job logs to track run progress and for trouble-shooting, which is both time-consuming and inefficient.
Heuristics Evaluation
Extensive technical terms and capabilities
Current report definitions contain extensive advanced configurations, which are seldom been used and very confusing for users.
Only red-highlighted areas are used nowadays
Design Challenge
How can we simplify the report generating process for less-technical admins?
Feature Prioritization
Prioritize features workshop
I translated design ideas into a user flow diagram and facilitated a feature prioritization workshop with product managers and technical architects. This helped us align on the core functionalities to be implemented in the MVP.
Final Design Prototypes
Design Solutions
Provide 20+ template reports to quickly run, view and copy in a simple list of view
I collaborated with PM and Sales to identify the most common use cases as the template reports to provide for users.
Provide report run status and results
We brought in the "Status" concepts and capability for users to easily track the report status, allowing them to see the last run results.
UX WRITING
Transform complex terminologies into simple language
I conducted conceptual modeling to map out the concepts and terminologies used in 5250. We translated these complex terms into simplified, user-friendly language to ensure that new users could easily understand and navigate the web UI.
Outcome
Web Application MVP Released with positive feedback from stakeholders and customers
"
The design and layout is well thought out and helps modifying quick and simple.
By Customers
Key Learning
Defend design decisions with technical engineers
Since there was no prior UX involvement in this product, the technical team were considered the product experts. As a result, their opinions heavily influenced the design direction.
MY ACTIONS
Present user evidence and real-world practices
Conduct usability testing
Collect feedback or involve other stakeholders (PM, Manager, etc.)
Reflection
Measure success with quantitative user data
The frustration after the MVP release was lacking of comprehensive user data from sales team and a standardized process to analyze it. If we could have the data to analyze, I would like to focus on metrics such as customer satisfaction rates, new customer acquisition, and how effectively users can complete their tasks using the web interface.
