Licensing Portal
Overview
The Licensing Portal is a custom-built solution integrated into Microsoft Teams, designed to streamline the management and allocation of software licenses across an organization. As the UX/UI designer, I was tasked with creating an intuitive and efficient interface that allows administrators to easily oversee, assign, and modify license distribution among team members.
Key Objectives
- Simplifying the license assignment process
- Providing clear visibility into license allocation and availability
- Enabling quick user management across departments
- Ensuring seamless integration with the Microsoft Teams environment
This project aimed to address the complex challenges of license management in large organizations, ultimately saving time, reducing errors, and optimizing software usage. The resulting design combines powerful functionality with a clean, user-friendly interface that aligns with Microsoft’s design language.
User Research
To gain deeper insights into user needs and pain points, I conducted in-depth interviews with representatives from five companies already using our products. This approach ensured that our design would address real-world challenges faced by our target audience.
Key findings from the interviews:
- User Profile: The primary users were identified as IT administrators and team leaders responsible for managing software licenses across various departments.
- Pain Points:
- Time-consuming manual license assignment processes
- Lack of visibility into overall license usage and availability
- Difficulty in quickly identifying unassigned or misallocated licenses
- Challenges in managing licenses across multiple departments
- User Goals:
- Streamline the license assignment workflow
- Gain a clear, at-a-glance view of license allocation
- Easily manage user roles and permissions
- Reduce time spent on administrative tasks
- Feature Requests:
- Bulk license assignment capabilities
- Automated license reclamation for inactive users
- Customizable reports for license usage and trends
- Integration with existing user management systems
These insights directly informed our design decisions, ensuring that the Licensing Portal would address the most critical needs of our users while aligning with their existing workflows. By focusing on these key areas, we aimed to create a solution that would significantly improve efficiency and user satisfaction in license management tasks.
Key Features Showcased
After conducting in-depth interviews with five companies currently using our products, we uncovered several key features that users considered essential for an effective licensing portal:
User Onboarding and Consent
Interviewees stressed the importance of a smooth start and clear instructions for new users. Our design addresses this with a welcoming interface that includes a brief explanation of the portal’s purpose, an instructional video, and a straightforward admin consent process, ensuring users can quickly understand and begin using the licensing tools with proper authorization.
Centralized Dashboard
Users emphasized the need for a quick overview of license status. Our design responds with a clear display of total, assigned, and unassigned licenses, along with a visual representation of allocation percentages.
Streamlined User Management
Interviewees stressed the importance of efficient user administration. We addressed this with a comprehensive list view, including user details, departments, and roles, all manageable from a single interface.
Flexible Search and Filter Options
The ability to quickly locate specific users or groups was a common request. Our search bar and implied filtering options cater to this need, especially crucial for larger organizations.
One-Click License Assignment
Admins expressed frustration with complex license assignment processes. Our toggle switch design allows for instant license activation or deactivation on a per-user basis.
Bulk Actions Capability
Admins expressed frustration with complex license assignment processes. Our toggle switch design allows for instant license activation or deactivation on a per-user basis.
Bulk Actions Capability
Admins expressed frustration with complex license assignment processes. Our toggle switch design allows for instant license activation or deactivation on a per-user basis.