With no clear guidance, contributors use inconsistent naming and formatting, leading to confusion, delays and inefficiencies.
High submission volume hampered efficient management and prioritization of submissions
Incorrect submission, like entire blog being included in the mail, burdened the editorial teams and risked submissions getting rejected
DEFINING THE PROBLEM
Managing the guest blogs recieved via email was difficult, causing bottlenecks and resource drains. Editors struggled with refining these submissions alongside their regular duties, impacting content quality and delivery timelines.
Copy editors and guest contributors struggled with the process:
I began with the analysis of IT support logs and direct inquiries with the editorial team and guest contributors to pinpoint where the system" was failing
25/250
followed submission standards
60%
submissions were missed or delayed
5%
repeat contribution rate due to poor collaboration
75%
articles needed major revamp (20 hours per week)
Revamping and Streamlining Guest Editorial Operations in Publishing
My client in publishing was facing critical inefficiencies due to their heavy reliance on email for guest blogs.
I designed a new guest contribution system that enhanced efficiency of the collaborations and quality of the published content.
MY ROLE
Lead Experience and Content Designer
18 weeks (3 sprints)
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Research planning and execution
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Intensive design thinking and iterative testing workshops
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Hi-fidelity prototypes, design system, final UX copy
Project team and stakeholders
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Editorial Director & Digital Strategy Director, Senior Editor, Project Manager
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Front-end Developer, 2 Jr. Designers, Editorial Coordinator, & IT Support Specialist
DESIGN THINKING TEAM WORKSHOPS
Ensuring potential features, upvoted by MoSCoW and RICE, resonated with target users from the outset.
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I prescribed a NGT approach for our 'How Might We' brainstorming session.
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'Beat portal' emerged as the most important feature, streamlining the entire system's efficiency.
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Assigning 'user profiles' selectively for accepted pitches was universally recognized as fair; balancing system demands with user engagement
I had too much fun transcribing our most promising ideations into digital illustrations below.
(Personally, I thought there was promise in Claire's "Whack-a-Beat" idea where one must quickly 'whack' a beats that pops up to claim it! Oh well.)
RESHAPING WORKFLOW TO OPTIMIZE RESOURCES
I identified a potential system strain and revamped the workflow to reduce server load.
83% freelancers were one-time contributors; a dashbaord for every unselected or incomplete entry was wasteful.
I crafted two key strategic ground rules to optimize resources—
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Selective Account Creation
Only selected submissions would get to create an account; reducing system bloat by 66%.
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Account Dormancy
A "dormancy protocol" for accounts to be archived if inactive for over six months; saving server resources and improving system performance.
Live Document Manager
Starting with color-coded progress bars and option to 'Favorite' pitches, we recognized the need for greater clarity. The final design offered an organized dashboard with status indicators, labels, and filter tags for easy organization, making project tracking and navigation efficient for both user groups.
ITERATIVE DESIGN AND TESTING
Incorporating feedback from a diverse group of 36 participants, ranging from in-house editors to guest writers.
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3 design and development cycles effectively integrated live feedback from evolving editor needs and guest patterns.
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I employed rigorous metrics such as time on task, error rates, task success levels, NPS, and UMUX-Lite scores to assess effectiveness and user satisfaction.
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Heuristic evaluations by key stakeholders ensured our product development continuously aligned with business goals.
Real-time Editor Tools and Notifications
90% drop in response delays and 65% faster revision cycles
Collaborative Editor
FINAL FEATURE DESIGNS
Streamlined Beat Selection & Submission Tool
Intuitive beat-dashboard clearly showcasing open beats
5x faster submission cycle
Prepopulated Embedded Submission Form
95% accurately completed submissions with near-zero mid-process dropouts
Submission Guideline Help Tool
80% reduction in submission inquiries
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Moving a late-stage tweak directly into production after a quick peer-testing, taught me the importance of agility, especially when integrating feedback late in the timeline.
Solidifying the editorial's commitment to business excellence and user experience
POST LAUNCH INSIGHTS AND EVALUATIONS
Accelerated revision cycles by
65%
Reduced response delays by
90%
Boost in task accuracy
86%
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Integrating Real-Time Accessibility Data & Insights in Articles
Embedding both personal observations and AI-identified real-time accessibility features (or lack thereof) at locations, would aid authors to highlight inclusive design in their travel narratives.
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Technical Specification
Adaptive Learning & Feedback Loop: We woudl utilize Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Reinforcement Learning for continuous improvement based on user feedback. This ensures dynamic updates to accessibility data accuracy and relevance.
We could integrate AI to spotlight and champion accessibility in fostering inclusive travel and architectural journalism, ensuring every article anticipates and addresses the needs of people with impairments.
AI for Accessibility: If Redesigned Today
Notification System
The iterations helped turn the cluttered notifications into applicable communication. We sorted alerts by project and added custom-user sorting, turning them into directly actionable cards with priority flagging to avoid delays and resource wastage.
PRIORITIZING CORE ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Data from 12 stakeholders and 15 guest contributors showed major system failure with submission process, quality of submitted content and collaborations
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Rebooted contextual inquiry into think-out-loud usability testing to accommodate tight schedules of 7 power respondents, cutting research time in half.
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Hosted affinity mapping sessions on Miro to identify and cluster clear themes in overarching challenges and opportunities.
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Dot voting helped prioritize the most critical areas for business and users.
“Yep! This (remote inquiry) is just like my daily grind. I'm always dealing with late responses, (or) sometimes none at all really...”
Zara, a copy editor revealed the crucial need for a more synergetic communication.