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Research Hub CRM

User InterviewsSenior Product Designer2025

Enterprise client's $161K renewal at risk over missing CRM features. Shipped Multiple Panels protecting $490K total ARR.

$490K
Total ARR protected
Hub invite share: 37% → 45%
$161K
Enterprise renewal at risk
Critical enterprise churn threat
57 orgs
Organizations adopted Panels
30% of Hub enterprise teams
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The Challenge

User Interviews faced a critical moment: a key enterprise client worth $161K ARR was at risk of churn due to CRM limitations. Our Research Hub lacked the panel management capabilities that competitor Rally offered, putting multiple enterprise contracts at risk.

I led the end-to-end design of Multiple Panels—a comprehensive CRM solution that protects participant data, streamlines recruitment, and ensures researchers access only the participants they need. This feature became essential for enterprise teams managing large, sensitive participant databases.

Business Impact

Originally delivered as a sales escalation to support an enterprise renewal, Panels exceeded expectations and became a cornerstone of our enterprise strategy.

$490K
Total ARR tied to Panels requests in Salesforce
$161K
Enterprise renewal saved
57
Organizations using Panels
30%
Of Hub enterprise teams adopted
+8%
Increase in Hub invite share (37% → 45%)

Key Features Designed

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Multiple Panels

Core infrastructure allowing teams to segment participants into separate panels with granular access controls. Designed for enterprise teams managing sensitive data across departments.

Impact:Enabled 30% of enterprise Hub teams to manage participant data securely
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Advanced Filtering & Search

Robust filtering system allowing researchers to quickly find participants based on multiple criteria including demographics, participation history, and custom attributes.

Impact:Reduced time-to-recruit by streamlining participant discovery
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Opt-in Forms & CSV Uploads

Flexible data ingestion allowing teams to build panels through web forms or bulk imports. Designed with data validation and mapping to ensure data integrity.

Impact:Enabled rapid panel growth for enterprise teams
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Data Mapping & Automations

Intelligent automation system to keep CRM data "fresh" through external integrations and scheduled updates. Designed to reduce manual data maintenance burden.

Impact:Reduced manual data maintenance effort by automating updates

Cross-Squad Collaboration

This project required close coordination across multiple teams:

Recruit Panel Value Squad: Ensured data flowed seamlessly between Research Hub and Recruit products, maintaining consistency across the platform.

Enterprise Platform Squad: Aligned on feature prioritization and technical implementation to maximize ARR impact of key design decisions.

Customer Success & Sales: Worked directly with Karina, Tiffany, and Christy to understand customer pain points and validate solutions against real enterprise needs.

Leadership Alignment: Collaborated with Dennis and Bob to ensure design decisions supported both immediate revenue goals (enterprise renewal) and long-term product scalability.

The cross-functional nature of this project required me to balance competing priorities, translate technical constraints into design decisions, and maintain momentum across multiple teams with different timelines.

Key Learnings

Strategic Design Decisions: Every design decision had revenue implications. I learned to frame design trade-offs in business terms—not just "better UX" but "prevents churn" and "enables enterprise sales."

Rapid Context Building: This project taught me to quickly ramp up on complex domains (CRM, data mapping, access controls) while maintaining design quality under tight timelines.

Enterprise vs. SMB Balance: Designing for enterprise needs without alienating smaller teams required careful progressive disclosure and smart defaults.

What I'd Do Differently: In hindsight, I would have involved Customer Success earlier in the design process. Their insights into customer workflows would have accelerated some design decisions and prevented a few late-stage pivots.

Impact on Career: This project solidified my ability to work at a senior-to-staff level, balancing strategic business thinking with hands-on execution. The direct connection between my design work and preventing enterprise churn demonstrated the business impact senior designers can drive.