%20copy.png)
Problem
Users struggled to trust and understand estimated treatment costs, leading to confusion and hesitancy in decision-making.
Overview
I was brought in via BHC as a contract UI designer to support the UI team at Applied Materials in refining and redesigning internal CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) screens. The goal was to improve usability and scalability for the Pricing team’s internal quoting tools — mission-critical systems used to configure high-value industrial products.
My role focused on translating complex pricing logic into clear, usable UI patterns while ensuring visual consistency through a scalable internal design system.
Problem
The original CPQ interface was outdated and non-intuitive, leading to:
- Redundant manual entry
- Confusing navigation
- Low user confidence in quote accuracy
- Inconsistent UI elements
As a result, the Pricing team struggled with inefficiencies, errors, and onboarding challenges — which slowed down sales cycles and increased the risk of misquotes on high-value deals.
They needed a modernized, modular interface that could support complex logic, integrate seamlessly with Salesforce, and scale across teams and product lines.
1. Discovery
I partnered with stakeholders and power users across Pricing and Engineering to map the full end-to-end quoting journey. This included product selection, configuration rules, approval logic, and quote generation.
I documented current-state friction points, business requirements, and UI inconsistencies — helping surface gaps in logic, terminology, and workflow clarity.
🔍 Methods Used:
- Stakeholder interviews
- Workflow mapping (As-is / To-be)
- UI audits of legacy screens
- Alignment sessions with devs & Salesforce admins
2. Sitemap
To streamline a previously fragmented quoting experience, I introduced a sitemap that enforced a clear left-to-right structure — consolidating the journey into a logical, linear progression.
📌 Key Improvements:
- Step-by-step panels: Clear task breakdowns reduced cognitive load and made the experience feel guided, not overwhelming.
- Inline validation: Built-in error catching at each step prevented invalid pricing combinations and reduced costly mistakes.
- Live quote preview: A sticky quote summary gave users real-time feedback on selections, increasing clarity and user trust.
This sitemap not only improved flow but also established a shared blueprint for design, engineering, and business teams to align on early.
3. Design System
To ensure long-term scalability and cross-team handoff, I developed a modular design system grounded in atomic design principles — built to align with both BHC’s visual language and Salesforce Lightning Design System.
🧱 Key Contributions:
- Built a comprehensive component library (tables, dropdowns, validation states, pills, progress indicators, status banners)
- Defined a responsive grid and spacing system that could handle dense data tables while staying accessible
- Applied consistent interaction patterns and system feedback for loading, errors, and approvals
The design system reduced design-developer friction and served as a foundation for future quoting tools and modules across Applied Materials.
.png)
3. UI Design
I worked closely with the UI team to align with existing component styles. Introduced:
- A tabbed view for complex product configurations
- Use of color and hierarchy to distinguish quote status (Draft, Submitted, Approved)
- Modular cards for component-based pricing
5. Handoff & Iteration
Design decisions were documented in Confluence, and developer handoff was facilitated through annotated Figma files. I participated in weekly reviews with SMEs and engineers to iterate on flows, update logic rules, and ensure feasibility.
💡 I also ran async usability walkthroughs with internal stakeholders using clickthrough prototypes, which helped validate flows early and surface edge cases.
Outcome
The new CPQ experience:
✅ Increased quote accuracy through inline validation
✅ Reduced training time by simplifying and structuring workflows
✅ Created a scalable model adopted across additional product lines and regions
Although internal metrics were confidential, stakeholders shared that the new UI significantly improved speed, clarity, and confidence across the quoting process — and was quickly adopted as a design standard for internal tools.
Reflection
This project sharpened my ability to simplify dense workflows without compromising business complexity. I learned how to:
- Balance strict technical constraints with user experience needs
- Communicate and align across functions (PMs, developers, Salesforce admins, business analysts)
- Build scalable design systems that serve both designers and developers
Most importantly, it reinforced the idea that great enterprise UX means making powerful tools feel simple — not by removing complexity, but by revealing it at the right time.