Case Study
Operator
Supercharge customer support teams by providing powerful tools for quality assurance, AI-driven agent assistance, and advanced analytics.
Overview
Project Type
Internal SaaS Platform
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
2023-2024
Tools
Figma, Material UI, Jira
Scope
Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Visual Design
Company
PartnerHero (now Crescendo)
Operator is an internal platform designed to supercharge customer support teams at PartnerHero (now Crescendo). It provides access to 3 core applications:
- Assist: Formerly PartnerGenie, an AI copilot that helps agents draft and refine customer emails, reducing response time and improving accuracy. It is comprised of a web app for managers/admins and a Chrome extension that agents use to interact with the AI copilot.
- Quality: Formerly Aprikot, a peer-to-peer review tool that enables teams to evaluate and improve agent performance collaboratively. It is comprised of a web app for managers/admins and a Chrome extension that agents use to score tickets.
- Health: A powerful analytics dashboard that aggregates key metrics, providing actionable insights for managers and clients. It is comprised of a web app for managers/admins.
I led UX and UI design for Assist, Quality, and the Operator admin panel, collaborating closely with other designers, product managers, developers, and stakeholders.
Problem & Context
Customer support teams previously relied on fragmented tools, inconsistent workflows, and manual processes, which led to inefficiencies and rising operational costs. After several proof-of-concept tools proved their value, PartnerHero decided to fully design and develop a centralized platform—one that would empower every team across the organization.
My mission was to transform fragmented internal tools into an integrated, scalable product suite, ensuring that every feature enhanced efficiency, clarity, and agent satisfaction.
Research & Insights
Current State Analysis
Customer support teams previously relied on fragmented tools, inconsistent workflows, and manual processes, which led to inefficiencies and rising operational costs. After several proof-of-concept tools proved their value, PartnerHero decided to fully design and develop a centralized platform—one that would empower every team across the organization.
My mission was to transform fragmented internal tools into an integrated, scalable product suite, ensuring that every feature enhanced efficiency, clarity, and agent satisfaction.
Interviews
To ensure Operator effectively addressed the challenges faced by customer support agents, I planned and led a series of user interviews with agents and managers who interacted daily with Assist and Quality. My objective was to identify pain points, usability concerns, and improvement opportunities in the tools.
A diverse group of agents and managers across different teams and experience levels were selected. We would have:
- One-on-one video call interviews
- Open-ended questions to encourage detailed feedback
- Live walkthroughs of the tools to observe agent workflows
Impact of Research
These insights directly influenced feature updates and UI improvements, making the tools more intuitive and valuable for agents.
Agent experience
- The Chrome extension UI is unclear
- Management through the web-app is difficult, and so is reviewing data.
- Some agents felt the AI-generated responses were too generic and needed more customization.
- Trust in AI suggestions varied based on agent experience level.
- Agents wanted a way to quickly edit AI responses before sending.
- It is common for agents to prefer the use of macros over the tool.
Quality & ops
- Agents had difficulty understanding how to navigate and score in the Chrome extension
- Managers had difficulty understanding how to create rubrics
- Reviewing and comparing data felt slow
- Managers were asking for different scoring methods, capabilities, and requirements
- Lack of actionable feedback for agents being scored
Ideation & Design Process
After reviewing insights gathered during the research process and incorporating feedback from project managers, stakeholders, and developers, we aligned on a structured vision for the software suite. We openly discussed what an ideal version of the product would look like and developed a clear plan for the MVP.
With the roadmap in place, we began wireframing and designing the interfaces section by section. To ensure a consistent and cohesive experience across all applications within the platform, we chose Material UI as our design framework. For the MVP, customization of the design system was kept minimal to prioritize functionality and speed of development.
Collaboration & Agile Integration
Operator was developed within a Scrum-based engineering process. Design, product, and development worked as a single, cross-functional team. I integrated deeply into this workflow by participating in sprint planning, daily standups, and iterative design reviews. I also made sure decisions were validated early and consistently aligned with our development resources.
UI Previews
Chrome extension in action
Quick demo of the Assist extension inside the agent workflow.
Impact And Results
Operator improved usability and adoption across the company’s internal tools.
- ✓
Adopted by 500+ agents across teams
- ✓
Unified design language across 3 applications and an admin panel
- ✓
Positive feedback from early users—agents and paying customers—highlighting clarity and visual consistency
The success and maturity of Operator’s product direction contributed to Crescendo’s interest in PartnerHero during the acquisition process, demonstrating the value of scalable internal tooling and thoughtful product design.
Reflection
Through my experience with Operator, I gained valuable insights into implementing design strategies across multiple teams and products while maintaining consistency, transparency, and purpose.
As features regularly changed, objectives transformed, and deadlines shifted, I was motivated to develop greater flexibility, better communication skills, and a more practical design methodology.
However, the most fulfilling aspect went beyond the process itself; it was observing teams thrive using the exact tools we had created.
...exceptional design goes beyond visual interfaces.
Exceptional design involves empowering individuals to perform at their highest level through clear communication, understanding, and flexible systems that evolve alongside their users.