Close-up of black text reading 'FREEDOM' with gray and black bold font.

Quoting

A screenshot of a computer screen displaying quote information, involved parties, and product details in a business management or procurement software interface.

A black Lenovo ThinkPad laptop opened to display a page titled 'My current quote' on the screen, with a keyboard below.

Open laptop displaying a detailed business or technical software interface with various data fields, tables, and navigation elements.

Email draft showing a quote request form from AVP Equity Pallet Co. LLC with details like customer name, quote number, status, and terms of payment.

SQO. A tool that IBM sellers (including new license and annuity) and quote approvers use to get/approve quotes on on-premise and SaaS software, as well as appliances, so they can tell their customers what the product offers will cost.
The current tool named SQO (Software Quote and Order) is a home-grown tool, that has been in use since the early 2000s.
Why replace SQO?
Not only is SQO hard to maintain, but it lacks the functionality of modern quoting tools, making it hard to improve our sellers’ quoting experience.
Industry-standard functionality. By moving to a solution built on the industry-leading SAP CPQ, we have greater functionality, allowing us to streamline the experience for sellers and create a better experience for our users.
Faster time-to-market. IBM Quoting supports several capabilities that will allow sellers to get quotes more quickly:
- Embedded rules that stop incorrect configurations before a quote is submitted
- Defaults that do not require any approvals
- Parallel approval processes, so that multiple approvers can work on the same quote at the same time
- Ability to resubmit a bid after changes, requiring approvals only for changes
Less internal development work. We can stop maintaining a homegrown tool.
Opportunity to include AI. The plan is to use Watson chat-bot, to enhance the experience. We are designing an AI model for the users, to help them to get to the outcome quicker for MVP, with a longer term plan to develop an AI model for transforming the user experience.

“Getting a quote created and approved could take a few days. We missed a lot of opportunities!“ - IBM seller

HOW

Step 1: Research

Flowchart showing the relationship between IBM Quoting software and other BPT design projects, including various customer, partner, and seller systems connected to the quoting software and systems for ordering and fulfillment.

A webpage about IBM Quoting with sections explaining its purpose, target users like license and annuity sellers, built on SAP CPQ, availability in April, and featuring a sidebar indicating 8,000 people.

Diagram showing process improvements from IBM Quoting, with times reduced from 2 hours to 1 hour for quote preparation and approval times decreasing from 21 hours to 8 hours.

Planning, Strategizing

A project timeline with milestones from May 2022 to April 2024, describing steps like software quoting, team consultations, UI design, and going live, featuring Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story on the left side.

A presentation slide with the title "What’s next?" on the left. On the right, a section titled "Our top goals, post-MVP" listing "Continue expanding and improving IBM Quoting" with bullet points "New features" and "Address user comments," and "Work better with dev and PO" with a bullet point "Get design involved during sprint planning." To the right of the text, there are three bar charts made of colored squares representing goals: 6 design (blue), 16 POs (purple), and 86 devs (teal).

Slide comparing IBM Quoting and SQO, each with screenshots of respective software interfaces.

We had many rounds of User Interviews, devised Design Workshops…

Expected Improvements

The time spent putting a quote together is expected to be reduced from 2 hours to 1 hour. And for the quote approval time to go from 21 hours to a whopping 8 hours!

Step 2: Ideation

Screenshot of an IBM quoting platform showing a quote titled "Bobs Sunday Best Server Revamp V2 022607" with details including creation date June 27, 2023, quote status as draft and open, and sections indicating no end customer or products added.

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A computer screen showing a customer search window with options for selecting Pepsi-related companies, including site numbers, ICN, customer status, company address in Texas, and program types. The window has search and next buttons.

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Screenshot of a quote management interface within an IBM software platform showing sections for quote information, involved parties, products, and search functionality for customers.

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A screenshot of a business quote management system interface showing a pop-up window for selecting an agreement type for a customer, with options and information about the customer and companies involved.

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Screenshot of a customer search window on a business platform, with search term 'pepsi' entered, showing search results for different Pepsi-related companies and locations.

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Screenshot of a software interface showing an agreement form with customer details, agreement type, options, and various buttons for actions. The background includes a partially visible quote document with customer and order information.

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Feature - to add a customer

Screenshot of a business quotation form in a software interface. It includes sections for quote information, involved parties, and products. The involved party section shows details for an end customer: Dole Flowers Ecuador USA One, with address, customer number, site number, agreement number, and program type, along with country and currency information. The products section displays details for a product related to IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence with options to browse catalog or add products.

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Screen displaying a data entry form for configuring the IBM X-Force Exchange Commercial API, including contract term, package selection, and ramp-up period details.

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Screenshot of the IBM X_Force Exchange Commercial API webpage, showing options for X-Force Threat Intelligence, Terms and billing, Ramp up, and Parts list tabs, with an important notice about QR XDR Connect parts and threat intelligence feeds.

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Screenshot of an IBM SAP CPQ webpage for configuring IBM X-Force Exchange Commercial API subscription, displaying error messages, item details, part number, ramp-up periods, and total quantity, with options to cancel or configure another product.

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Screenshot of IBM SAP CPQ interface for IBM X_Force Exchange Commercial API, showing options for threat intelligence, API level, quantity, and a button to add to quote.

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Screenshot of IBM quoting catalog page titled 'Ramp up: IBM X_Force Exchange Commercial API,' showing error logs, contract duration, and ramp-up details for API subscription with tables listing part numbers, ramp-up periods, and quantities.

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Feature - to configure a ramp up

Step 3: Prototyping

Computer monitor displaying a sales quote creation interface with various sections, including quote information, involved parties, and product details, with numbered labels and descriptive annotations.

A computer monitor displaying a user interface for placing an order for a quote, with features and steps described for adding customers, viewing history, and moving to the next step.

Diagram explaining error features in quote configuration software, including error indicators, warning symbols, initial quote information, customer details, and product information sections.

Diagram of a computer monitor displaying a product table interface with numbered annotations explaining features, including grouped features, color-coded indicators for product types and attention, quick links to billing info, and collapsible rows with chevrons for maximizing screen real estate.

Computer monitor displaying a customer addition interface with instructions and features, including a search bar, result list, and a create new customer button.

We devised Usability Testing & Report for every stage and iteration, and then revised and reiterated based on feedback data until we finalized with the Prototype.

Meet the Team

Amy

UX/Lead

Esther

UX

Garrett

Visual design

Gabby

Service design and AI, Transformation

Rosemary

Service design & user research

Kevin

UX

My Role

UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer, Wireframing, Prototyping, Presentation, Stakeholder Management

Tools

Adobe CC, Figma, Sketch, Webex, Box Notes, Mural

Next Steps

Learn more about and from our users

Super users
Metrics and VotE comments
Slack channels and support tickets
IBM Quoting chatbot query analysis
Office hours

Continue expanding and improving IBM Quoting

New features
Address user comments

Work better with dev and PO

Get design involved during sprint planning

Lessons Learnt

This project was fairly lengthy, with 3 designers working concurrently but not cohesively and rarely brief each other in the beginning, until a few more members joined halfway through to form a team. In hindsight, it's hard to imagine how things were getting done at first. There were moments when things felt impossible, where the only thing I could do was to keep my head down and keep going. Every step along the way was a learning opportunity, from organizing sprints to managing personnel.

While I thought I had a decent grasp of stakeholder management, I found myself often having to be more assertive. The definition of "success" of a project means completely different things to different Stakeholders. Watching team leads and managers navigate this delicate dance was certainly a learning experience.

I also learnt firsthand how integral and crucial briefings and meetings are throughout this project, despite their reputations. We were able to catch double work or rapidly correct the course, and so forth…

Thanks for Visiting

Thank you for taking the time to check out my work with IBM Quoting.

Let’s stay in touch.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me here.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

WeWash

Quoting