SSL Renewal Refresh: Leveraging Product Design to Reduce Risk and Increase ROI
Problem
InteleOrchestrator (IO) is a Software as a Service (SaaS) product that relies on a secure domain with an up-to-date SSL certificate. When certificates expire, service outages occur, impacting patient care and eroding customer trust.
Internal data revealed that SSL renewal issues:
Accounted for 5% of all IO support cases over four quarters.
Were responsible for 15% of total service outages.
Required 70% of users to call Support to resolve.
These insights highlighted an opportunity to improve reliability and reduce support call volume. I presented these findings to my Product Manager and secured buy-in to research and design a solution.
My Role: Product Designer (Solo)
Product: InteleOrchestrator (formerly Clario SmartWorklist)
Duration: 4 months (March–June 2023)
Methods Used: Generative Research, User Interviews, Usability Testing, Quantitative Data Analysis
Research & Discovery
To leverage the existing knowledge in the org, I was meeting every quarter with one of IO's founders to discuss product issues that could be solved with UX design. This is where I first learned about the issue and the problems it was causing for our customers.
To understand the problem, I first engaged with support representatives. Their perspective was two-fold: they were users of the page themselves, as well as guided customers through it. Their insights revealed four primary points of failure in the SSL renewal process:
Users forgot to renew the certificate before expiration.
Incorrect file paths were entered during uploads.
The downloaded certificate file was often in the wrong format.
Users neglected to save their changes, leading to lost updates and connection failures.
Users didn't reset the connection, so the changes couldn't take effect throughout the system.
Using this data, I mapped out the user journey and identified friction points, ensuring that our solution targeted the most common and costly mistakes.
Solution Generation & Design Process
Leveraging UX best practices, I designed a streamlined SSL renewal experience with proactive guidance and fail-safes:
Expiration Reminders: Automated notifications alert administrators before certificates expire.
File Upload Validation: A file picker enforces correct formats, reducing upload errors.
Clear Instructions: Contextual UI text clarifies required file types and paths.
Save & Confirmation Prompts: Users must confirm before leaving the page to prevent accidental data loss.
Automated Connection Reset: Initially considered unattainable, this was successfully implemented by engineering, removing a major friction point.
Validation & Iteration
I tested initial designs internally with Support personnel familiar with past issues, followed by usability testing with administrator customers. Feedback guided refinements, such as:
Adjusting notification timing to prevent excessive alerts.
Refining instructional text to reduce ambiguity.
Enhancing the Save button’s prominence for clarity.
Impact & Business Value
In June, I presented this case study to the product management team, demonstrating the measurable impact of UX research on business outcomes. The redesigned SSL renewal process resulted in:
Fewer Service Outages: Anticipated reduction in incidents caused by renewal errors.
Lower Support Costs: Fewer calls to Support, reducing operational strain.
Improved Customer Trust: Proactive design changes reinforced system reliability.
Increased UX Visibility: Highlighted UX as a driver of business value, leading to greater involvement of UX researchers in strategic planning and industry events.
Reflections & Takeaways
This project reinforced the importance of UX in driving business outcomes and reducing risk. By applying research-driven design, I delivered a solution that not only enhanced usability but also aligned with broader company goals—ensuring seamless, efficient workflows for administrators while reducing service disruptions.