Opnode SYSOP
A Scalable and Automated Solution for Contract Management, Billing, and Store Administration
Note: In compliance with confidentiality agreements and respect for intellectual property, all visual content presented here has been anonymized, reconstructed, or redesigned. The focus of this case study is to demonstrate my design process, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
Background
With the introduction of a new e-commerce product, there was no existing internal system to manage customer store operations, contracts, or billing workflows.
All critical processes—including store creation, contract application and modifications, and invoice reconciliation—were handled manually. These tasks required business teams to collect and submit data through spreadsheets, relying on engineers to manually update the system.
OpNode was developed to automate these processes, reducing manual workload while ensuring greater transparency, accuracy, and efficiency across internal operations.
My Role & Approach
As the sole Product Designer, I led user research, conducting in-depth interviews with stakeholders across sales, customer support, finance, and engineering teams. Working closely with the Product Manager, I analyzed key operational challenges and prioritized feature development, defining OpNode’s iterative roadmap to align with business needs.
Since OpNode was built as an independent internal product, I collaborated closely with engineering teams to establish a new design system and UI component library, ensuring consistency, scalability, and usability across the platform. This cross-functional effort resulted in a robust and adaptable system tailored to diverse operational requirements.
Impact
By automating critical workflows and providing a user-friendly interface, SYSOP significantly reduces engineering workload, enhances cross-departmental collaboration, and streamlines business operations.
User Research
I conducted comprehensive user research, interviewing stakeholders across multiple departments—including Sales, Customer Support, Finance, Product Management, Engineering, and CEO. The goal was to understand their pain points, workflows, and critical needs, forming the foundation for SYSOP’s functionality and design.
Key Findings & Pain Points
Manual Contract Processing & Limited Flexibility
Sales teams not only faced delays due to manual contract creation and engineering dependencies but also required greater flexibility to adjust contract terms for customized promotions.
High Dependency on Engineering for Routine Tasks
Sales, support, and finance teams relied on engineers for store creation, contract modifications, and billing adjustments, leading to delays and inefficiencies.
Billing Complexity
Finance teams required engineering support to generate and validate monthly invoices. Additionally, invoice reconciliation and payment follow-ups placed a heavy operational burden on customer support.
Lack of Store Visibility
Customer support and product managers lacked an intuitive way to search and manage store information, making issue resolution slower and requiring frequent backend queries.
Product Roadmap & Iterative Development
In collaboration with the Product Manager, I helped define the OpNode development roadmap, prioritizing features based on operational urgency and business impact. The roadmap was structured into three iterative stages, ensuring a phased rollout that delivered immediate value while allowing for continuous enhancements.
Stage 1: Core Store & Contract Management
Stage 2: Billing & Search Optimization
Stage 3: Internal Issue Reporting & Data Management
Key Challenges & Solutions
Modular & Adjustable Contract Management
Challenge
User research revealed that sales teams needed greater pricing flexibility and customizable contract terms to align with diverse customer needs and promotional strategies.
Solution
Flexible Pricing Model
Implemented a modular pricing structure, allowing sales teams to configure contracts with predefined plans or apply custom pricing adjustments for specific customer agreements.
Contract editor allowing users to select predefined plans or customize terms dynamically.
Implemented a real-time cost calculation module, enabling sales teams to preview pricing adjustments before finalization.
Multiple Payment Options
Designed a contract payment framework supporting one-time payments as well as installment-based payment plans, enabling businesses to offer greater financial flexibility to customers.
Adaptive Contract Lifecycle Management
Created contract state transitions, allowing agreements to be:
Final Contract Management
Billing Management
Challenge
Finance teams needed a more adaptable billing system to handle dynamic pricing adjustments, automate reconciliation, and streamline invoice issuance. Manual modifications and tracking created inefficiencies, increasing the risk of errors and delays.
Solution
Allows itemized adjustments
Enabling finance teams to add charges or apply discounts directly.
Automates Reconciliation
Invoicing System
To streamline invoice management and minimize manual intervention, I designed an intelligent invoicing system that:
Role-Based Access & Permissions
Challenge
Different teams required varying levels of visibility and functional access. Without a structured system, some users lacked access to necessary features, leading to operational bottlenecks, while others had excessive permissions, creating security risks. The absence of a scalable permission model made it difficult to grant or restrict access without engineering involvement.
Solution
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Implemented granular permission settings, ensuring each role had access to only relevant data and actions.
Designed context-aware interfaces, where available features adjust based on user roles, reducing confusion and preventing unauthorized actions.
Restricted Actions with Guided Explanations
Introduced disabled actions with tooltips, providing clear explanations when users attempt to access restricted features.
