Designing a Contextual Activity & Data Collection System

Problem

BeatRoute allowed admins to create custom activities (forms) to collect business-specific data, but these were disconnected from how users actually worked.

• Activities existed as standalone forms

• Users had to leave their workflow to complete them

• Manual effort required to:

  • Search for activities

  • Enter context (e.g., Order ID)

• No support for workflow-based or contextual data capture

👉 Result: Broken workflows, increased effort, and inefficient data collection

Context: What are Activities?

Custom Activities are flexible forms used to capture data beyond standard workflows like Orders or Payments.

They are used for:

• Customer-linked tasks
  (e.g., store audits, visibility checks, complaint reporting)

• Team-level tasks
  (e.g., expense submissions, training feedback)

Who is this for?

Admins

• Create and configure activities

• Define questions, timelines, and visibility

• Decide who should see the activity

Sales Representatives (SFA App)

• Complete activities during fieldwork

• Fill forms linked to workflows or customers

Customers / Retailers (Customer App)

• Complete activities assigned to them

• Participate in workflows like feedback, audits, or issue reporting

👉 Activities are a cross-platform system spanning admin, sales, and customer apps

Why this was challenging

• Activities are dynamic and configurable

• Workflows vary across companies

• System needed to support:

  • Multiple user types

  • Multiple entry points

  • Context-aware data capture

👉 The challenge was to make the system flexible yet intuitive

Understanding the Existing Experience

• Activities were created as standalone entities

• No linkage to workflows like Order, Return, Dispatch

• Users had to:

  • Exit their current task

  • Search for the activity

  • Manually input context

👉 Even for simple actions (like raising a complaint on an order), the experience was fragmented

Key Insights

• Users should not have to break their flow

• Context should be automatically available

• Activities should feel embedded, not separate

• System must support different user roles and use cases

👉 The core issue was lack of contextual integration across the system

Design Direction

1. Make activities contextual

Bring them into workflows where actions happen

2. Reduce manual effort

Automate context and eliminate redundant steps

3. Support multiple user types

Enable activities for both sales reps and customers

4. Maintain flexibility

Allow admins to configure activities based on business needs

What I Changed

1. Introduced Transaction-Linked Activities

Problem

Activities were disconnected from workflows

Solution

Enabled admins to link activities to specific workflows such as;

• Order

• Return

• Dispatch

👉 Activities now appear within relevant workflows

2. Enabled In-Flow Activity Completion

Problem

Users had to exit workflows to complete activities

Solution

• Activities now surface inside workflows

• Users can fill and submit without leaving

👉 Eliminated workflow breaks and improved efficiency

3. Automated Contextual Data Fetching

Problem

Users manually entered IDs (e.g., Order ID)

Solution

• Auto-fetch relevant data when accessed in-flow

• When accessed externally:

  • Users select workflow type + ID

👉 Reduced manual effort and errors

4. Designed a Multi-User Activity System

Problem

Activities were not clearly structured across different user types

Solution

Enabled admins to define who the activity is for:

• Sales reps → visible in SFA app

• Customers / Retailers → visible in customer app

👉 Created a unified yet role-specific system

5. Structured Activity Creation with Templates

Problem

Activity creation was repetitive and unstructured

Solution

• Introduced workflow-based templates

• Enabled admins to:

  • Define activity type

  • Link to workflows

  • Configure visibility and timelines

👉 Made creation more scalable and structured

6. Improved Activity Discovery

Problem

Activities were hard to find in long lists

Solution

Activities now appear across multiple touchpoints:

• Workflow screens

• Action panel (if promoted)

• General activity list

👉 Increased visibility and accessibility

End-to-End Experience

The redesigned system:

• Integrates activities within workflows

• Supports sales reps and customers

• Reduces manual effort and context switching

• Enables flexible configuration for different businesses

Impact

(Based on implementation and internal feedback)

• ↓ Workflow interruptions

• ↓ Manual effort and data entry

• ↑ Ease of completing tasks in context

• ↑ Adoption across different user roles

Key Learnings

• Contextual design improves efficiency in complex systems

• Flexibility is critical in multi-user B2B platforms

• Reducing flow breaks directly impacts usability