My Framer Site

Enhancing SAP’s Employee Card-Sending Experience

Designing the PhD Hub website for NYU Tandon

Role

UX Design Intern

Timeline

Dec 2024 - Present

Team

2 UX Designers
2 Developers
2 QA
1 Product Lead

Tools

Figma
SAP's Fiori iOS Design Kit
SAP's Web UI5 Kit

Quick Overview

At SAP, I wore many hats and tackled a variety of projects. In this case study, I’ll walk you through one that stood out, sharing the challenges, insights, and impact along the way. Stick around till the end, and I’ll also give you a quick peek into my other experiences!

The Problem -

Finding the right card in SAP's "Cheer" app was slow & frustrating - at least 3 taps and a lot of scrolling.

the solution -

A global search and local search to find cards much faster.

impact

And solving this matters because:

Faster search: Reduced to 1-2 taps, saving 5-7 seconds per card search.
Higher engagement: Likely increases the number of cards sent by employees.
Better discoverability: Cards are now easily found with global and category-based search.

A project involving an interactive accessible map designed to guide "citizen scientists" to analyze eclipse data, ensuring that every observer, regardless of their physical abilities, could partake in this experience, particularly members of the Blind and Low-Vision community.

action

What led to the solution?

Ideation and prototyping
A/B Testing
Collaboration with developers, QA, and product owners

Ideation and prototyping
A/B Testing
Collaboration with developers, QA, and product owners

Ideation and prototyping
A/B Testing
Collaboration with developers, QA, and product owners

Skip the process and view the final design? ↓

See the full website

Skip the process and view the final design? ↓

Jump to the final design ↓

Skip the process and view the final design? ↓

See other SAP work

Now, let's take a closer look at the problem

CONTEXT

"Cheer" is an SAP app where employees send digital cards to colleagues for any occasion - birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and more.

Why does this app matter?

Building a positive work culture matters.
"Cheer" makes it easy for employees to recognize and appreciate each other, boosting engagement and morale.

Users can browse through a list of categories.

Each category contains multiple occasions for users to explore cards.

The problem? - Finding the right card was time consuming leading to frustration, reduced engagement, & missed cards.

"Guess" the category

Cards were categorized, requiring users to guess the right category.

PhD students struggle to find academic resources, events, and support in one place.

At least 3 taps

It took at least 3 taps to send a card - longer if they didn’t know where to look.

A lot of times, students weren't even aware of events happening or services available to them.

Multiple scrolls

Once inside a category, users had to scroll through long lists to find the right card.

And this matters because:

Frustration – Users might give up instead of sending a card.

Reduced engagement – If finding a card is difficult, fewer employees will use the app.
Hidden cards – Some categories were rarely explored, making certain occasions harder to find.

The Challenge

How might we help SAP employees quickly find and send the right appreciation card without frustration or extra steps?

IDEATION

Exploring search solutions through research and mapping

With the problem clearly defined, I explored multiple ways to streamline the search experience. I started with:

Competitor & Pattern Analysis – Studied search interactions in similar apps to identify best practices.
User Journey Mapping – Walked through the current experience to pinpoint friction points.
Wireframing – Quickly visualized different approaches to balance usability and feasibility.

With the problem clearly defined, I explored multiple ways to streamline the search experience. I started with:

Competitor & Pattern Analysis – Studied search interactions in similar apps to identify best practices.
User Journey Mapping – Walked through the current experience to pinpoint friction points.
Wireframing – Quickly visualized different approaches to balance usability and feasibility.

With the problem clearly defined, I explored multiple ways to streamline the search experience. I started with:

Competitor & Pattern Analysis – Studied search interactions in similar apps to identify best practices.
User Journey Mapping – Walked through the current experience to pinpoint friction points.
Wireframing – Quickly visualized different approaches to balance usability and feasibility.

Based on my research and wireframing, I designed two approaches for the search feature, enabling users to quickly type and find the perfect card. Below is a look at both options.

A/B TESTING

I collaborated with the dev team to assess feasibility of both design options

I designed two search variations and walked the developer through both options. We discussed technical constraints, implementation effort, and user experience trade-offs.

Which option is more practical and intuitive?

Option A: Stacked Modal Approach

Quick access - users can open, dismiss, and continue seamlessly.
No need to navigate to a new screen just to start searching.
Lighter on system resources.

Option A: Stacked Modal Approach

Quick access - users can open, dismiss, and continue seamlessly.
No need to navigate to a new screen just to start searching.
Lighter on system resources.

Option A: Stacked Modal Approach

Quick access - users can open, dismiss, and continue seamlessly.
No need to navigate to a new screen just to start searching.
Lighter on system resources.

Option B: Search Bar on a New Screen

Requires two 'back' clicks to exit after typing.
More prominent and visually distinct search experience.
Higher system load due to screen transitions.

Option B: Search Bar on a New Screen

Requires two 'back' clicks to exit after typing.
More prominent and visually distinct search experience.
Higher system load due to screen transitions.

Option B: Search Bar on a New Screen

Requires two 'back' clicks to exit after typing.
More prominent and visually distinct search experience.
Higher system load due to screen transitions.

Option A Wins!

The dev team confirmed that the stacked modal search was both feasible and intuitive, aligning with best practices.
This led us in the direction of the solution that was user-friendly and practical to build.

FINAL DESIGN

To simplify the experience, I introduced two key search enhancements.

1. Global Search on the categories page.

1) Users no longer need to enter a category to start searching.

A search icon in the navbar opens a stacked modal.

2) Users type the occasion, and the system returns both the category and available cards.

Faster discovery with fewer clicks and no unnecessary scrolling.

3) The stacked modal allows users to type for the specific card they're looking for.

2. Local Search within a specific category.

1) If users already know the category, they can search within it for faster filtering.

A search bar in each category enables real-time filtering as users type.

2) Unlike global search, this is not a modal, keeping the focus within the category.

3) Users type the occasion, and the system returns both the category and available cards.

Accessibility comes first - dark mode is available across all screens.

IMPACT

Users could now find and send a card at least 5-7 seconds faster

✅ Search Time Reduced → From a min. of 3 taps and lengthy scrolling to 1 tap and typing.
✅ Higher Engagement – More employees sent cards, strengthening workplace connections.
✅ Higher Engagement – More employees sent cards, strengthening workplace connections.
✅ Better Discoverability – Previously hidden cards surfaced, increasing their usage.
✅ Improved User Satisfaction – The frustration of endless scrolling was replaced with a seamless experience.

UPCOMING PROJECT

Upcoming - Excited to lead the redesign of the "Success Stories" app!

Here’s what game plan might look like, though we’ll adapt as we go:)

SAP SURGE HACKATHON

Empowering engineers at SAP Surge Hackathon 2025 to turning complex Agentic AI use cases into intuitive designs

At the SAP Surge Hackathon 2025, I, along with a team of 5 designers assisted 160 engineers in learning how to use Figma to create user personas, user flows, and information architecture. I helped them transform complex agentic AI use cases into intuitive, user-friendly designs, equipping them with the skills needed to approach their projects with a user-centric mindset.

SAP employees from all over the world gathered for the Hackathon, and it was inspiring to see their brilliant ideas come to life.

Me at SAP's Engineering Academy for the Hackathon:)

REFLECTIONS

A welcoming and generous design culture @SAP

Working with my team at SAP exposed me to a welcoming and generous design culture. It was invaluable connecting with designers from different teams, learning from their unique approaches, and adapting those insights into my own work.
Collaborating closely with developers, QA, and product owners gave me a deeper understanding of the product lifecycle - having experienced it both as a developer and now as a designer adds a rich layer of perspective.
Participating in the Hackathon was truly inspiring; watching ideas come to life and seeing how UX can shape that process was a powerful reminder of the impact design can have.

Siri Pothuri

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