Earlier this year, my UX team was asked to redesign Dell EMC’s case management application on the Salesforce Lightning Platform. The application would help our 60,000+ service agents around the globe manage their casework across multiple channels (including chat, phone, social, and email) for our integrated suite of Dell EMC products.

Working in the new Dell Digital Way, which is a major cultural shift with a focus on pivotal methodology, we partnered closely with the Dell EMC Services Team to collaborate on and deliver a global, configuration-only solution that would be faster and allow for more iteration.

This was a very different approach than we were accustomed to. Instead of spending the initial phase creating a visionary design, we built our deliverables around the end users’ core needs within the capabilities of the Salesforce platform. In other words, the app had to be “vanilla” — a term that would normally make any creative professional sneer. But with business, IT, and UX aligned on our new mission to deliver a simple application, we were forced to find new ways to collaborate and innovate on the project. And in doing so, “vanilla” began to take on a whole new meaning.

We quickly realized that Salesforce could do it all, but the question was how to configure it for our needs. My team only had four weeks to ramp up, design, build, test, iterate, and deliver an application. Needless to say, we had to be lightning fast (pun intended!).

With a simple, customizable solution, we were able to meet this aggressive deadline while delivering an application that improved the daily business of our Dell EMC Services Team. Based on the outcomes of this project, here are four key lessons I learned about getting a UX team ready for the tough climb to a well-designed Lightning application:

1. Grab your hiking boots and hit the trails

I’ve always been a firm believer in the buddy system, especially when it comes to exploring new territories. Trailhead Trailmixes do an amazing job of setting teams up for success by providing the training necessary to understand the platform you’re working with. Our Salesforce program architect shared this Trailmix to help us get started.

My UX designers partnered with the Salesforce onboarding team and spent their first two weeks learning, exploring, and earning badges. Their time here was key to the foundation of our team’s success. Equipped with the right knowledge, my designers ran alongside the development team, co-creating feasible solutions that could be implemented immediately. Our focus on designing a simple “vanilla” solution helped us collaborate quickly.

Tip: Make time for your entire team to work through Trailmixes. Dive into the deep-end by focusing on developer-centric Trailmixes, in particular.

2. Sandboxes aren’t just for developers

The UX sandbox became my team’s primary office. While it may seem like child’s play to others, having the ability to build, destroy, and rebuild helped us identify the best solutions within the limitations of configuration. We used Salesforce best practices to lay a foundation rooted in industry-leading processes that would continue to scale up as the tool improves.

Tip: Include the entire team (business, development, IT, etc.) in your user research, process mapping, and testing sessions. This is a great opportunity for you to share UX processes and expand user-centered design thinking.

3. Don’t be afraid to fail

Starting this project seemed daunting at first. In addition to getting up to speed on Salesforce quickly, my team had to research, learn, and document all the tools our agents use. At Dell, the average agent uses more than 15 tools in a single day to manage their casework, so that’s a lot to master in only a few weeks.

Equipped with our research, a sandbox, and end-user feedback, we were able to design, test, and iterate quickly. Moving fast meant we missed a few user requirements, but that was okay because our end users were part of the failures and the successes. Together, we discovered the issues and found workarounds until we pushed the full solution in our next release. Make time to constantly validate your concepts with users and don’t be afraid of honest feedback.

Tip: Stay connected to your users regularly. We had daily and weekly meetings with our users to test, iterate, and test some more. This is the key to moving fast.  

4. Vanilla doesn’t mean plain

For many UX teams, working on an out-of-the-box application may seem boring. It can be easy to think UX isn’t needed, that Salesforce did all the UX already and that it just needs to be implemented.

Yes, Salesforce created a suite of tools, functionalities, and workflows that are easy to configure. But here’s the rub: our end-users wanted the most simplified, streamlined process for THEIR workflow. The best workflow for our agents is not the same workflow as someone else’s. So to deliver the best experience, always keep your focus on your end-users. What do they need? What don’t they need? And how can you get them there quicker? Salesforce makes it super-easy to add and edit features with flexible layout options, but we still had to stretch the capabilities of configuration. Wherever we found gaps in functionalities, we documented it as feedback for Salesforce enhancements but continued to move forward, pivoting quickly to keep our users happy with delicious vanilla treats — the most loved flavor.

Tip: Share feedback with Salesforce about the improvements you need to “stay vanilla.” Sketch out the ideal user flow and key user stories before you start building. Once you know what is out-of-the-box and what would have to be custom, let Salesforce know. They have a great community for adding and voting on future roadmap enhancements.

What’s the moral of this story? Don’t underestimate vanilla! There’s a reason it’s remained a classic that’s stood the test of time as the most popular flavor. By keeping things simple and focused, you may be surprised what you can build.