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Leveraging GenAl for Efficient Timesheet Logging

User research reveals that people often postpone recording tasks and may struggle to recall what they’ve worked on when entering them into the system.

Task Tracker streamlines the time logging process by allowing users book their time in natural language, reducing non-billable hours and allowing consultants to focus on core responsibilities, enhancing productivity and cutting operational costs.

Context

My Role: Lead UX Designer, Workshop Facilitator

Timeframe: Jan 2024 - April 2024

Tools: Figma, Mural, Illustrator

Before

SAP S/HANA Timesheet app is the second most used application (after the inbox) and leveraged by almost all employees in the Professional Services industry.

The timesheet app continuously receives negative feedback around usability and complexity which leads to late time entries.

Incorrect or late timesheet entries lead to delayed billing, payment processes, and costly customer disputes. Delayed and after-the-fact time entries negatively impact work efficiency and are directly linked with the industry's operational efficiency, and therefore, profitability.

Main User Challenge

A common challenge for users is to recall their schedule, some mentioned maintaining an excel or keep track manually. Some users revisit their calendar or email to recreate the days.

"I’m constantly juggling tasks with no time to log them as I go. I usually have to rely on emails and calendar meetings later to piece together how I spent my time."
“After-the-fact”
Time Recording

Booking complexity varies yet time interval can be as low as 3 min with over 40 tasks per week, e.g.: many tasks and small intervals by tax colleagues, internal client services, support.

“The increments are difficult to record and also to make corrections too as I need to click on every record to see which one needs correction.”
Task Complexity
and Granularity

Users struggle with distinguishing similar worklist entries, lack an efficient overview due to clutter and poor organization.

“I always need to scroll through a long list to pick the correct project, and because the entries are similar, I have to really look into the details to differentiate them.”
Difficulty Identifying Projects
Exploration

A key observation from the end-user workshop is that there’s a missing option for users to "brain dump"  and save incomplete entries during short interval of tasks.

Considering the tight timeline and limited engineering resources o the project, our team decided to create an enhancement to the existing Timesheet App, not to replace it, leveraging the capability of SAP Generative AI Hub.

To-be User Journey Storyboard

Designed for users with complex scheduling needs, it allows intuitive calendar management through natural language and provides a dedicated space to capture tasks during meetings—making it a quick, effective solution for seamless integration and adoption.

To avoid confusion with the existing app, we named the new application "Task Tracker," emphasizing its role as a notepad for users to effortlessly track tasks and monitor progress using natural language.

Design Proposal
Encourage Spontaneous Entry

Progress bar that indicates booking status and gives user incentives.

Calendar view to show the booking overview of the month.

Save time from manual search of project

Show recent booked projects, reducing user manual input.

Search function for users to quickly and accurately find project from the list.

Leverage AI to reduce complexity

Users can easily search for missing hours, booking status of a project, or simply copy the same booking from previous days.

Project Outcome

In addition to freeing users from time-consuming reporting tasks, our early adopters have experienced significant financial benefits from the GenAI-powered time recording tool.

"As early adopters of SAP S/4HANA Cloud and participants in the Lighthouse program, we've used SAP Business Al to tackle industry challenges like inefficient timesheet processing. This innovation has significantly reduced our days sales outstanding. By saving up to $100,000 per day, we shorten the billing cycle."
Leonardo De Araujo, Global SAP Innovation
Syntax

For published customer story: 
SAP Business AI Helps Syntax Revolutionize Timesheet Task Tracking