This story is about designing UX for an enterprise app that feels effortless and delightful. It’s the story of Data I Am — an AI-powered data loader for Salesforce.
Why a Salesforce-Specific Data Loader?
In “Why a Salesforce-specific Data Loader”, I explained why the world needed one. TL;DR: generic ETL tools handle complex integrations, but that flexibility comes at a cost — bloated menus with options, endless functions, and dials, 90% of which aren’t needed when all you want is to load a messy spreadsheet into Salesforce.
Target User Persona
Meet Alex Smith — the Salesforce Admin. He wants to load messy spreadsheets quickly and confidently into Salesforce.
MuleSoft, a popular ETL tool, for example, even hosts workshops just to teach users how to use it. Alex doesn’t have time to learn to drive an 18-wheeler just to run an errand. He just needs simple, reliable spreadsheet-to-Salesforce loading.
The Experience Starts With the Website
Great user experience begins at first touch. Our website is self-explanatory, with demo video, animated GIFs to highlight key capabilities, and frictionless self-service signup. All the info needed to get started is right there — no “Call for Pricing” buttons, no barriers.
Deciding How Users Interact
Once we knew we had to build a Salesforce-specifc data loader, we had the why, next, we had to solve the how. We followed an iterative, Design Thinking approach, collaborating internally and with design partners.
Initially, we considered a conversational UI:
Prompt: “Fix and load my data”
Fun in theory. But in practice? Meh. Typing a prompt and checking if AI did what you wanted takes time. We scrapped it. Instead, the heavy lifting happens in the background, and users see clean, AI-tested suggestions.
Our guiding question: how do you design powerful enterprise software that users can just click through — no typing required?
Just Clicks
The vision was clear: Data I Am couldn’t look like a conventional ETL tool. No formulas. No scripts. No 50-step data pipelines. Just effortless data loading.
Every cell in a spreadsheet is analyzed, bad data is flagged and fixed, fields are mapped to Salesforce, missing Record IDs are filled, the preview is displayed, and the job is scheduled — all with just a click.
Keeping the User Informed
The experience doesn’t stop when the data job runs. After a job completes, in-app notifications and emails inform users how it went, highlight any issues, and suggest quick corrective actions. Coming soon: a monitor showing the value Data I Am delivers — records uploaded, missing IDs retrieved, invalid values corrected — all at a glance.
Early Reactions
I was talking to a Salesforce Admin — no slides, no pitch — I just opened our website. A few minutes in, I said:
“Let me show you how to sign up…”
The Admin replied:
“Actually, I’m already in. The signup was easy…”
By the time we finished talking, he was exploring the tool. That’s click-first UX in action.
Making a simple UX for enterprise app is hard — but gratifying when you see delight on customers’ faces.
Key Elements of Data I Am UX
- Familiarity — built on Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS) for instant recognition because our target user is a Salesforce Admin.
- Usability — spreadsheet-like interface for intuitive interaction.
- No guesswork — WYSIWYG preview for every data fix. No surprises.
- End-to-end delight — experience starts with the website, continues during the data fixing and loading, and post-job notifications keep users informed.
Experience for Yourself
The best proof of good UX? Experiencing it yourself. Upload a messy spreadsheet, watch Data I Am flag and fix bad data, preview the fixed data, and run your job effortlessly.
See how we’ve designed both app and website to delight Salesforce Admins. Click-first UX, intelligent AI fixes, and frictionless self-service mean anyone can get started in minutes.
Experience it now: https://dataiam.com
