Business and Management Systems (BAMS) plays a key role in providing the enabling infrastructure that helps the Virginia Tech community flourish. BAMS supports the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (EVPCOO), and more than 70 departments across Virginia Tech, serving approximately 1,400 users. BAMS provides solutions that improve administrative operations, streamline business processes, and ensure the continuity and reliability of supported departmental technology. Focus areas include application development, user experience design, end-user support, infrastructure services, AV systems, security and compliance, and public safety technology.

Unsung heroes from User Experience Design (UX) and Business Support Systems (BSS) in BAMS shared their experiences working on the team and providing the services that keep online tools running smoothly. 

What can UX and BSS do?

If a unit supported by BAMS has a process or workflow that feels clunky or is not serving their work properly, the design and development teams offer assistance in improving these business processes with creative tools and solutions. The UX team helps units create tools that will work for them and their goals, which requires significant thought and intention. “Our process is about digging deep into what will really work for people and finding out how they’re actually using their tools,” noted Sara Simpkins, director of user experience design. Sophie Newell, user experience/user interface developer, shared that the team’s work could include interviewing users, designing screen layouts or interactive components, conducting user testing, or working on the front-end development of a site.

Once the UX team has worked through this process, the BSS team collaborates and begins to develop code, accounting for accessibility and security, and building a framework from the mockups and plans that the design team has created. Chris Rahmes, director of business support systems, shared that “both teams are really involved at every step, and collaboration between the two is really important for success.”

What skills shine in UX and BSS?

While everyone on both teams has significant technical skills to make tools work, that is not what team members consider most important. For both team leaders and team members, collaboration and communication are the most important skills on their teams. 

Rahmes noted that “communication is the number one skill because it has to be,” emphasizing how crucial teamwork is for success.  Brandi Robertson, business support systems analyst, also noted that “we can transform tough and complex processes into a more intuitive workflow. Having such a collaborative and open environment really influences our work.”

The teams’ recent work with the President’s Office and Human Resources division on the Employee Awards portal highlighted this collaboration and creative workflow. The teams replaced several tedious workflows, working to make the recognition of employees a lighter lift across the board. Almost every designer and developer on the teams collaborated to make this happen: a public website for awards criteria, dynamic nomination forms that pull employee information to reduce work for the nominator, integrated workflows to automate request for approval, an administrative portal for program coordinators to manage award cycles, and committee sites for review and selections of the award recipients. UX and BSS teams sought to understand existing workflows from each user’s point of view and tackled pain points head on to develop a robust system that can be used campus wide. Working through this project required significant collaboration and communication across teams, and both teams were able to create a process that is more seamless for everyone who uses it. 

What makes these teams special?

Team members shared a resounding answer when asked about the best part of their work: the people they work with. Newell shared that “we have a great team dynamic,” and Robertson echoed a similar sentiment, saying that “our team is always ready to help and support one another as we work and grow professionally.” 

The supportive dynamic also greatly enhances the work that the teams create. Paul West, information systems application developer, noted that the team’s ability to solve problems creatively shines through because of their ability to collaborate with and support each other. 

Unsung Heroes 

For both teams, a great project goes unseen once it is complete. Simpkins said that “a significant success metric for us is that the system is intuitive and seamless enough that no one has to think about the tool anymore,” demonstrating the critical but often unsung nature of their work. 

Both teams work to improve experiences for Virginia Tech community members, and they are always happy to help. For more information, learn about BAMS services, check out the BAMS website, or contact the team.