SmartPeople — Product Case Study

01 · Users & goals

Ready for companies running real payroll

Before launch, SmartPeople (SmartOffice's HR and payroll platform at BYSL Global Technology Group) had to be ready to sell to companies running real payroll.

Who it's for

HR admins: Employees, the organogram, official letters and notices.
Payroll and finance: Salary, tax, bonus, loans and advance salary.
Supervisors: Approvals and rosters.
Employees: Attendance, leave and payslips, on mobile.

Goals, set upfront

Launch-ready: In 16 weeks.
Payroll and tax: Correct to international rules.
Onboarding: One any user can finish.

The launch-readiness audit

I audited the product against real HR and payroll tasks and found 23 critical points where people got stuck, concentrated in three areas: the product's structure, payroll management, and settings. I submitted the plan to fix them the same month.

02 · Key decisions

Holding the date, cutting scope and rebuilding payroll

The readiness call

Problem: Launch was close, and the audit showed the product wasn't ready for companies running real payroll.
Decision: Hold to a fixed 16-week plan to make it launch-ready, and take ownership of delivering it across design, engineering, project management, sales and marketing.
Trade-off: A fixed deadline forced hard scope choices.
Said no to: Launching as planned and patching after.
Worth it because: Companies trust an HR platform with their payroll only once; it had to be right at launch.

Cutting scope for launch

Problem: Fixing everything wouldn't fit in 16 weeks.
Decision: Cut about 30% of modules, features and reports from the launch, keeping what a company needs on day one.
Trade-off: Some features moved to later releases.
Said no to: Fixing everything halfway.
Worth it because: A smaller product that works is one companies can trust from day one.

Rebuilding payroll and tax

Problem: Payroll and tax are where an HR product can't be wrong.
Decision: Rebuild payroll to international rules (pay grades, earnings, deductions, bonus, loans, advance salary and the financial year) and build a new tax engine.
Trade-off: More work and more risk inside 16 weeks.
Said no to: Patching the existing payroll.
Worth it because: Payroll accuracy is what lets sales put SmartPeople in front of any company.

03 · Execution

Sixteen weeks from plan to launch‑ready

I submitted the plan in November 2023. From December 2023 to March 2024 we delivered it, and SmartPeople launched in April 2024.

1Nov 2023Audit and plan
2Dec 2023 – Mar 202416-week build
3Apr 2024Launch

Timeline · audit and plan, 16-week build, launch

In those 16 weeks we reorganised the product's structure around its ten top-level modules, simplified settings, rebuilt payroll to international rules and built a new tax engine.

What was in the launch and what came later

About 30% of modules, features and reports moved to later releases. The rule: keep what a company needs on day one.

Launch scope · about 70% What a company needs on day one

Later releases · about 30% Modules, features and reports that could wait

Scope · about 30% moved to later releases

Onboarding any user can finish

I redesigned employee onboarding on mobile so any user could finish it, tested in three rounds of guided usability sessions with 45 people.

Before

58%

After

34%

First-session drop-off · before and after the onboarding redesign

04 · Outcomes

Launched in April 2024 and still live

Launched in April 2024.
Used by 100+ companies and 17,500+ employees, and still live.
Activation +41%; first-session drop-off from 58% to 34%.
Task completion +35% after the redesign.

SmartPeople's product screens are confidential, so this case study uses diagrams only.

05 · What I'd do differently

Build readiness checks into the plan

I'd build launch-readiness checks into the plan from day one (payroll and tax correctness, settings, onboarding), so readiness is proven step by step while the product is built.