Subscriber Management System (SMS)

About the Client

A Broadcasting Giant with a Layered Ecosystem

TCCL (Tamil Nadu Cable TV Operators) manages cable distribution across India. They partner with broadcasters, convert channels into packages, and rent them to subscribers via Set-Top Boxes (STBs). Their subscriber base? Over 2 million users.

TCCL's existing Subscriber Management System (SMS) was breaking under its own weight.

We'd click a button and just pray. There was no way to know if anything was actually happening in the background.

— Tccl Admin

The breakdown led to chaos. People stopped relying on the software and started doing everything manually. It was messy, stressful, and slow.

At some point, we stopped trusting the system.

— Another Admin

They didn't want a patch. They wanted a complete rebuild. Something scalable, intelligent, and intuitive. Something that would make sense of the chaos and give them confidence in every click.

We didn't just need a better tool. We needed clarity. We needed control.

— CEO TCCL

I spoke to the admin and managers who handled SMS. I audited the old system's user flows and performance logs. I shadowed real subscriber onboarding and billing workflows to understand how things really worked on the ground.

And I learned quickly.

When reports were slow, days were lost. Without real-time feedback, users were left guessing. The UI was inconsistent, so people resorted to manual workarounds. Financial tasks had no guardrails, it was risky and exhausting.

Heuristic Evaluation

A comprehensive analysis of user experience challenges and design recommendations for improving information update workflows

User Personas

Understanding our primary users and their unique challenges in the SMS system workflow

Ramesh Kumar

SMS Admin

Age: 42

Married, two children

Chennai, India

Bachelor's in Commerce

When I click a button, I want to know it worked, without having to call three people to confirm.

Daily Patterns

• Starts day reviewing pending subscriber activations
• Relies heavily on reports for billing and compliance checks
• Multitasks across calls from LCOs, troubleshooting STBs

Pain Points

• Reports take hours, delaying billing
• No clear feedback when actions succeed or fail
• Struggles with inconsistent UI across modules
• High stress from risk of errors in financial tasks

Key Needs

• Fast, reliable system that provides real-time status
• Transparent reports for billing and compliance
• Clear feedback when actions succeed or fail

Tech Comfort Level

• Comfortable with desktop tools (Excel, Outlook)
• Not highly technical; prefers simple, guided workflows

Meena Raghavan

Local Cable Operator (LCO)

Age: 36

Married, one children

Chennai, India

High School Graduate

 I need to finish onboarding of subscribers in one go.

Daily Patterns

• Spends mornings onboarding new subscribers
• Collects monthly subscription fees
• Frequently contacts regional admin for package activations

Pain Points

• Confusion over multiple modules for onboarding
• Difficulty tracking payment histories in real time
• Dependent on admins for tasks that could be self-service
• Stress from handling subscriber complaint

Key Needs

• Simple, user-friendly interface
• Clear subscriber onboarding and STB status checks
• Self-service capabilities to reduce dependency on admins

Tech Comfort Level

• Not highly technical; prefers simple, guided workflows
• Prefers guided flows and auto-fills over manual entries

These design objectives should be prioritized to enhance user experience and encourage timely information updates via SMS, creating a more intuitive and efficient system.

What I Discovered and How I Broke It Down

After speaking to admins, shadowing billing workflows, and digging into the system logs, a few patterns stood out loud and clear:

Psychology Behind the Decision

I wasn't just designing features. I was orchestrating a system that could keep 2 million accounts in sync, without breaking a sweat.

Once I had a clear view of the pain points and priorities, I broke SMS into 12 modular, manageable brains:  Dashboard (Home), STB, Users, Payments, Subscribers, Products, Broadcasters, Complaints, Reports, TRAI, Settings and Profile.

Each one had a clear purpose, but they all needed to work together seamlessly. This approach helped me design a system that was both scalable and intuitive. No chaos, no confusion, just smooth operations.

Backend as the Backbone

To make sure the experience stayed smooth even under the weight of millions of records, I closely collaborated with the system architect to get the foundation right.

We restructured the database to reduce relational overhead and added lazy-loading to keep searches lightning-fast, users could start typing, and we'd only fetch what was needed.

For heavier actions like downloads, we introduced a queuing system that shifted the load off the main thread, so the rest of the app didn't slow down.

That backend work made all the difference. The system stayed responsive, even at scale.

I approached the design in tight, iterative loops, not straight lines.

I had weekly check-ins with stakeholders to stay aligned and gather feedback early. I shared prototypes as soon as possible so real users and teams could interact with them, not just look at pretty screens.

Every step of the way, I worked closely with both frontend and backend developers, syncing regularly to stress-test the flow and catch friction points before they became real problems.

This way, the product didn't just evolve for the users, it evolved with them.

Disconnected Onboarding Flow

Originally, onboarding a new subscriber was a fragmented experience. After entering subscriber details, users had to switch to the STB module to assign a device, and then again navigate to add channel packages, all as separate steps. This led to confusion and incomplete onboarding.

I created a unified, wizard-style onboarding flow.

Step 1 Select STB: Choose an available STB, validating it’s not already assigned.

Step 2 Enter Subscriber Details: Fill in key subscriber info like name, contact, and address.

Step 3 Document Upload: Upload mandatory KYC or ID documents for compliance.

Step 4 Optional Package Assignment: Assign a base package if needed, or skip for later.

This allowed users to complete the entire onboarding (subscriber + STB + packages) in one go, without feeling overwhelmed.

The payment process was hectic and error-prone. Selecting STBs was tedious due to poor filters and lack of effective search. There were no confirmation prompts, which led to accidental payments. Worse, admins had to manually calculate the MSO and LCO share before proceeding, making the entire flow time-consuming and prone to mistakes.

I redesigned the payment flow with advanced filters and quick search to make STB selection effortless. Clear MSO-LCO share breakdown and a confirmation prompt ensured accuracy and confidence before completing payments.

Step 1 Filter & Select LCO: Admins can quickly filter and choose the relevant LCO to narrow the list.

Step 2 Select STBs: All associated STBs are listed with a clear split of MSO and LCO amounts, reducing ambiguity.

Step 3 Confirm & Pay: A confirmation prompt ensures double-checking before deduction. Once confirmed, STB statuses update and LCO wallet is debited.

Step 4 Bulk Payment Support: For speed, the system allows paying for all subscribers under an LCO in one click.

This flow minimized errors, improved transparency, and significantly sped up the payment process.

Users used to start a download and then... wait. Everything else froze.

I added a dedicated 'Downloads' section inside the profile menu. It shows a clear status for each file, queued, processing, or completed, in real time. This lets users track downloads easily, continue using the system while files process in the background, and avoid unnecessary interruptions.

Admins had no clear, consolidated view of the LCO wallet’s cash flow, making audits time-consuming and reducing transparency in financial tracking.

I designed the LCO Wallet Ledger to display opening balance, closing balance, and all transactions in between, letting admins spot the day’s financial position at a glance. Built-in PDF/XLS exports allow instant reporting, improving audit speed and financial transparency.

Accessing complete details for an STB required multiple searches and manual cross-checks, making the process slow and effort-intensive.

I introduced an STB 360° view accessible from anywhere in the app via global search. By entering the STB’s VC or serial number, users instantly see subscriber info, LCO details, billing history, packages, and more, all in one place for instant clarity.

When we launched SMS, everything changed.

And the feedback that meant the most to us:

This redesign completely changed how we work. What used to take hours and endless calls now happens in minutes. The system feels intuitive, stable, and designed with our real needs in mind. For the first time, it feels like we're in control, not the other way around.

— Head of Admins, TCCL