What factors are contributing to the recent 20% increase in contract approval times for Ironclad's Workflow Designer feature?

Introduction

The recent 20% increase in contract approval times for Ironclad's Workflow Designer feature is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. This analysis will systematically identify, validate, and address the root cause while considering both short-term fixes and long-term strategic implications.

I'll approach this problem by first clarifying the context, then ruling out external factors before diving deep into the product ecosystem, metric breakdown, and data analysis. From there, I'll form hypotheses, conduct root cause analysis, and propose validation methods and solutions.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking there might be a recent change in the Workflow Designer. Has there been any significant update or feature release in the past month?

Why it matters: Recent changes often correlate with performance shifts. Expected answer: Yes, a new version was released three weeks ago. Impact on approach: If true, I'd focus on changes in that release.

• I'm curious about the user segments affected. Are we seeing this increase across all customer types, or is it more pronounced in certain industries or company sizes?

Why it matters: Helps identify if the issue is universal or specific to certain users. Expected answer: The increase is more significant for enterprise customers. Impact on approach: I'd investigate enterprise-specific workflows or integrations.

• Considering the metric itself, has there been any change in how we measure or define "contract approval times" recently?

Why it matters: Ensures we're comparing apples to apples in our analysis. Expected answer: No changes in measurement or definition. Impact on approach: If changed, I'd recalibrate our analysis based on the new definition.

• I'm wondering about system performance. Have we noticed any changes in server response times or processing capabilities recently?

Why it matters: Technical issues could be slowing down the entire process. Expected answer: Some intermittent slowdowns reported. Impact on approach: I'd prioritize technical investigation if confirmed.