Onboarding Routers in Network Manager

Overview

Cisco CrossWorks is a Traffic Engineering platform for ISPs and CSPs that monitors network traffic, predicts issues, and dynamically routes packets using MPLS technology. Device onboarding — the process of registering routers into the network manager — had become a major pain point, described universally as tedious. I owned the Device Inventory and Automation modules across two release cycles dedicated to solving this.

The Platform

CrossWorks comprises five modules: Traffic Engineering, Topology, Device Inventory, Security, and Automation. Onboarding a new router to the network manager is the entry point for everything else — if it's broken, nothing downstream works well.

CrossWorks traffic management system visualisation — CrossWorks in action — real-time traffic management visualisation across the ISP network

Understanding the Problem

Onboarding a new router to CrossWorks should be routine. In practice, users were required to enter an excessive amount of information manually, with little guidance on what was actually needed versus what could be inferred. Credentials had to be re-entered for every device. Bulk uploads via CSV demanded 32 separate fields — most of which were optional or could be derived automatically. Errors during upload provided no inline feedback, requiring users to fix issues and re-upload from scratch.

Research Approach

We used a multi-method research approach. Unmoderated usability testing via Maze with first-time internal and external users across geographies gave us behavioural data at scale. Stakeholder interviews with PMs, TMEs, and field executives surfaced the business context and competitive pressure. Competitor analysis of Juniper Paragon and Zabbix revealed patterns that made onboarding significantly less painful elsewhere.

Usability testing results and metrics — Usability testing report — first-time users consistently struggled with the complexity of the current onboarding flow

Compiled stakeholder feedback observations — Synthesised stakeholder feedback — missing auto-discovery, excessive data entry, and no credential reuse emerged as top themes

Competitive Analysis

Juniper Paragon and Zabbix both offered onboarding experiences that required significantly less from users upfront. Side panels outperformed modal windows for navigation continuity, auto-discovery was a table-stakes differentiator, and minimising required fields dramatically improved adoption rates.

Juniper Paragon competitor interface — Juniper Paragon — auto-discovery and side-panel navigation set a benchmark for what users expected from a modern NMS

Design Solutions

Simplified single-device add flow: Redesigned to accept just a device identifier — IP address or hostname — and auto-fetch available information. Users no longer needed to know or manually enter data the system could discover itself.

Redesigned simplified add device workflow — Simplified add device flow — IP or hostname only, system fetches everything it can automatically

Bulk Upload: 32 Fields → 8

The CSV template was the single biggest barrier for bulk onboarding. Reducing from 32 to 8 required fields made the template approachable. Real-time verification with inline error correction replaced the upload-fail-fix-re-upload loop. Credential profiles let users define reusable credentials once, referencing them across hundreds of devices.

Original CSV template with 32 required fields — Before: 32 required CSV fields — most of which were optional or auto-derivable

Redesigned CSV template with 8 required fields — After: 8 required fields — a 75% reduction that transformed bulk onboarding from a spreadsheet project to a quick task

Enhanced Device Details & Auto-Discovery

Device details were redesigned with visual port representation using chassis imagery, giving engineers a spatial orientation. Configuration backup and rollback capabilities were added. For auto-discovery, users set IP ranges for automatic device detection — closing the gap identified in competitor analysis.

Enhanced device details panel with port visualisation — Enhanced device details — chassis port visualisation, backup/rollback, and integrated topology view

Auto-discovery IP range configuration — Auto-discovery — set IP ranges, let the system find devices and surface them for review

Auto-discovered device notification interface — Discovery notification — detected devices surface in-context, ready to onboard with a single action

“Onboarding a new router to a network manager is a tedious task.”
Research synthesis·CrossWorks usability study

Outcomes & Impact

32→8

CSV fields required

Bulk upload CSV reduced from 32 required fields to 8, dramatically lowering the barrier for large-scale device onboarding.

Onboarding flows redesigned

Single device add, bulk CSV upload, auto-discovery, credential profiles, and ZTP support — all redesigned across two release cycles.

Positive

Customer & team reception

Received positive feedback from both internal teams and customers; detailed comparative metrics tracked as a follow-on UX story.