Situation:
I'm doing a project for a company doing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). They've been around for a while and their product, while bleeding edge tech-wise, has horrendous usability issues. Picture Windows '77 if it had existed. It's just a literal GUI of the database, everything is a 1-to-1 translation of what the code can actually do.
There's no budget for a full overhaul, that's out the window. I'm trying to:
Research and find some low hanging fruits (e.g. standardizing what words CTA's use and also wording in general)
Aggregate a list of tasks that the system admins (prevailing user group) do on a daily basis and then figure out a way to make them more guided, because right now the user has no way of knowing what goes first, what goes second, etc.
Find ways to fix documentation to make it easier for the user to follow instructions.
Overhauling (gently and in a limited manner) the dashboard as it currently gives of very little information.
Question: Since I can't offer large scale interface modifications (they won't do them as they prioritize security patches and other backend stuff), how to best present the above findings to have the client see the value?
I know this is a quite an broad question, I'm definitely looking for opinions. Let me know if I need to clarify anything.
Thank you