DELIVERABLES
Research
User Flows
UI Visuals
Prototype
DSM Library
ROLE
Digital Product Designer
YEAR
2023
PROGRAMS
PROJECT OVERVIEW
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The pre-existing calendar proved limited in managing team bookings. Its technical limitations posed challenges in tasks like handling timezones, notifying users of overlaps, managing bookings, and more. Furthermore, the calendar required improvement in its fundamental functionality, and a packaging solution that could provide value to both users and the company.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
As the leading design voice in the project, it was essential to deliver concepts, future explorations, and hand over design documents to developers along with a clean prototype for clients. Working closely with the Project Manager in daily stand-ups and regularly holding "design workshop" meetings with stakeholders were significant responsibilities.
DURATION & HANDOFF
The design process, from initial meetings to handing over documents to engineers, spanned approximately 3-4 weeks.
SCOPE & CONSTRAINTS
The project aimed to improve the calendar while showcasing future improvements to be implemented in phases. However, constraints arose due to technical limitations, limited resources, and the need to generate revenue from the new features. Several proposed features had to be phased out due to these constraints.
RESEARCH
The research process heavily involved competitive analysis and device compatibility testing of similar products. Daily stand-ups with the Project Manager helped in addressing emerging problems and updating progress. A critical part of the research was questioning the user and company benefits, interaction patterns, monetization potential, and quality threshold of the feature. With no pre-existing analytical data for these features, Fullstory videos demonstrating current usage patterns were analysed to understand user behaviour and issues.
The research spanned diverse products, including competitors and popular apps and websites. Screenshots of different features were collected and analysed, with pros and cons for each noted down. An Effort vs Impact chart was created to help roadmap the phases for new features. Further UI research involved seeking inspiration from Pinterest, Behance, Google, and other UX/UI websites.
UNDERSTAND
My collaboration with the Project Manager was insightful. We clarified the project’s initially vague goals, pinpointing key features and understanding the competitive environment. Our discussions highlighted users’ pain points and technical constraints, aligning the project with the company's strategic objectives and clarifying necessary improvements.
Our aim was to upgrade Plentific's calendar, making it more robust and user-friendly. We focused on streamlining scheduling for better operational efficiency and planned to incorporate advanced features like GPS tracking, sophisticated booking management, and a consistent interface on all devices. Analyzing user profiles, we examined contractors' daily challenges to ensure our solutions were both practical and aligned with their needs.
What’s the problem you are trying to solve?
We're addressing the inefficiency of our current calendar system. Users struggle with managing schedules due to lack of features like GPS tracking, handling overlapping bookings, and optimized time suggestions. Our goal is to enhance functionality for a better user experience.
Who are the users and what are their goals?
Our users are contractors and operatives, including handymen and electricians. They aim to efficiently manage schedules, assign tasks, and track job progress. The goal is a system that reduces scheduling conflicts and boosts productivity.
How will they benefit from this feature?
The enhanced calendar will improve scheduling efficiency and clarity. GPS tracking will optimize routes, and visibility of overlapping bookings and suggested times will aid in planning, reducing conflicts and operational stress.
What will the target persona be doing when they encounter this feature?
A contractor, for example, will use the calendar to assign jobs, considering operatives' skills and locations. They'll also track ongoing jobs and make adjustments based on real-time needs and emergencies.
What threshold of quality do we need in order for customers to experience care product benefits?
The calendar must be reliable, user-friendly, and efficient. It should sync with real-time data, be easy to navigate, and provide insightful data for decision-making. It needs to be flexible and scalable for different contractor businesses.
What assumptions are we making?
We assume users need more advanced features and can effectively use them. We expect these features to improve job management and customer satisfaction, presuming our infrastructure can support these enhancements and users are open to adapting to changes
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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
A thorough competitive analysis was conducted, focusing on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of competing products in the market. This involved scrutinizing their user interfaces, feature sets, and overall user experiences. This step was crucial in identifying the features we needed to get right and what features we could add on later. The analysis pointed out that we were lacking a lot of basic functionalities to mange a calendar for desktop and mobile devices, such as drag and drop. With the help of well established apps like Google calendar and Apple Calendar app, I was able to document the basic functionalities of how users expect these products to work. In this analysis, I pinpointed 25 potential features to extend the scope of the project.
PAINPOINTS
Our comprehensive analysis of the Plentific Calendar revealed substantial user challenges, especially when benchmarked against established counterparts like Google Calendar. A critical issue was the calendar's basic functionality, which severely limited user actions and flexibility. Users were confined to rigid, single-path processes, exacerbating their experience with a non-responsive and bug-ridden interface. Beyond these fundamental flaws, there was a strong demand for additional features, including effective management of overlapping bookings, comprehensive time zone support, and advanced functionalities like GPS tracking to optimise scheduling efficiency. The calendar's user interface also lagged in ease of use, posing significant navigational and operational challenges for both new and seasoned users.
Confronting these challenges head-on, we set out to revolutionise the Plentific Calendar into a more powerful and user-friendly resource. Our mission was to elevate the user experience by simplifying operations, boosting scheduling efficiency, and integrating sought-after advanced features. The result was an overhauled calendar system, meticulously tailored to the evolving needs of property managers and contractors. This new system promises a streamlined, more effective scheduling experience, marked by operational fluency and enhanced user satisfaction.
EFFORT VS IMPACT
An Effort vs Impact chart was developed to prioritize features and enhancements. A lot features from the list was so advanced but needed that the Product managers weren’t even sure if it was going to be implemented. This strategic approach ensured that company was aligned with the most impactful features. We prioritised features that causes the most friction or frustration in users such as unassigned bookings getting lost, assigning bookings does not filter out the operatives with the correct skill.
ROADMAP
The project roadmap was carefully crafted, balancing immediate user benefits with long-term strategic goals. Features were prioritized based on their potential impact on user experience and operational efficiency, as well as their technical feasibility within the current system infrastructure.
IDEATION & DESIGN
The data collected were synthesised into different user flows using Whimsical, which resulted in five unique concepts to resolve unassigned bookings. These concepts depended on the project's technical limitations and resources. Once validated by the Project Manager and stakeholders, the process moved onto high-fidelity prototype design and linking in Invision. Regular updates on design or UX changes were communicated through Jira tickets or various Slack channels.
HOW MIGHT WE
How Might We" statements were crafted to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving.
How might we ensure a consistent and intuitive user interface across both desktop and mobile platforms to enhance user experience and ease of use?
How might we design the calendar to effectively manage and notify users of overlapping bookings, thereby minimizing scheduling conflicts?
How might we improve the calendar by suggesting optimal times and dates for bookings?
How might we improve the operative suggestion with limited UI space?
How might we utilize data from the calendar system to provide actionable insights for users, aiding in better decision-making and resource management?
How might we integrate GPS tracking of equipment and vans into the calendar system to improve operative efficiency and resource allocation?
USER STORIES
User story 1
As an admin, I want to be able to assign bookings to the right operative based on work areas and skills
User story 2
As an admin, I want to easily identify and manage unassigned bookings, so that no job is missed or delayed due to scheduling oversights
User story 3
As an admin, I want to be alerted when there are overlapping bookings, so I can reschedule tasks to avoid conflicts, through the UI.
User story 4
As an operative or admin, I want to customize how I view the calendar, so I can see the information that is most relevant to me in a way that I find easiest to understand.
User story 5
As an admin, I need to access historical scheduling data, so I can analyze patterns and make recommendations for operational improvements
HI-FI DESIGNS
Time constraints led to the omission of wire framing and testing. Consequently, simple prototypes were created to address certain problems identified in the Effort vs Impact chart. Through numerous iterations, UI/UX issues related to buttons or action locations were resolved. The key challenges encountered included designing header layouts compatible with both desktop and mobile and creating an alternative for drag-and-drop functionality that wasn't feasible for the MVP launch.
High fidelity prototypes were meticulously created for both desktop and mobile using Sketch. These prototypes were subsequently uploaded to Invision, where they were linked and assets were exported for developers' use. Feedback received on public prototypes facilitated continual improvements.
Major use cases were addressed by introducing an accordion-like notification card above the calendar for unassigned bookings. Color codes were employed for easier user understanding, and a green dotted guide box was added to aid users in time management. Other enhancements included a warning system for conflicting bookings and a strategy to package features differently for free and premium users.
To ease understanding, the prototypes were presented in a powerpoint-like format, encompassing the entire design process ranging from mockups, concepts, to high fidelity screens documenting the behaviour, use cases, future improvements, and more. This holistic presentation greatly aided in the understanding of other project managers and developers.
The design phase concluded with the addition of assets to the library and the master sketch file, a process that proved to be complex and lengthy due to potential future changes.
TESTING & LAUNCH
Continual enhancement based on user input is the next chapter in our journey, with personalisation of QR codes earmarked as a key upgrade to deepen user engagement. The project's success has reinforced the importance of detailed user flow mapping and the iterative design process. While the design benefited from our approach, we acknowledged that a more robust initial research phase could have amplified its impact. The forward-looking strategy includes a more generous allocation of time for research, laying the groundwork for even more nuanced and impactful design solutions. The test launch's success, buoyed by resoundingly positive user feedback, has marked a confident stride toward the project's broader ambitions.
CONCLUSIONS
The success of this new feature within the company stands as a reflection of the diligent research, ideation, and design work put into the project. Less confusion and a streamlined process emerged as the key outcomes, leading to a product that not only looks great but functions with efficiency and user-friendliness. Though some improvements were left on the drawing board, the results speak to the quality and thoughtfulness that went into the project. It's a piece of work that solves real-world problems and adds significant value to both the user and the company.