CASE STUDY 03: U.S. GOVERNMENT CLIENT
From Disparate to Unified: Designing a Scheduler to Align Agency Efforts
Forethought is a customizable tool for teams to track their activities and upcoming milestones.
Launched
01 April 2021
Role
UI/UX Designer
Team
2x UI/UX Designers
1x Product Manager
6x Developers
Project context
Co-designed a scheduling tool to track operations, activities, and investments happening across the Agency and brief them to Agency leadership.
Impact
Leadership at the Agency now can consume data prepared for them in a format appealing to them, impacting their data retention and decision-making.
Shoutouts from users across the Agency on the tool and ease of use in briefings, and suitability for different types of consumers
Confidential project (NDA)
This project is under an NDA. I can’t share all the details online but I can discuss my role on the project in greater detail on a call.
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DESIGN SPRINT
Our client was desperate for a better tool for leadership to learn about Agency happenings
We were approached by the government and asked to create a better way for them to accomplish their tasks around scheduling and tracking operations, activities, and events.
We started with a 5-day design sprint to figure out existing hurdles from users and identify the questions we wanted to tackle first. Using quick-turn user interviews with folks and taking in client reporting as well, we discovered the following problems:
Current visualization does not work for all consumers
Some readers are more visual consumers and others prefer the brevity of a bulleted flash card. Some prefer analog material entirely!
Disjointed events would slip between the cracks and go untracked by curators
There wasn’t a way to track similar events or dependencies, and some as a result would get missed in presentation roundups.
Leadership briefings were dreaded because the tool wasn’t built for briefings
Handoffs between presenters were bumpy, and they would brief using PowerPoint decks with screenshots from their system.
DESIGN DECISION 01
Gantt charts are the way we can make the strongest impact
We identified that a Gantt chart would be the most appropriate solution since the data involved timelines and dependencies, so we made a highly customizable view with filters and sorting. Our solution is interactive as well, satisfying user expectations about what they can engage with.
For our users who react less strongly to data visualization, we also created a Cards view and a Dashboard view. And finally, for leadership who prefer analog documents entirely, the print button.
The redesigned tool is founded on the elegance and complexity of a Gantt chart visualization
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Gantt bar colors indicate status across time, also denoted by the colorful dot on the Item card
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Offices responsible for the associated items are listed on the left of the Gantt
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Clusters of milestones of various types are clickable, expanding into a zoomed in timeline
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The print button for audiences who prefer to hold their material in their hands
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DESIGN DECISION 02
We introduced a new concept called “Collections”
Collections are saved filter sets that users can create to organize their custom filters and quickly access data that is thematically aligned. They would allow users to quickly retrieve specific information they can themselves create and customize.
We knew from our user interviews that a certain group of users was regularly briefing their leadership on the same things as they progressed through time. This feature was established with them in mind, and the difference is tremendous.
Users love collections for how similar the feature feels to commercial design practices.
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Moderators can create “Agency” collections that are visible to all users
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Collections display roll-up stats about the events they contain, for at-a-glance consumption.
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Users can star collections for easy retrieval and organization.
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Collections are modifiable because events change, needs change, and priorities change.
The changes are subtle but the impact is hugely felt: presentation mode is improving briefing cadences
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Presentation mode is accessible via the projector icon in the top right of the screen.
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The up and down arrows make it easy for briefers to flip from one team’s view to the next.
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Gantt lines are darker to accommodate how projectors wash out contrast.
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Colors are markedly more vibrant, also accommodating the projector wash-out.
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DESIGN DECISION 03
Presentation Mode: A Way to Level Out the Playing Field for Briefing Consumers
I created a higher-contrast view accessible by a button labeled, “Presentation Mode”. This was to accommodate that their projectors all impacted the visibility of components, washing out colors and outlines on the big screen.
I also introduced a way for briefers to smoothly navigate to the next team’s visuals. This was a minimal but huge transformation from having to switch between slide decks.
RETROSPECTIVE
We made disparate events organized and presentable, for any audience
Results achieved
We received strong praise from the client’s leadership for the new ease of consumption of material. Our client reported observations that presentations were going more smoothly and users were having fewer issues entering in data in preparation for the meetings. Leadership at the Agency now also had an easier time consuming data prepared for them in a format that was appealing to them, which likely affected their data retention and decision-making. Our solution impacted engagement, conversion, and retention.
What I learned
This was my first experience with client relationship management, which I wholeheartedly enjoyed. Also my first time taking the lead on design feature development, and I am so grateful for the team I worked with. This opportunity catapulted me into a fast-moving career chalk-full of opportunity to exercise my leadership and technical skills.
USER FEEDBACK
We got a lot of good feedback very quickly
01. Agency Leadership
We heard from leadership that their presentations were now more digestible and engaging
02. Curators
We heard from briefing curators that there were no longer hurdles to assembling it and that it was much easier than their rigid slide decks
03. Day-to-Day Users
We heard from those who enter information in that they now have an easier time inputting data
04. Client Team
The client team was flooded with positive feedback from all levels
Individual item view with a breakdown of milestones and details as well as a series of countdowns.
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