YPM- Project Management Tool
“yPM” is an internal web-based project management tool used by developers, testers, designers, and project leaders on a daily basis. The product had received a lot of complaints from its users on its usability. I, along with my team, worked on redesigning this application to improve its usability and user experience.
Team members
Sparsh Padiyal
Mahesh Karki
Ravi Kumar
Me!
My Roles
UX Designer
User Researcher
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Tools used
Balsamiq
Visio
Illustrator
Project Year
Process Followed
1. Since we were redesigning an existing tool, we started off by evaluating the software and conducting a usability test.
2. Followed by detailing the task flows and identifying the gaps.
3. Prioritized of issues by collaborating with the Product and the Technical Manager, taking the project's timelines, budget, and technical constraints into consideration.
4. "Lean UX" methodology was adopted to iterate quickly.
5. The low fidelity prototypes were tested quickly with the users on the same to receive immediate feedback on the designs.
6. ​The final round of usability tests on the high fidelity wire-frames was not done. This backfired on us- find more about it in the challenges below.
What we could resolve
Each user group had different task flows and needs from the application. Satisfying each user group with one design was a challenge. ​
Solution:
Prioritization of the tasks of each user group, focusing on areas with maximum impact.
What we couldn't resolve
“You shouldn’t design what users tell you they want.” -This was learned the hard way.
Our designs were influenced . In the summative tests, when the design ideas didn't match the mental models of rest of the project leaders, we were in serious trouble. In the end, the designs were changed again in the middle of development which increased cost, time, and budget.
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Possible solution:
This could also have been avoided if the high fidelity prototypes were tested again with the users.
Challenges Faced
Business goal
"It takes a lot of time for our employees to get things done in this tool. Time = money. How can this tool help in their work so that they are more efficient ? "
- Top level management (actual business goals have been removed due to NDA)
Usability issues and User problems uncovered
Some examples of user pain points usability issues uncovered:
Home / My Tasks
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Only expert users were able to extract information related to the status of the project.
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Users were not being able to understand on what to act first.
Review Requests
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Accessing the same data was different across different pages.
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Users were unable to search any item easily.
Review Comments
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There was no task continuity at many places leading to frustration and dropoffs at multiple points.
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Navigation and Filters were not easy to used
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Pop ups hindered the task flow and underlying screen.
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Overall navigation was not easy.
Solution Summary
"How can we redesign a tool which makes employees more effective in their work?"
"How can the design help users understand the most important things they need to focus on and get back to their work?"
The following is a short summary of the solution. More details are below.
Streamlined Navigation
Redesign home screen with dashboard, to help users understand on what to act first.
Redesigned filters
Removed pop ups and designed two panel view
Review requests and comments combined and streamlined.
Gave only the important unformation to the users
Home screen
Review Requests and Comments
Search
Results and Impact
A survey conducted after one month of the launch of the redesigned tool showed that most of the users found that the navigation had improved and it helped them decide on what to act on first:
found that the new design helped them in deciding on what to act on first
83%
found the navigation was improved
93%
How we did it
User Research
Conducted semi structured interviews and usability tests with
7
Developers
3
Testers
3
Project Leaders
Data Gathering and Analysis
High Level user journey map
Flow diagrams of Review Requests and comments which raised the highest issues
Testing filers with the existing tool
Paper Prototypes
Interaction maps of detailed designs
Clickable prototypes
All Videos
Recently I had written an article about how I like to break my designs. Following are some examples on how I did it for the designs in this project :
Breaking my designs
Visual Designs
Following are some of the initial visual designs of the redesigned home screen with streamlined navigation and improved information architecture. Final designs have not been included as they were confidential.
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Highlights & Learnings
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“You shouldn’t design what users tell you they want.” - Lesson learnt the hard way.
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Working within constraints of time and resources.
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Gained an understanding of how to align design goals with business goals
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Spent quality time analyzing the usage of the software and its existing design.
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Piloted Usability Tests in the company with this project.
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Gained new perspectives while working closely with project leader,developers and testers.