Cora Systems
Enhancing resourcing efficiency in project management software.
Dec 2022 - Jun 2023
Product Designer - Conducting user research, ideating and communicating designs, prototyping, UI and interaction design.
Role
Empowered resource managers to organize their resources with greater efficiency and optimize team allocation.
Outcome
Cora Systems offers project management software solutions used across various industries. Efficient resource allocation is crucial for project success. However, the existing resource allocation feature presented challenges for users.
Background
Resource managers struggled with limitations with the existing resource allocation feature, hindering their ability to effectively allocate resources. Challenges with the feature included
Time-consuming: Cumbersome interface slows down resource assignment, impacting productivity.
Overwhelming: Feature overloaded with options, making navigation difficult for new users.
Outdated Tech: Poor user experience due to outdated technology and design inconsistency.
Problem Statement
User Interviews
Conversations with resource managers across various industries highlighted user frustrations with the current resource allocation feature.
Meet Rachel, a juggling resource manager with 7 years of experience. Thriving in fast-paced environments, user-friendly tools that streamline allocation are Rachel's key to conquering project chaos.
Persona
Taking the insights uncovered from talking to users we established three pivotal design goals that looked to address key user frustrations for Rachel and other resource managers.
Design Goals
Feedback from testing the wireframe with internal and external stakeholders indicated that the process was still time-consuming. Stakeholders requested:
Improved filtering: Resource managers need a way to easily identify demands relevant to their specific responsibilities. This could involve filters based on team, project, skillset, or other relevant criteria.
Bulk allocation: A mechanism to efficiently spread demand and resource allocation across multiple months. This could be a feature for batch assigning resources or setting recurring allocations.
Lo-Fi Wireframe
The new resource allocation screen boasts a modern Cora design, prioritizing clear information layout and accessibility. It streamlines the allocation process by reducing clicks, enabling bulk assignment, and providing visual confirmation. Powerful filtering and customisable views with options for demand by month/week further enhance usability compared to the outdated, clunky interface.
Hi-Fi Prototype
Rachel's workflow is now streamlined thanks to a UI that follows Cora design patterns and boasts a clear layout. This improved visual hierarchy makes finding what she needs a breeze.
Rachel felt discouraged by the dated user interface which made her tasks more difficult.
Outdated UI
Rachel was frustrated by how time consuming the process assigning resources took.
Lengthy Process
Streamlining Rachel's workflow, resource allocation is now significantly faster. Fewer steps and the ability to bulk allocate across months empower Rachel to work with greater efficiency.
Rachel would very often get overwhelmed by the amount of information on display.
Filtering & Sorting
Rachel now enjoys a clutter-free view! The new interface allows her to customize the view and focus only on the information that matters most to her.
To ensure a smooth transition from design to development, comprehensive documentation outlining the key aspects of each screen was created. This included detailed descriptions of UI elements, functionalities, and user interactions.
Design Handover
Leveraging the power of Axure's inspect tool the underlying HTML and CSS code could be extracted. This provided developers with a valuable head start, allowing them to directly utilize the code as a foundation for building the final product.
Followed by walkthroughs and multiple Q&A meetings, developers had a clear understanding of the design intent to faithfully translate designs into a functional product.
We simplified the UI and boosted processing speed. This empowers resource managers Rachel to manage her resources with greater efficiency, allowing her to focus on strategic initiatives and optimize team allocation.
