Control Application
Overview
A cluttered and non-responsive control application drew complaints from users who struggled to accomplish simple tasks. Using their feedback, I led the design and ideation for a new control application that focused on intuitive navigation and easy configuration.
The main challenge was creating an elegant, clean interface that still allowed the user to quickly navigate through the immense amount of configurable data in the application. I had to design for both in-house power users and clients who were novice users. The interface could neither be over-simplified (limiting power users) nor too complex (overwhelming novice users).
My contribution
Design Ideation User Research Product Design
The team
1x product manager 1x product designer 1x lead engineer
Year
2022
Process
A new framework
I broke the goal down into two smaller efforts: navigation and configuration. Through feedback I knew that users struggled to accomplish simple data changes. I needed to help them 1) find the data they want and 2) edit that data.
For navigation, a wizard was not an option since it would limit power users. Inspired by the wizard approach, I chose to display data progressively as the user navigates the application in order to guide them and prevent overwhelm. As the user makes each selection, the next set of data appears, preventing decision paralysis and helping them focus on the task at hand. These data sets present strategically in a way that will not hold back power users from a quick workflow.
By simplifying the navigation experience and using data-forward UI elements like tables and breadcrumbs, users are able to quickly locate and access data without feeling overwhelmed by the robust capabilities of the application.
Simple and scalable
For the second effort, configuration, I had to ensure that I chose an extremely scalable approach. The previous application had suffered precisely because the configuration methods chosen were not scalable. Previously, data could be configured and saved directly on the page which allowed for multiple editing views to exist simultaneously.
I chose to use a full-window editor with no secondary navigation visible. In view mode, the data is scannable for the user to quickly locate what they are looking for. In edit mode, all secondary nav elements and all additional data sections are hidden so that the user can focus on the data they have chosen to edit.
By stripping the UI of excess information, I solved multiple problems. Users no longer struggle from decision paralysis or information overload. The UI can now be responsive to accommodate variation in screen sizes. Making simple data changes is quick and simple so users can focus on the task at hand.
Outcome
The success of this project can be largely attributed to the strict focus on simplification of the UI. I could not solve for user problems without eliminating the visual clutter that contributed to them. With this visual simplification came a larger challenge, which was solving for the identified problems in an especially elegant and streamlined way.
This project was a firm balance between managing complex data sets, establishing intuitive patterns and maintaining a simplistic interface. It took many iterations and attempts to arrive at a solution that supported all three of these requirements.