Centigrade is a forward-thinking company based in Germany, supports its clients in strategically integrating user experience design and engineering into their business as a factor for their success. As a UX Designer, I was involved in a number of projects for clients, in addition to optimizing business processes through user research and developing design solutions.
Icon Design
Another valuable experience in Centigrade was the Virtual Reality workshop with Clemens Lutsch, Head of UX Strategy in Munich. We worked on a concept of using VR in product line and manufacturing environment, and looked into how VR is changing the way industries work.
Left: User Scenarios; Right: "VR in Manufacturing Industry" Workshop
A new time tracking experience
Time Slice
From Research to design goal
With the mission to redesign time tracking experience in the company, I did a survey to find out users behavior and attitude towards time tracking, current methods, frustrations and motivations.
Question to find out how people are tracking time
Research showed there were 2 problem areas: 1) tracking behaviour and 2) finding issues.
1) Tracking Behaviour
1) Tracking Behaviour
• Short & Small Tasks: It is difficult and inefficient to track small task with short time, as employees may need to constantly switch between tasks, and go through the complicated steps to create a new issue. Also, tracking every trivial tasks may make them feel controlled.
• Tracking depends on budget: Employees may avoid to track on the client when the budget of the project is tight, or don’t want to appear as “inefficient”. Obviously this is one of the reason of inaccurate time tracking. They may feel pressured.
2) Finding Issues
• Track on the Right Issue: Some employees find it difficult to track on the right issue, sometimes there is a lack of appropriate issue.
• Find, Create and Edit Issue: It is a serious usability problem of Mantis.
The research findings lead to the following design goals: Make track time, switch tasks and assign an issue really easy.
• Tracking depends on budget: Employees may avoid to track on the client when the budget of the project is tight, or don’t want to appear as “inefficient”. Obviously this is one of the reason of inaccurate time tracking. They may feel pressured.
2) Finding Issues
• Track on the Right Issue: Some employees find it difficult to track on the right issue, sometimes there is a lack of appropriate issue.
• Find, Create and Edit Issue: It is a serious usability problem of Mantis.
The research findings lead to the following design goals: Make track time, switch tasks and assign an issue really easy.
From use cases to MVP
I then moved on in defining all possible use cases and created user scenario with the persona Emma that captured creative solutions to problems.
1) Track Time within Time Slice App
2) Track Time with Buzzer
3) Label timeslot by searching an existing issue (and adding notes)
4) Label timeslot by creating a new issue
5) View issue on Time Slice App
6) Edit an issue – Chang time
7) Edit an issue – Delete issue and timeslot, add notes
8) Create a timeslot
9) Screen shot as a clue
10) Track Time for illness and vacation
11) View other days
With the help of this journey, stakeholders and I decided on the final product definition:
1) Track Time within Time Slice App
2) Track Time with Buzzer
3) Label timeslot by searching an existing issue (and adding notes)
4) Label timeslot by creating a new issue
5) View issue on Time Slice App
6) Edit an issue – Chang time
7) Edit an issue – Delete issue and timeslot, add notes
8) Create a timeslot
9) Screen shot as a clue
10) Track Time for illness and vacation
11) View other days
With the help of this journey, stakeholders and I decided on the final product definition:
With the first release of the product, Emma will be able to visualize the gaps in yesterday's time tracking and fill them based on her notes (e.g. by smartphone screenshot).
We selected and prioritized parts of the journey that would deliver the most values. I partnered with Olga to craft the final visual design.
Part of the user scenario illustrating the interaction with the product
From paper prototype to finished product
Visual Design by Olga Poliakova, Interaction Design by me