Designing functional & engaging dashboard systems for individual users and specific projects
Based on the tabs and pages already built for Blackhyve users I was tasked with designing a dashboard, or “Workspace” as we called it, where highlights and pertinent information could be registered at-a-glance.
Problem
The program as a whole contains multitudes of information and features for construction management, frankly overwhelming to even the most proficient user. The program was also modeled after the antiquated, spreadsheet systems of the past, making information comprehension more challenging.
Goals
Draw focus to actionable items
Increase ease of use
More intuitive design to encourage interaction with and utilization of Blackhyve’s unique features
Beginning with user journey mapping, I was able to identify the information pertinent to user goals and determine which pages I needed to design and what information required display.
Given the identified user goals and competitor research I decided that the Workspace required:
imperative alerts
summary of weekly look-ahead schedules
visual timeline on all active projects
contact, or “Resources” list
forecasted checklist
To increase usability and preserve consistency with other project management tools (in construction and beyond) I recommended having customizable views of the Workspace. Because the Kanban method is already an industry standard mimicking this layout seemed like a familiar and preferred style for users.
User tasks that were to be performed daily, such as checklist items, summarizing daily activities, or addressing priority issues that arise were included on the Workspace for at-a-glance ease.
Each widget either had actionable buttons or allowed access to a full page of information.
To incentivize and gamify performance, KPIs are recorded and a Performance Score calculated to determine a ranking of all Resources.
Projects with which the user is involved are displayed in several ways:
timeline
list of Active and Past projects
Resources, or workers at each job site, are made easily accessible from the Workplace screen
Quick Send feature was designed to streamline communication to Resources; without leaving the Workspace a user can quickly forward along incoming alerts and tasks to the necessary managers (or Resources required to show up for the job).
Special Features
On both Workspaces and the Project Profiles (the home base for each construction project), the widgets are designed to be able to filter content display, helping the user see information based on time, severity, and location.
Drop-down filters allow the user to remain on the same page while filtering information, letting the user assess possible strategies and prioritization based on surrounding tasks, alerts, and statuses.
The Quick Send widget is another example of making widgets actionable and efficient from the Workspace.
Without leaving the Workspace a user can select from popular communication topics (an auto-populated suggested list, but can be customized per user’s preferences) and two clicks later forward information to a pre-selected list.
For more irregular or specific communications, “Manual Send” will elongate the process but allow for user to manipulate content and recipient list.
Future states
User customization - which widgets are displayed, prioritize certain infographics or projects, and a popular dark-mode option
Increase animation effects on infographics, such as looping projected schedule/timeline and automatic onboarding guide for first-time users.
Integrating Kanban-style display into the dashboard model in order to better connect the proprietary "Super Kanban" methodology within Blackhyve but also resonate with users already familiar with the visual modality
Hover-state capabilities to help explain icons or how progress is calculated or expand upon summarized data
Communication settings for the Workspace to export or print what is shown, daily; Concurrent settings development would determine permissions re: what information is shared with whom
Build out filtering options for Alert and Resolved widgets
