DYNAMO INTRANET
OVERVIEW
Dynamo's intranet was created so that employees could access company resources in one place. I was brought onto the project to improve the employees experience with the portal.
THE PROBLEM
Employees don’t use the intranet frequently, and the tasks that they use the intranet for are driving them to external sites.
ROLE
UX Designer
User Research, Visual Design, Prototyping and Testing
DATE
2020 - On going
THE GOAL
Create a one-stop-shop that employees can go to for everything, and increase user engagement within the intranet.
UNDERSTANDING THE USERS
User interviews were conducted to identify any pain points, opportunities, or insights users might have regarding the existing intranet. Through these interviews, I discovered patterns in users which I aggregated into user personas.
ANALYZING TASK FLOW
Users were asked to submit a request in the intranet while I observed their actions during the task. This allowed me to identify any negative experiences and provide opportunities to improve them.
KEY FINDINGS
Pain Points
Users struggle to navigate the intranet due to poor page layouts and navigation.
Main Use For The Intranet
Users often use the intranet to submit request forms.
Users Would Engage More If
The intranet provided a more personalized experience.
DESIGNING SOLUTIONS
PAGE LAYOUT & NAVIGATION IMPROVEMENTS
The Problem
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The large red banner takes up space, forcing users to scroll to find content.
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The request button is not visible on the departments landing page, causing users to search for it in another tab.
The Solution
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The large banner has been removed allowing more screen space for content.
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The request button is now located on the departments landing page, making it easily accessible.
FORM IMPROVEMENTS
The Problem
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The request form opens in a new browser tab that drives users away from the intranet.
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Users were confused why they weren't able to submit their form (Required fields were not entered).
The Solution
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The form is now completed on the department's page, keeping users in the intranet.
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The form has been simplified. This includes removing the placeholder text in the fields, this eliminates any confusion on if the fields have already been completed.
PERSONALIZING THE INTRANET EXPERIENCE
The home page now includes personalized content which aligns with the users' ideal experience. These updates were incorporated to increase user engagement.
Users Can Now
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Access their SharePoint team sites
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View their most recent documents
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Access frequently used external programs (i.e., Deltek)
VALIDATING SOLUTIONS
1. Establish Visual Design
Convert wireframes into high-fidelity mockups.
2. Implement Functionality
Convert mockups into a clickable prototype.
3. Test With Users
Conduct user testing to ensure the solutions are intuitive for users.
USABILITY REPORT TAKEAWAYS
The usability session revealed that the design services could be mistaken as clickable. The visual design needed to be updated to better differentiate clickable vs non-clickable items.
Iterating Designs
To eliminate the confusion of services being clickable, they were grouped together in one container with the shadows removed.
PROJECT TAKEAWAYS
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Involve engineering upfront. This helps to reduce any rework later on as an understanding of the technical limitations upfront will help to inform your design strategy.
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Keep testing and validating the ideas before launching any features, what may seem obvious to you may not for users.