Design Process

 

01. DISCOVERY PHASE

 

the users

Nurses and nurse managers are the primary users of the status filter. They spend too much of their day looking for hospital equipment and other people and are always looking for ways to spend less of their day tracking down nurses, doctors, and equipment so they have more time to spend with patients and complete their other tasks.


app & design audit

I did an audit of the overall app and of the current status filter I would be redesigning since this filter appears in several features throughout the application. It was critical I understood the whole system so I could make sure the new design would work for each status filter instance.

 

The tag status filter appears in the following features throughout the application:

  • On the Live map (image is below) -

    The status filter is one of two filters users use to refine the tags they see on the Live map.

  • Dashboard

    The status filter is one of several filters users can use to filter dashboard data.

  • Event configuration tool

    The status filter is a parameter in the event configuration tool that allows users to setup user notifications that are triggered when asset tag events occur that satisfy specific parameters, such as asset tags with specific statuses entering a specific room in the hospital.

  • Replay

    The status filter is one of several filters users use to refine the set of tags on the map.

  • Reporting tool

    The status filter is one of the several filters users can use to refine the tags included in a custom report.

 

02. DEFINE PHASE

 

The status filter needs to be redesigned because it was implemented when the system was simpler and only supported one tag status type and a short non variable list of statuses.

The filter now needs to support three types of statuses and will likely be a longer status list since the status count is variable now that admins can create custom tag statuses.

Also, the current dropdown menu status selection is cumbersome to use when multiple status selections are needed.

 

Images below: The current status filter

The Plan

  • Explore grouping the status list by the three status categories:

1. System statuses - Are defined by the system and apply to both object and people tag assets. These statuses are not editable.

2. Object statuses - Are all user defined and only apply to object asset tags like wheelchairs and IV pumps. These statuses are always editable by admins.

3. People statuses - Are all user defined and only apply to people asset tags like individual nurses and doctors, for example. These statuses are always editable by admins.

  • Consider changing the dropdown menu selection pattern for selecting statuses so it’s faster for users to select multiple statuses.

 

The Problem

The current status filter is cumbersome for users to select from and is not setup to help users differentiate between the three new status categories.

 

Design Goal

Make the status filter list easily scannable across the three status categories and make status selection as quick as possible to make it easier for users to find the tags they want to view.

 

03. DESIGN, VALIDATE, ITERATION PHASE

 

Design Explorations

The problem with these designs

  • The grouping of statuses is not scannable and obvious enough.

  • Only stacking the statuses in order of groups puts too much work on the user to figure out which statuses are system statuses that apply to both objects and people, and which are specific to each.

 

04. RESULTS & IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

 

Final Designs & Engineering Handoff

I produced redline engineering documents of the final designs for web and mobile (iOS & Android).

Web

Mobile

Improvements made

  • Separated the list into three sections organized by status type so users do not have to work to figure out which statuses are for objects and people asset tags.

  • Made each status group a collapsable accordion section so users can shorten the status list they need to scan, only viewing the status types they want to select from.

 
 

Outcomes

  • More scannable list of statuses to filter large quantities of tag assets, grouped by status type.

  • Quicker user selection and clearing of status filter component across all instances in the application.