Visier Workforce Analytics is an agile, Vancouver based company that uses data to explore and answer questions for HR around the workforce. There are two main applications; one being Workforce Analytics [WFA], and the newer platform Workforce Planning [WFP]. WFA allows individuals to answer business questions related to its workforce by finding and analyzing individuals within the company. WFP answers business questions around the current workforce state and what it may look like in the future. At the start, I was unsure of which platform I would like to work on as both platforms seemed interesting. Luckily I was given the opportunity to work on WFP as a Co-op at Visier.
As the User Experience Designer co-op at Visier, I worked closely with a Senior User Experience Designer which happened to be my supervisor as well. He gave me the responsibility to transfer all his concept work into specifications that can be executed by the Development team. This required me to understand the platform and its current build as well as what it may be like in the future. Ensuring that the specifications were tracking towards an ultimate goal was important, but respecting and recycling assets that developers had already built was critical as development always had little time to implement design mock-ups.
Not only was I tasked to translate concept designs to specs for developers, I was also given the opportunity to look at how the current application functions and observe on areas that could be improved from a usability standpoint. This was for me to think of crazy ideas that might possibly be implemented. However, because I worked on the specs so often, I had difficulty thinking of ideas that were not expensive to implement. Luckily, my supervisor was able to give me a nudge in the right direction where a mixture of concept and reality.
In Workforce Planning, individuals can create scenarios with projected values to forecast the company's total workforce and its cost. They can also divide their plan and assign them to other individuals [Sub-plans]. After further discussion and investigation with the Product managers and my supervisor, I was able to conclude that the previous workflow to assign sub-plans were not optimal and should be reviewed. It was decided that having the user assign sub-plans directly on the grid is more effective than assigning off the grid.
Throughout this project, it was important to take advantage of the Product Manager and supervisor’s extensive knowledge on the business domain and ask for feedback. It was extremely important to understand the user workflows and intentions before making design decisions. Talking to product managers and developers to try and fully understand the users reason behind their actions were invaluable to the design process. Without these inquiries, I would have been throwing darts in a dark room hoping to hit its target.
By exploring the possibilities of assigning sub-plans directly on the grid, I was able to enhance and streamline the overall experience of this particular workflow. By doing so, I was able to make this task more efficient and less tedious when encountering a plan with hundreds of sub-plans.
It was extremely important to understand the user workflows and intentions before making design decisions. Talking to product managers and developers to try and fully understand the reason behind their actions were invaluable to the design process. Without these inquiries, I would have been throwing darts in a dark room hoping to hit its target.
Some key feedback I received from my supervisor was to write and communicate more concisely. Trying to use the least amount of words to describe a mock-up, task, or action will allow me to pinpoint exactly what I’d like to say as well as framing it in the most efficient way.
My time at Visier was extremely eventful and a valuable learning experience. From building relationships with Developers to submitting project specifications in a timely matter. Being in an agile company kept me at my feet while learning and adapting quickly to produce quality work. I was able to learn a lot of new skills while having a tonne of fun meeting new and inspiring people at Visier!