Shift Scheduler (Ascentis)

Role: UI/UX Designer, Visual Designer, UX Researcher Timeline: 2021-2022 Tools: UXPin, Sketch, Trello, JIRA, Teams

Overview: I was tasked with designing a best-in-market scheduling solution for Ascentis during 2022. This was an effort to modernize the powerful but dated scheduling products Ascentis offered to its clients. This product allowed a user to create one-time or recurring shifts, set the needed roles for the shifts, assign employees to those shifts, and manage all of their shifts at a high level with an emphasis on bringing problems such as short staffing to the forefront of the user’s attention.

How I worked: As the head UX designer for the project it was my goal to make managing shifts as user-friendly as possible. Before the project started, we were able to gather valuable insights through user research and surveys. This research allowed me to re-think how we considered fulfilling shifts with a needs-based approach, pushing vital information to the forefront of the design using a feed. I was able to conduct usability studies regularly with our clients to gather their feedback to help shape the design and ensure we were meeting user expectations.

As the head visual designer, it was my main objective to keep things looking clean and modern to distinguish from our other dated offerings. I engaged in competitor analysis to review what modern approaches and styles were working for other companies. It was also important to me that we had a strict use of meaningful colors to draw the eye to areas that needed attention since our existing products held strong pain points when showing a user what did or did not need their attention. Ascentis had recently undergone a complete rebranding and so I ensured that we adhered to the new brand guidelines.

Near the end of the project Ascentis was acquired by Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), however our research indicated a high level of excitement for the release of this product, and our ongoing usability sessions found the new designs to be exceeding the expectations of our users.

This is the shift view, where a user can overview the roles and employees assigned to a shift. Attention is drawn to any problems areas such as short staffing.

This is the shift view, where a user can overview the roles and employees assigned to a shift. Attention is drawn to any problems areas such as short staffing.

Here's where a user can see an overview of their schedules, with a feed on the right to direct attention to any problems that need fixing.

Here's where a user can see an overview of their schedules, with a feed on the right to direct attention to any problems that need fixing.

An employee view allows users to see which employees are working which shifts, helping in the planning process.

An employee view allows users to see which employees are working which shifts, helping in the planning process.

A monthly calendar view provided a way for users to see which days had schedules, or perhaps scheduling issues that need to be resolved.

A monthly calendar view provided a way for users to see which days had schedules, or perhaps scheduling issues that need to be resolved.

This page allowed a user to assign employees to work a shift. It displays helpful information about who was available, approaching overtime, on PTO, or unqualified.

This page allowed a user to assign employees to work a shift. It displays helpful information about who was available, approaching overtime, on PTO, or unqualified.

This form is how a user creates new shifts. It helps calculate the hours, set if it is recurring and when, and sets an initial expected demand for desired roles.

This form is how a user creates new shifts. It helps calculate the hours, set if it is recurring and when, and sets an initial expected demand for desired roles.

This was a style guide I created to help explain some of the colors and assets we would be using for the project.

This was a style guide I created to help explain some of the colors and assets we would be using for the project.

This was a style guide for a new component we needed called chained inputs. This allows for the entry of tightly related information that chains based on the first input entered.

This was a style guide for a new component we needed called chained inputs. This allows for the entry of tightly related information that chains based on the first input entered.

This was a resource I put together to help explain the terminology and concepts used on the project. It was important to understand the relationship between schedules and shifts.

This was a resource I put together to help explain the terminology and concepts used on the project. It was important to understand the relationship between schedules and shifts.