The Base))) Platform supports application called Harmony. Harmony is a BPMN Tool with additional support for Process Design management and enabling approval cycles. I have been working on solving the basic navigational issues related to all Base))) Products as a whole, but since I was closely involved with Harmony from the beginning of UX team, this would be the first of Base))) Products to undergo a transformation purely for better User Experience. Another major reason is Harmony being deployed for our Client, on a large scale. Usability becomes our key prospect to be fixed as a priority. I managed to convince our team to take that leap, and fix the big navigational issues Harmony has been nursing for long.
Approach:
A major motivation to modify navigation system of the application was due to constant Customer enquiries with the SMEs about trying to understand the movement and flows across the application.
There was visible difficulty in introducing new features and functionality due to an unstructured navigational system.
A major motivation to modify navigation system of the application was due to constant Customer enquiries with the SMEs about trying to understand the movement and flows across the application.
There was visible difficulty in introducing new features and functionality due to an unstructured navigational system.
The observations from User interviews, Surveys & User feedbacks was as follows:
>Users were constantly having difficulty understanding the navigational flows within the application
>There were requests for training sessions, and our training manager was on call at all times to guide users while they were unable to figure how and where they can find what they are looking for.
>There were requests for training sessions, and our training manager was on call at all times to guide users while they were unable to figure how and where they can find what they are looking for.
Challenges:
A very basic fix on the navigational front, however it is a big step for the Harmony team, as it requires the product development team to rewrite a large part of the product architecture to enable such a change in Navigation.
The existing Navigation structure does not provide any distinction between Primary, Secondary & Global Menu. There is hardly scope to include a tertiary menu if required.
Solution:
The solution provided is very simple considering the time bound and technical constraints. There may be better solutions possible, but a quick fix is what I am presenting here.
The Primary Menu & Secondary (Content) Menu has been seperated. Global Menu items are clearly placed on top right corner, which is a standard practice in the industry.
*All product screens showcase dummy-data on mock screens and it does not use any actual existing product screens or data
Information Flow
The information flow shown below was not apparent to the user in the existing application, due to obvious navigation and hierarchy issues. The aim was to design for this UI flow to become more visible to the user, hence improving his ability to navigate through the system.
KEY CONCERNS OF A USER
Where am I ? The user needs to understand where in the system is he/she currently at. Could be a 'Menu' highlight to indicate it or some kind of a navigation path
What can I do ? The user needs to readily understand his purpose or his next steps, how he can move forward or choose to exit. Actions and controls must be placed upfront for user to understand his/her purpose on a particular page
What is happening ? The user needs to be always prompted with actions he needs to take (alerts/notifications) or the confirmation of changes caused due to his actions
The above concerns were used as a guideline to design the new UI layouts and UI flow.
*All product screens showcase dummy-data on mock screens and it does not use any actual existing product screens or data
