Research
I had no access to analytics or internal data, so the people using the app were my only source. I interviewed 10 employees and 3 managers in person at their workplaces, about 20 minutes each, and watched them use the app during service.
- DiscoverInterviews and observation during service
- DefineAffinity diagram and root-cause analysis
- IdeateTask flows and low-fi sketches
- DesignHome, schedule and worklog in high fidelity
Discover
These patterns came up repeatedly:
12/13open the app mainly to check their next shift
12/13go through several screens to reach basic information
10/13struggled to finish onboarding
8/13keep re-checking for last-minute changes, with no notifications
One answer kept coming back and changed the project. People asked for features the app already had. The app had enough features, people just couldn’t find them, so I decided to reorganise what was there before adding anything.
I then went through every screen as a new employee would. Home shows little, the menu repeats itself, and three lists show almost the same shifts.
Define
I grouped the notes in an affinity diagram and then ranked what people need from the app. Basic needs are the things everyone looks up several times a week: when is my next shift, where, and who am I working with. Secondary needs come up less often: hours worked, tasks, holiday requests. In the original app the basic ones were buried under everything else. Three problems explain why:
Onboarding
New staff need 2–3 weeks and a colleague’s help to feel confident.
No guided steps, language chosen too late, dense first screens.
Navigation
Your next shift and who you work with are buried.
Three near-identical lists, weak hierarchy, icons that don’t say what they do.
Worklog
Hours are hard to review, so people check again and again.
A dense table with no grouping and no clear status for recorded time.
Ideate
Onboarding
10 of 13 struggled to finish sign-up. I mapped the current flow to find where people get stuck (red), then removed or fixed those steps (green).
Onboarding before
- Manager creates the account; the employee isn’t told
- Invitation email only in German
- Link opens the app
- Login asks for a username they don’t know
- They ask a colleague for help
- A second confirmation email breaks the flow
- Done
Onboarding after
- Manager creates the account
- Invitation in English and German, with the username and a 3-step overview
- Link opens the app
- Welcome screen: choose a language, see what comes next
- Enter the username, create a password
- Confirmation as the final step
- Done
