2017 SEP - 2017 NOV
Autodesk Health Dashboard
Research for Autodesk cloud health dashboard
I played as a researcher for this project, specifically responsible for:
User interview
Analyze insights (affinity mapping, Abstraction laddering, How might we statements)
Research highlight video creation
Workshop facilitation
Buy the feature research
Stakeholder communication
Rapid concept prototyping
Objective
Autodesk Health Dashboard is where users see cloud service health status. The team was unsure how to progress the product, we were hitting resource constraints. The team needed leadership buy-in to further invest in this project.
As a lead designer for Autodesk Health Dashboard, I was tasked to get the buy in from the leadership team. To do so, I conducted research, facilitated brainstorming workshops, validated ideas with users, communicated and came up with design direction
Define problems
“You don’t have enough answers for me” vs “I am juggling too many tasks”
While working on the product, I ran user interviews and sent out internal surveys to understand issues from the internal and external points of view. As the cloud service dashboard is not fully automatic (we purposely set this way to control false alarming), Internal Autodeskers need to update manually at multiple (up to 6) touch points, juggling on multiple tasks at a time with zero support and guidance on the dashboard. Hence, external users often see insufficient, mismatched information.
Remote user research sessions
Early surveys and in-person interviews
Ideate
“How might we design a next-generation Autodesk Health Dashboard to break the vicious circle?”
To share the user problems and align on feature ideas, I ran a brainstorming session with 2 internal teams (the design team, the product team). I compiled the highlight videos from past user research and share them before the session, and ask the team to brainstorm on 3 how might we statements. We narrowed down ideas into 12 ideas.
Validate ideas
Talk to users with game-alike research method
If it was the normal research sessions, I would probably create prototype and test with users. However, the research is planned in special setting - As part of Autodesk’s annual event (Autodesk University), all product teams are running guerilla research in one side of the conference hall. Since our product is a small infrastructural product, it would be difficult to grab attentions from potential participants. I planned game alike research “buy a feature”; participants are tasked to invest on features based on their needs. It was a good method to open up users and hear their real stories.
Every product team in Autodesk were running guerrilla user research, I needed to think of more engaging research method
Buy the feature research
Analyze
Story behind ‘Sorry coins’: we need to be more reliable
Almost everyone voted for ‘Sorry coins’ - as the name indicates, this idea was to give Autodesk Cloud Credit when service quality is low. But as I listen to their story, it implies more serious issues - users evaluate Autodesk’s cloud service quality is below market standard, and also seeing health dashboard not super trustworthy due to mismatch of information and unfrequent update.
What we heard during the session was not too different from what we already knew. However, it really helped us to connect the dots to shape the story. I got 2 main key insights.
Analysing data
Just make users keep on moving
Ideas related to in-depth information were vested high.
Users aware that it is inevitable to have downtime as that’s what happens on the cloud. As long as users get live information and offered clear ways to continue their job, they are good. We just need to make them keep on moving and tell their clients/ boss /team what’s going on.
Share & design
After analysing the research, I came up with design sketches and communicated to leadership team together with research results to get the buy-in.
To cure the root cause, we need to support internal Autodesk admins to easily update the service status. I suggested fine grain stages and guide copy for it. And admin dashboard will be multi-channel support, so that admins just need to update one place.
Support first responders with message templates
Suggested workflow for first responders (internal Autodesk administraters)
Simplified UI to support first responders to select messages from the options rather than writing from blank page
Sample message options
Users will be seeing the well organized status information - what’s the issue, where is the impact, what’s the workaround, and when will be the next update. Also to tell their clients about the issues happen in the past, I suggested to offer past data as well.
Empower users as a communicator with live details
Concept design of public health dashboard
Result
Although it was a good attempt, as not all the stories are bright and shiny, health dashboard revamp didn’t happen. However, this research impacted the leadership team to work on one of the root cause, improving overall cloud service reliability. The team set up the new KPI for all cloud services and created dashboard to monitor service level agreement and latency.