Improving building sequencing UX in cmBuilder
Project Type: New feature definition, and end to end design
Time: 2023
Role: Lead Designer
Problem StatementUsers find our current building sequencing process complex and unintuitive. They have low confidence with the edits they are making. We aim to make the process more robust, improve usability and boost user confidence.
ProcessBackgroundcmBuilder is a web-based construction logistics planning platform.
Users use the app to storyboard their construction flow, and they use it to show the sequence of how the buildings will be constructed. To do so, users connect the construction of the building components to the respective milestone dates. They will be able to flip through the different milestone dates and see the building being constructed.
displaying building sequencing with cmBuilder
RESEARCH & DEFINE
Understanding the ProblemThe current user flow
Main challenges can be summarised as:
Lack of user control over original 3D file 🤷🏻
Complex folder navigation 😵💫
Selection difficulty 🔍
User InterviewsInsights about our target audience 🧐
🔍Users are playing detective to find relevant Information:
Users often find the default folder structures unreliable for navigating and locating desired items. However, they occasionally find helpful cues within file naming conventions to aid in their search.
Some users resort to opening files in other software to access useful metadata or maintain a separate Excel sheet to track logic.
🧠 Users have wide variety of software expertise:
Our target users exhibit a diverse range of software experience. While some lean towards automation, others prefer simpler operations akin to PowerPoint and Paint. This highlights the necessity for flexible customization options within the application to accommodate varying user needs and skill levels.
🗂 Current users have a typical workflow:
Users navigate using a combination of 3D view and folder structure due to distrust in folder layouts.
Sequencing is often attempted in a single session, with users needing to mark progress before interruptions occur.
📑 Users want to use metadata:
Users express a desire to reuse metadata from other software. However, they caution that this metadata can be prone to errors or frequent updates.
Key metadata properties, such as “building storey” and “IFC class”, are deemed crucial by users. “Worksets” are also frequently mentioned.
Competitive analysis
The competitive analysis was conducted for two main groups of software:
Firstly, we explored 3D software like Revit and Solibri, common software used by the more “techy” users.
Secondly, we investigated software in other domains, like Product Board and Premiere Pro, seeking insights into effective data categorization methods.
The outcomes drove suggestions for the main interactions.
DESIGN AND DELIVERY
IdeationDirection A - Utilizing filters
Using filters to search through metadata/properties to quickly find items.
Direction B - Dynamic tree grouping
Establishing a sorting hierarchy based on properties, to quickly organized items in similar groups.
ConvergingThe path of “dynamic tree grouping” was selected because it enables faster navigation with the user’s workflow requirements.
After our ideation phase and drawing inspiration from competitive research, we decided to focus on the idea of "dynamic tree grouping" (path B) to swiftly navigate through items in the desired hierarchy. The decision was driven by the recognition that while filters excel at locating specific items, they are less efficient for swiftly navigating through extensive datasets and making numerous selections.
With this, we further focused our design efforts to create the MVP, which composes of two main components:
Property editing: allow users to edit properties and create values
Dynamic tree grouping: allowing the tree to sort by desired hierarchy (dynamic tree)
User FlowUser flow for current launch highlights the need for two separate functionalities - property editing and dynamic tree grouping.
With the direction chosen, the user flow was created. It illustrates how users would use property and the dynamic tree groupings to work faster and to have more confidence when creating building sequencing.
The key improvement lies in users' ability to utilize metadata and tree grouping to easily select groups of similar items, such as “all exterior walls of floor 3”. This contrasts with the old flow of needing to select individual items in the 3D scene, or trying to navigate arbitrary folder structures. In other words, selecting “all exterior walls of floor 3” previously entailed a laborious process of clicking or name searching. Most importantly, the selection could not be easily redone.
User flow for future versions
User flow was also created to map out future opportunities in order to ensure the core design would work out long term. The future flow involves the bulk execution of property override and the ability to have reusable rulesets.
The main reasons we mapped out these future flows is to ensure the current design has future expansion capabilities, and also to have discussions with the developers so that they can plan ahead for the data structure to be adaptable for these future updates.
Defining user presets
For the tree grouping, user interviews revealed a need for presets, expected to be used 80% of the time. We gathered initial ideas from competitive software and user discussions. Quick prototypes with mock data led to user feedback and refinement. This iterative process refined presets, with one initially discarded based on user input.
Design DetailsImplemented DesignSort by IFC Structure
New grouping structure allows for more controlled and repeatable selection.
Feature demo with realistic use case
The video below showcases a typical use case for the 'dynamic tree grouping' feature, complemented by editable metadata properties. Quite often, these properties were already present in the original source file but were inaccessible for editing or practical use prior to the current design. With this enhancement, users can seamlessly select all elements of a single floor by grouping them according to the 'IFC Structure' preset. Furthermore, they have the flexibility to rectify incorrect or outdated data as needed without the need to go to the source file and reupload.
demo of the feature in the app after launch showcasing a typical user flow
Communication of the rules to developers
For the handoff to developers, I added detailed rulesets in addition to the visual and interaction details. I created the guidelines based on user expectations and usage of the data. I was an important reference for developers to build the logic behind the design.
ReflectionChallenges that shaped the project trajectory
Navigating diverse input formats:
Understanding the varied array of input formats and structures provided by users, including different file types and varying levels of completion, took a lot of background research and discussion.
Understanding user mental models:
Delving into the mental models of users to understand their typical file organization and management methods was crucial for designing an intuitive solution.
Managing solution complexity:
Breaking down the expansive solution space into manageable units of work in collaboration with stakeholders was essential to ensure we were able to iterate quickly and validate our ideas early.
This project prioritized understanding user needs over visual flair, focusing on precise feature requirements. It launched a core functionality and generated ideas for future enhancements in "building sequencing." Extensive testing identified ineffective paths and prioritized solutions. The final delivery reflects user feedback and meticulous attention to detail, addressing edge cases and user expectations.