When I just started at my PostNL DevOps team as a software tester, it came to my attention that there was a need for an improvement of the UI design of the Route Sequence Application(Ritvolgorde Applicatie or RVA in Dutch). RVA is an application used by delivery personal to plan their delivery route sequence. Because there was no UX designer involved in designing the screens, the layout and flow of the application was very incoherent.
After I pointed out that I have experience with UX design from my studies, I proposed to do an analysis on the design of the current RVA user interface. The product owner requested me not to make any changes to the architecture and functionality of the application. The request was to ensure that the proposed changes were cost effective and easy to implement for the developers. Therefore I came up with the following design question:
How can I improve the user interface of RVA, in such a way that it’s intuitive to use for the user, cost effective for the business and easy to implement for the developers?
To get a clear picture of the layout of the application, I developed a sitemap. By making the structure visible, I got a clear picture about the hierarchy. I wanted to organize the flow of the user interface from generic to specific. This would allow me to create a clear and simple path for the application.
Taking into account the hierarchy of the application, I subsequently analyzed the original UI design. It struck me that all buttons for local navigation, contextual navigation and functionality were positioned unstructured together. With a focus on user-friendliness, I thought it would be better to separate this from each other. In the redesign proposal the choice has been made to make a clear division between a global navigation menu, local navigation menu and a functional button menu. Furthermore, it has been decided to clearly state which navigation buttons and functional buttons are inactive or active.
I designed the User Interfaces based on the findings of my research. I made sure the requirements where clear and unambiguous so the developers could implement my design with clear instructions. Furthermore, I researched how the PostNL corporate identity could be applied to the visual design of the user interface. I presented my findings to the business- and application managers and the development team. Based on the presentation, the development team could give a clear prognosis about the expected realization effort. The reactions of the business- and application managers were enthusiastic and my team received the green light for the realization.
I took the chance to use my qualities as a designer within this collaboration, even though it was not my official job to design user interfaces in this team, because. I was hired as a software test analyst. The goal of the redesign was to make the maximum possible impact on the application while only making a few adjustments. I designed the user Interfaces based on the findings of my research. I made sure the requirements where clear and unambiguous so the developers could implement my design with clear instructions. During the development I made sure I was easy to approach by the developers. I also took the responsibility for the quality assurance and functional testing of the new UI. In sum, my combined qualities as a tester and designer made me a very suitable candidate to handle this project and the team was very satisfied with the outcome.
