Homebase is a schedule builder designed primarily for restaurant managers to organize their staff's schedules. We redesigned the employee availability requests feature based on the needs of a local manager who uses Homebase.
The Problem
We interviewed a local tea shop manager who uses Homebase for scheduling. These were her main concerns with the current interface:
1. A cluttered UI that made scheduling overwhelming and confusing. 2. A way to message employees for streamlined communication. 3. Employee notes within scheduling requests for greater context. 4. The ability to approve or deny multiple shifts all at once.
Our goals were to address all of our stakeholder's concerns and to increase flexibility and intuitiveness overall for a more usable interface. This included increasing the use of icons and color contrast to indicate the status of a shift.
The Prototyping Process
User Interviews + Testing
Throughout the prototyping process, we interviewed two local managers (including our original stakeholder). We showed them several iterations of our prototype, from sketches to wireframes to the final product.
At each step of the design process, we tested our prototypes on our participating managers using these tasks and iterated on our designs until these tasks were as easy and intuitive as possible.
User Tasks
1. Approve all of one employee's availability on one date. 2. Approve all pending availability requests. 3. View employee note on a shift.
The Final Product
A brand new UI.
A cleaner, focused starting point for team availability.
Detailed availability.
Quick shift details and instant messaging, for easy communication.
Employee notes.
Employee notes designed for open, personal communication.
Control and flexibility.
Flexible tools and batch actions for faster shift decisions.
Manage requests.
A smarter way to handle requests — fast and focused.
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