So, how did we get the ball rolling? We had a four-step game plan:

1. I organized a design workshop with our clients to understand their needs and narrow down our focus.
2. I used Figma and Useberry to test our prototype.
3. I performed usability testing to make sure the dashboard really hit the mark.
4. Before the big release, we did a demo and set up a feedback loop with in-app tracking widgets and surveys.

A big part of our work was about making data look good. We wanted to turn dry numbers into insights that managers could really use.

Lately, I also ran a User Research to understand the manager persona and validate the managers’ dashboard. I interviewed 6 managers - composed by 1/3 of ideal managers, 1/3 the extreme opposite and 1/3 in the middle - in order to understand their experience, hopes, desires, and aspirations, since we designed this solution for them.

The Manager Dashboard became a new part of the platform that provides managers with information about the learning journey of their direct reports. It allows them to see the data from their team's perspective and drill down into an individual learning or course to understand what’s happening under the hood.

Managers can follow up on their team's learning progress, see the most used learning for the team, and find out which learners consume and finish the content. They can also follow up on assigned learnings and see their team's progress when it comes to assigned learnings. All views are sortable and come with filters, allowing for deeper insight into the data.

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From our User Research, we unearthed pivotal insights that we grouped into three main areas: learning motivation, learning plans, and learning by doing. This resulted in several exploration tickets for continuous enhancement. We promptly addressed all UI-related issues and included them in a post-release user story for further action.

During this process, we crafted two distinct manager personas. This step was essential as it provided a clear roadmap for future iterations and honed our team's focus.

This project was also our first real-world test of our design system. Understanding our team dynamics was critical during this phase. We successfully implemented and synced designs in Figma and the code for over 50 components. This encompassed data tables, data informers, chips, buttons, and text fields, paving the way for a more unified and cohesive design experience.

As the lead designer on the Manager Dashboard project, I learned an important lesson about design decision-making in a scrum process. Unlike in an academic setting where iterations can be easily made, design decisions in a scrum process need to be lived with until the iteration is prioritized again. Despite making some bad design decisions, we had to find a way to deliver a simple solution without raising false hopes for subsequent updates, as our clients were already frustrated with the delays.

The Manager Dashboard project was a valuable experience for our team as we were able to implement the design system and test what worked for us as a scrum team with the design system.