Staff Timetables
SIMS Next Gen is software that enables teachers to efficiently perform key classroom tasks anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
The Challenge.
SIMS Next Gen is a cloud-based Management Information System developed by ParentPay Group for schools. It enables teachers to efficiently perform key classroom tasks anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
The platform offers a user-friendly interface and introduces features not available in the on-premise version of SIMS, such as digital registers and real-time pupil assessment tracking. Schools can transition to the cloud at their own pace, ensuring seamless data sharing with existing SIMS versions without technological disruptions.
For staff timetables, the task was to design and implement an intuitive and efficient module that allows any staff member in a school to view their own, or any staff, timetable. This is required for being able to located a member of staff at any time and to be able to print their timetable.
The Team.
I was the Senior Product Designer working with a team of front-end & back-end developers, a product owner, a product manager, and a delivery manager.
Discovery.
The project kicked off with a meeting where we introduced its purpose and why it matters. This was a great opportunity to get everyone on the same page, define the project scope, pinpoint the core problem, and map out our user research plan.
We set clear goals and objectives, and the discussions led to key insights and decisions that helped shape the project's direction. This meeting laid a solid foundation for the next phases, ensuring we started off on the right track.
I conducted user interviews with customers who were selected based on their roles in the school. The objective of the interviews was to understand their needs, desires, and pain points with the existing system.
Interviews were recorded, then the results analysed in a customer insights hub, Dovetail. This allows me to identify any recurring themes, key findings, and know where to focus my attention.
I used the triangulation method to ensure the reliability of my findings then created a user empathy map to visualise our customers pain points, ideas, and feelings.
Design.
My first step in design was to map out the user journey using an online whiteboarding tool. This brings the journey to life in a clear way, that I can then share with the whole team for review and discussion.
Using our figma design library I could put together the basic outline of the key screens in the experience, and put them into a high level prototype. I then went back to our customers and shared the prototype to validate if I had met their needs and expectations.
Once I was happy, I could produce a set of final designs, ready to hand off to the developers.
Reflection.
The staff timetable module was developed and released to a small group of early adopters. This allowed feedback to be gathered and enhancements made where required.
The module is now live to all of our customers, and we continue to monitor feedback closely for future improvements.