Smart scheduling design

• Overview

In collaboration with Deloitte and DWAVE, our smart scheduling system design for the TSA aims to streamline shift management and leave processes, offering instant, automated scheduling adjustments through a user-friendly manager web portal and officer mobile app. This project primarily focuses on improving the smart scheduling and leave management aspect after initial preferences and availability input.
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• Achievement

• Smooth leave request process
• Officers able to ask for leave with clear guidance

My Role
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UX Lead-Interaction Design,
Visual Design,
User Flows,
Rapid Prototyping
Team
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3 UX designer
2 product manager,
1 developer

• solution brief

The solution transforms TSA officers' scheduling experience, allowing them to easily set work preferences and navigate leave requests with unprecedented simplicity.

Set Preference

The 'Set Preference' feature allows TSA officers to easily customize their schedules, enhancing flexibility and personalizing their work-life balance.

Ask For Leave

Streamlined the leave request process for TSA officers into a simple, scenario-based system: select a date, and receive immediate prompts. This approach eliminates the complexity, making what used to be a cumbersome process straightforward and user-friendly.

• BACKGROUND

Understanding target users-TSA officers -Peculiarities of shifts

Three Shifts
The nature of airport security requires round-the-clock vigilance, leading TSOs to work in three distinct shifts.
Non-Routine Schedules
Unlike the typical 9-to-5 job, TSOs must adapt to variable schedules that change frequently.
Part-time Work Job
Balancing part-time hours with operational needs requires a sophisticated approach to scheduling to ensure all shifts are adequately staffed.

• current situation

Scheduling and Leave Management Challenges

Leave Requests：
TSA officers face challenges in requesting leave, especially after task assignments, as they must find their own replacements, often through last-minute calls.
Scheduling Preferences：
With only one computer available, officers struggle to view schedules and input their work preferences, complicating their ability to manage work-life balance.

• problem

Officers lack a streamlined
process for leave requests
leading to a dependency on ad-hoc solutions for shift coverages
Limited resources constrain officers' ability to proactively manage and set personalize
Accessibility and Efficiency

Insight

The current system's rigidity around leave requests, limited to a single access point, underscores the critical need for a more flexible, real-time scheduling solution.

• Goal

Work-life balance friendly, manage leave requests effectively

To handle leave requests seamlessly, ensuring minimal impact on operational staffing levels.

• discover analysis

Define officers‘ needs, leading to design ideas

Based on the data about TSA acquired from Deloitte, I employed the 'Who, What, How' design methodology. By refining the data we obtained, ' Who, What, How' helped me better understand and define user needs, leading to innovative design ideas
I will create two separate parts to demonstrate by the end how we are able to solve these two pain points
For TSA Officers
Set preference
Officer availability (ask for leave)

• HOW & DESIGN

Feature 1 - Set preference

Officer Input in Scheduling

In generating schedules, officers input their shift preferences directly, informing the AI to create flexible and personalized schedules.
This integration is key to a responsive and efficient scheduling system

Set preference

The interface allows TSA officers to specify their working preferences, offering a user-centric approach to shift planning.

The 'Urgent Assignment' toggle provides officers with the autonomy to opt-in or opt-out of last-minute assignment notifications, enhancing their control over unexpected work demands.

The interface also includes a customizable notification setting, where officers can determine how far in advance they wish to be alerted for urgent tasks, ensuring they are adequately prepared for any shifts that arise outside of their regular schedule.

This attention to detail in preference settings underscores a commitment to accommodating individual needs and promoting a more responsive and agile scheduling system.

Officer Input in Scheduling

Provide TSA officers with a clear and accessible view of their schedules.

It incorporates a segmented control for "In Progress" and "Planned" shifts, allowing officers to effortlessly navigate between current and future assignments.

This categorization aligns with managerial scheduling operations, ensuring a cohesive and synchronized experience across different user roles within the TSA ecosystem.

Feature 2 - Officer availability (ask for leave)

Simplifying Leave Decision

Before the new system, officers faced uncertainty about leave requests, often consulting Excel and preferences to determine if they were scheduled to work, resulting in a cumbersome decision-making process.

Our new design simplifies this process. With a single click, officers can now promptly ascertain if leave is required and what subsequent actions to take.

How the Automate System works?

a systematic approach starting with the AI system's verification of whether the requested leave day is on the upcoming schedule. If there's a scheduled shift, the leave request is sent and awaits managerial approval.

If approved, the AI system updates the schedule to reflect the officer's unavailability and, if necessary, triggers an urgent request for a replacement. This process ensures operational continuity by updating shift schedules in real time and providing a mechanism for filling any resultant vacancies efficiently.

Scenario 1

Leave on Unassigned Schedule Days

Effortless Off-Duty Requests：Officers are guided to a confirmation page for days not yet
scheduled, where the system assures them of recognizing the request, ensuring no
assignments are placed on the requested leave day."

Scenario 2

Leave on Days with Assigned Tasks

Managed Leave Approval: For leave requests on days with planned tasks, officers are
directed to a confirmation page that allows them to apply for leave pending manager
approval.

Scenario 3

Leave on Days Without Tasks

Seamless Leave Notification: When officers select a day off where they are not scheduled
to work, they're navigated to an informative page indicating no need to request leave.

• user feedback

Officers love the design!

They really like the ask-for-leave system
now they have more confident to submit the leave request

• reflections

Experience Of Shipping Features

The Group Chat Feature shipping process took about three months and I was always responsible to explain the design to developers, making design decisions with PM, and pushing forward the development. I experienced many challenges in the collaboration. But Luckily, I was able to handle them and learn about communication, prioritization and compromising.
New Skills Learned
communication with Devs and PMs; prioritization; compromising.communication with Devs and PMs; prioritization; compromising.communication with Devs and PMs; prioritization; compromising.

Next Project:

TSA SMART (Schedule Platform)

SAAS
B2B
Enterprise
Web
Scheduling Management System

Revolutionizing TSA system through intelligent, adaptable system solution for complex schedule management.

Wanna Chat? Let's Connect!

A product designer who blending creativity with data-driven insights to elevate digital experiences.

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