In the beginning
Back in 2020, Redaptive had only one single customer-facing dashboard.
In response to giving more power and insights to our customers with the new EaaS and DaaS offerings, we wanted to elevate the current client-facing dashboard. We embarked on a 3-month journey to create a new Redaptive Sustainability Dashboard. The objective was to transition from the existing Energy Dashboard to a more user-empowered MVP product codenamed Denali. This case study details the comprehensive process and research methodologies applied to redesign the navigation and IA of the dashboard.
Solution
The MVP version successfully empowered users with a more intuitive and insightful dashboard, positively impacting Redaptive's client experience.
The iterative design process ensured alignment with user expectations, and planned enhancements promise to further elevate the usability and utility of the Sustainability Dashboard.
This detailed case study provides a transparent view into the research, process, and iterative refinements that defined the structure of Redaptive's Sustainability Dashboard Redaptive One.
Understanding users
User Interviews and Gain Sight Analysis
The project's inception leveraged insights from the existing Energy Dashboard, serving as a baseline for improvements. However, the emphasis shifted towards a more user-centric MVP, necessitating a holistic reassessment.
We conducted user interviews with our existing clients and users to identify how they are using the current system and what difficulities they face when planning the brand’s sustainability journey. Since this is a one of a kind dashboard, we had to ask questions to understand what problems they face in their job role and how they come about it. This helped understand how different people and brands think and plan for their sustainibiluty initialtives and what hiccups they face in the process.
Personas
Multiple personas that emerged from user interviews were segregated as:
Buyer Persona and User Persona. We focused on understanding their distinct needs and laid the foundation for a tailored design approach.
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Buyer Persona: Sustainability Director, VP of Energy, VP of Finance, and VP of Real Estate
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User Persona: Sustainability Director and Facility Manager
User Research
The cornerstone of the project was an extensive user research phase.
Through in-depth interviews, We identified commonalities, pain points, needs, and aspirations of all the personas. This qualitative data informed the creation of meticulously detailed feature cards, capturing a comprehensive range of functionalities.
To ensure a seamless user experience, a collaborative card-sorting exercise was conducted with a diverse group of participants across clients and personas.
This exercise, coupled with a subsequent tree test, played a crucial role in shaping an Information Architecture (IA) that aligned harmoniously with users' mental models.
Wireframe & Usability Testing
Wireframing and Usability Testing: Armed with the insights from user research, I delved into wireframing to visualize the proposed solutions. These wireframes were subjected to rigorous usability testing, ensuring the proposed structure resonated effectively with end-users.
Iterative Designs: The design process was characterized by iterative cycles. User feedback from usability testing and ongoing communication with stakeholders were integral in refining the MVP.
