Summary

This project is about redesigning an old blog dashboard to allow for a better workflow and improved user experience but also rebuilding its backend structure. The current panel lacks enough functionalities that could enhance and speed up the team’s work. They only have a single shared profile that everyone is using, and there’s no way to keep track of what each team member is doing. It’s very basic now, and the company wants to invest in a better platform because they understand this is the only way to grow and reach a broader audience.

the planning process

The process

Step 1. Meet the team, preferably in person but online is also fine. What do they want to achieve with this project? Why is it necessary? Discuss possible new features and current struggles.

Step 2. Research and plan. What can we improve? Can we keep something from the current interface? What are the challenges and who are the users?

Step 3. Considering what setbacks or issues could occur during or after development.

Step 4. Make Low fidelity wireframes and meet with the crew again.

Step 5. Start working on the polished user interface (the prototype.)

Challenges

The goal here is to create an intuitive online working space for everyone involved with the blog. We have to speed up the working process and let writers, editors, and publishers quickly access different sections of the dashboard. We must add a lot of new features while at the same time keep the UI clean and easy to use. Each user must have a profile, tailored to their job responsibilities. If possible, I should design a similar layout, so users need less time to adapt.

This blog dashboard should make work feel less like work and more like a fun game. You complete tasks, you track your progress, and you also interact with others. For that reason, the gaming industry is so thriving. It applies a lot of the psychological techniques that keep our brains busy and wanting more. If we can use this to our work environment, we will get a lot more out of the employers, which could result in more profits and better relationships.

USERS

In any design project, users are the main people you should aim to satisfy. They are the ones using the product, in this case, the web dashboard, and we must make sure their journey is pleasant. I wanted to hear what they want and engage in a friendly conversation to understand the needs, questions, and complaints they have. This is their dashboard after all, and I wanted them to participate.

There are many ways to achieve this. Face to face meetings, Skype calls, messengers, and of course, email. Make sure you have your questions prepared and know what you’re looking for. Also keep in mind that some users may not be completely aware of their actual needs, so you must be able to extract that from them. Spend the necessary time to understand what are their objectives and how they can improve their working process. What bothers them now, what could fix that?

The Authors

They want to have a clear idea of what is the next task. The writers would love to be abler to track their progress, i.e., words count, deadlines, and receive comments from the editors and other writers. There’ even a problem with the new comments notifications — they don’t exist.

A lot of times I reply to new comments after more than a week because there’s just no way to receive notifications.

The Editor

She requires to have quick access to all blog posts and drafts and be able to edit and label easily. Additionally, it would be a good idea to add the option to write notes under each article or draft and receive notifications.

Instead of texting someone in our facebook group, I want to simply write comments or add notes to their posts if I have recommendations and ideas.

The Publisher

This is the person who decides what articles go live, he is the one researching what content their users want. He needs to be able to understand which materials have been edited by the copywriter so he can schedule their release. He also wishes to be able to add notes, label, edit content, and anything else that could make his job easier and more efficient.