The need of keeping the records credible and updated is very important to the users. At the same time, satisfaction with the current solution is fairly low. It means that there is a noticeable space for improvement and that the potential impact of any positive change would be incredibly meaningful for our users.
Diagram showing creating a potential opportunity to add customer value
For individual users who track time, activities vary depending on the time of the day. They usually track time live first, then review and fill in the missing entries later.
For the first iteration, I've decided to focus on how to display information on the timeline view and how to provide a smooth flow for editing the records using recorded activity data.
To validate the idea of pills and the overall layout of the timeline view, I've decided to run the first iteration of usability tests. I had positive feedback about the pills from the hallway tests so it was time to show designs to regular users.
I've chosen to test on v.2 design in high fidelity - low-fidelity designs, in this case, may have been too abstract for users and result in skewed results.
Since the majority of settings were already in the menu accessible from the status bar, I've decided to not change this for the first iteration and gather feedback about it.
Results
✅ No problems understanding the pills
👎 4 out of 5 users thought recorded activity as already assigned to the pills
👎 5 out of 5 users wanted an easier way to switch between list and timeline view
👎 2 out of 5 users didn’t know how to turn on activity recording
Based on the feedback from the first round of tests, I've changed the design so that the timeline view is easier to discover and pills are more understandable.
As the second iteration of design changed key moments and interactions, I needed to check if users understand the flow. My main focus was on:
Results
✅ 100% completion rate
👎 5 out of 5 users want to see more information about their own time entries - 'hovering is annoying'
👎 3 out of 5 users need more information about the recording activity privacy
The second round of tests has shown that the design is progressing in a good direction. To improve it even further, I've changed two details:
Interactions
Users can edit the length of the pills and visually reorder time entries. Those interactions accommodate frequent users' needs in the experience.
Day overview
It is important for the Timeline view to serve both purposes: providing detailed information about Time entries and giving a quick overview of the whole day of tracked time. Changing scale, with the controls visible on hover, of the Timeline is a very straightforward solution that provides a smooth transition and freedom for the user.
Empty states
To start the experience and encourage users to add their first Time Entries, playful and engaging empty states are displayed.
Progressive onboarding
When exploring different areas of the app, contextual hints help users with their initial activities. This is a more effective way of guiding new users than showing tutorials just after installing the app.
Dark theme
For customers who are using dark mode on macOS different color scheme is provided.
