Level.co
They wanted to expand their offerings from smart locks to include a smart building automation platform. I was responsible for creating the user experience across several key features: the App Home, Visitor Access Dashboard, and Global Navigation.
Left: Foundational work (my role) Right: Final designs based on foundational work
Timeframe:
4 sprints - 2w/each
Role:
Product Design
Team:
Product Owner, Product manager, Account manager, Seven designers across teams
Our goal
Redesign level.co internal app to help staff managers, leasing agents and maintenance teams communicate effectively.
Locks are an essential part of any building's security system, providing the first line of defense against unauthorized entry. Our task was to design a system that prioritizes effective communication between staff members, ensuring that locks function properly and tenants feel safe.
Collaboration
The team consisted of MaterialPlus and Levels' in-house designers. During my time at Levels, I collaborated with UX designers on six sprints to design sections such as Home, Visitor and Staff Member lists, Visitor access management, and Global navigation.
Proccess
We worked quickly and efficiently using the agile methodology. Our sprints, were designed carefully to ensure that we had a strong emphasis on daily collaboration sessions, mid-sprint check-ins with the client, and demos at the end of each sprint.
Who are we designing for?
Building managers, leasing agents, and maintenance teams all play a vital role in a building's success.
Building managers:
Oversee day-to-day operations.
Leasing agents:
Handle tenant relations.
Maintenance teams:
Perform repairs and upkeep.
Home
Two sprints
A home is a place of shelter, comfort, and relaxation that provides security. Similarly, we aimed to provide staff with a distraction-free place to get an overview of relevant information.
Design Challenge
Condensed the available information to its essential elements. Identifying the necessary data for each role to help us understand the daily requirements for each one.
After a thorough discovery process that included research and multiple Figma iterations, we had a principle to guide our designs: Home is a central hub where staff members can find essential information to ensure the community runs optimally.
Home final designs based on foundational work
Initial Explorations
Keeping things simple
An additional complexity was that the Levels app is not a building management app; it only deals with locks. Therefore, it is essential to keep the user experience as simple and unobtrusive as possible, since users likely have to interact with other apps during their work day.
Initial Explorations
Notification hierarchy
Notification System
We developed an organized notification system to determine which information should be displayed on the home page for each user role. This system was designed to ensure that users would only see the information that is most pertinent to them, based on their role within the organization.
Designing single and multiple notifications with the relevant data and the right hierarquy. (Slides from a client presentation)
Once I had a sense of the core information, I started constructing the logic behind the notification system. I created a diagram that summarized which notifications made it to the Home page and why. This draft was handed off as a deliverable and served as a useful tool for developers.
Notification cycle diagram
In parallel to the Notification Cycle, I wanted to ensure we were aware of what type of information should be sent to the Home. I expanded an existing database to include which events would trigger a notification. I collaborated with the Product Owner and UX team on Levels side to make sure all events and messages were accounted for. We ended up creating 3 groups of notifications. This hierarchy separated Urgent issues from issues needing prompt attention.
Notification System Database
Bundles
We have identified that some notifications occur frequently and crowd the UI with very similar information. Our goal is to minimize cognitive load, so it makes sense to bundle similar notifications. This supports our goal of keeping the Home page free of noise and maintaining a clear hierarchy that helps our audience complete daily tasks with minimal effort.
Bundle Interaction
Back to Home
My main takeaway was a deep understanding that, in order to achieve something truly simple, a lot of complexity and messiness needs to come first. Removing all the noise is an essential part of a design that feels effortless.
Final design, made by other team members, based on our UX work.
Visitor access dashboard
One sprint
Managers and leasing agents need the ability to remotely control visitor access for property security and safety. Easily grant temporary access to visitors such as delivery personnel, maintenance staff, and contractors, saving time and ensuring only authorized individuals have access.
Design Challenge
Create a simple and effective method for managing building access for visitors, while taking into account all the different types of access needed.
Initial Explorations
Access types
It was important to understand the different access types a visitor could have to comprehend the implications of various user scenarios. Access types can range from full to restricted, depending on the visitor's purpose. For instance, a visitor may have full access to all areas of the building, or they may be limited to certain areas only.
We were working with the following access types:
General Access:
Visitors can access common areas, but access to restricted areas is limited.
Limited Access:
Access restricted to certain building areas, amenities, and common areas.
Temporary Access:
Limited-time access for contractors/short-term staff to access necessary resources.
Emergency Access:
Emergency access granted to fire, medical, and other personnel to enter building.
Access card anatomy wireframe
We improved the "Create Access" flow to include an Access Dashboard. Users can view, edit, expand, or revoke accesses based on their role. We also added a history of Access for the visitor, providing a comprehensive overview of past and present activities.
Activity History wireframe
The right access
This dashboard is essential for building managers, leasing agents and maintenance teams, providing comprehensive and centralized view of who has access and when. It empowers teams to quickly respond to security needs, revoking access for individuals no longer needing it, or granting access to new visitors.
Final designs based on our foundational work
Visitor list final design based on our foundational work
Final thoughts
This has been one of the most demanding and rewarding projects I have worked on. From the product design challenges to the overall team, the work was smooth and the leadership was great. It was a safe space where everyone was encouraging and supportive.
It was a masterclass in good leadership that enabled everyone to do their best job, while keeping everyone on track and making decisions along the way to meet deadlines with the best possible work.
hello@dianapadron.com - 2023