Project Board
for University of California Agricultural & Natural Resources
Challenge
Make it easy for academics to get reimbursed for their activities.
The University of California Agricultural & Natural Resources (UCANR) was missing out on a lot of state and federal funding due to inconsistent recording methods, poor communication between academics and no centralized reporting platform.
Goal
Maximize state and federal academic funding.
Design a tool for academic-specific program management that supports a somewhat non-traditional and complex approach to collaboration-based, multi-faceted and reporting-rich process workflow and task management needs.
My role
Strategy, Design, Leadership.
I lead the UX process and managed all design deliverables.
​This included: System architecture, user flows, wireframes and interactive prototype for both desktop and mobile.
Context
UCANR had reached to Breyta for help in designing the application, but they had already done some research and contracted a Product Manager. As an added complication, the development was to be done by the UCANR in-house development team.
01
Understanding the constraint of the existing systems
Merging three databases to create a new single system was a complex process that required careful planning, mapping, and execution. It was important to ensure that all data was properly integrated and that the new system was thoroughly tested before deployment.
02
Defining a new system architecture
A new system architecture was designed to accommodate the integration of these disparate data sets into a single system that was capable of managing and analyzing the data effectively.
This led to the creation of a global portal that housed the reporting tool and handles the user management as well as global settings.
03
Creating a new site map and user flows
The consolidated tool provided a unified interface and user experience, reducing the need for users to switch between different tools, thus improving user flows and navigation.
04
Information Architecture and Wireframes
Merging three reporting tools required standardizing data formats and structures to ensure consistency and accuracy across all data sources. This standardization required changes to the information architecture, such as the creation of new data categories, fields, and hierarchy.
05
Applying visual styling and creating a new design system
The updates visual styling lead to a new design system that involved the creation of a consistent visual language that was applied across all components of the product.
