Resource Management Workflow
Streamlining Personnel Operations for a National Defence Institution

My Role

Product Designer

Team

Product Owner
Product Designer
4 Developers
3 Testers

Duration

8 months
(from design to development)
Context: Developed for a national defence institution, this project aimed to digitise complex personnel resource management workflows across multiple integrated applications.
Disclaimer: Due to the nature of the project, I cannot show the actual screens on a publicly accessible website.
The Challenge: Navigating a Labyrinth of Paperwork

Problem

This defence organisation, with its vast personnel (approximately 100,000), faced a critical challenge: efficiently identifying and deploying individuals with specific skill sets for various tasks.

This vital process was bogged down by an antiquated, time-consuming, and error-prone paperwork-driven system. The stakes were incredibly high; in a domain where lives can depend on quick and accurate resource allocation.

The existing manual workflow presented significant risks and inefficiencies. Our mission was clear: design an intuitive digital workflow to drastically reduce paperwork, enhance accuracy, and streamline the entire resource management lifecycle within this critical institution.

My Design Process: Unearthing Complexity, Forging Clarity

My approach to this project was deeply rooted in user-centred design, prioritising a thorough understanding of the problem before committing to rigid solutions.

Phase 1: User Research & Discovery

As the Product Designer, I initiated comprehensive user research, directly engaging with end-users through in-depth user interviews and immersive field studies.

This direct access to the operational environment provided invaluable insights into their daily challenges and existing workflows.
Key insights from this initial phase revealed critical pain points:
Multi-Organisational Approval: The documentation process required approvals from numerous organisations, leading to significant delays and bottlenecks.
Interconnected Systems: Users navigated across a suite of interconnected legacy applications to complete a single end-to-end workflow, demanding an exceptionally intuitive and seamless digital flow.
Paperwork Burden: The sheer volume and maintenance of physical paperwork were incredibly time-consuming and prone to manual errors.
High Stakes: A tiny margin for error existed, as mistakes in resource allocation could have severe, even life-threatening, consequences.

Mapping User Journeys & Defining Personas

Based on these insights, I meticulously mapped out the diverse personas involved in the workflow, defining their “Jobs To Be Done” to truly understand their motivations and pain points.
I then developed detailed user flows, visualising both the existing cumbersome process and conceptualising streamlined alternatives.

These user flows were instrumental in stakeholder presentations, fostering a shared understanding of user challenges and project goals.
This iterative process, incorporating feedback from stakeholder sessions and internal workshops, allowed me to refine ideas and brainstorm innovative solutions.

Phase 2: Ideation & Collaborative Problem-Solving

A significant challenge arose from the organisation’s strict hierarchy, where each level managed the workflow in a distinct manner.

My task was to design a unified solution that accommodated these diverse departmental requirements.

Through collaborative workshops and iterative brainstorming, I focused on identifying common pain points and devising flexible solutions that could adapt across different operational contexts.

The Solution: Intuitive Digital Resource Management

Leveraging all the research data points and applying behavioural models, I designed a series of potential solutions.

Through continuous iteration, feedback from the Product Owner, dedicated user focus groups, and the development team, we converged on a single, robust solution.
The core components of the solution included:
Streamlined Demand Management: Each "Demand" (request for personnel) was channeled into distinct user flows or value streams, catering to specific requirements within the broader demand framework.
Single Point of Entry: A critical improvement was the creation of a single, centralized entry point for all Demands originating across the organization, drastically simplifying the initiation process.
Efficient Endorsement Workflow: A clear and intuitive workflow was created to easily endorse and advance documents through different organisational levels.
Intelligent Nomination & Selection: The system provided an intuitive mechanism for nominating the right personnel based on requirements and a clear process for decision-makers to choose the most suitable candidates.

Presenting to Business Product Owners

I meticulously laid out the proposed solutions against various user journeys and personas, validating my design decisions with behavioral psychology principles. This allowed for a data-backed explanation of why the chosen solution was the most logical, succinct, and usable for the target users.

Engaging the Development Team

Recognising the importance of early integration, I actively involved the development team from the initial stages of the design process. I conducted numerous workshops, explaining the rationale behind every design decision.

This proactive collaboration not only yielded valuable technical insights from the team but also fostered a cohesive environment, ensuring a smoother transition from design to implementation.

This experience reinforced my belief in the power of early and continuous developer engagement.

The UI: Functional Minimalism

A comprehensive style sheet was developed for this project, which is now being expanded into a full-fledged design system. This system is being rolled out across other applications within the organisation’s suite, demonstrating the scalability and consistency of the design foundation I established.
For the user interface, I adopted a minimalistic style, combining elements of neomorphism (subtle transparent shadows to create a sense of real-world depth) with a clean flat design aesthetic. This approach aimed to create an intuitive and uncluttered experience, vital for the high-stakes environment.

Learnings and Takeaways

1
Navigating Complexity & Stakeholder Alignment: This project, with its inherent complexity and diverse stakeholder needs, underscored the paramount importance of securing stakeholder buy-in. It was one of the toughest, yet most rewarding, aspects of the process.
2
Strategic Design Communication: I significantly honed my ability to present and validate design decisions using behavioural and psychological reasoning. This approach proved highly effective in gaining trust and demonstrating the tangible benefits of user-centred design.
3
Our solution is such a huge hit that the wider Defence community have taken notice and want to adapt some of the solution.
4
Measurable Impact & Recognition: The solution I designed has been an undeniable success. Its intuitive nature and efficiency have not only been a huge hit internally but have also garnered attention from the wider defence community, who are now looking to adapt elements of the solution for their own operations. This external recognition is a testament to the real-world impact of my work.

Thank You

Thank you for reviewing my case study. I am passionate about leveraging design to solve complex, real-world problems and would be pleased to discuss this project, or any other, in more detail.