Facility Workbench research & design

Obtain a holistic view of Sherwin-Williams facilities with software and processes to uncover opportunities and gaps to:

Improve our customers’ experience
Support our facilities staff including customer service
representatives, operation managers, facility managers, blenders and warehouse personnel
Increase productivity in a facility for each role specified by improving processes, eliminating manual and paper processes
Understand all current software and consolidate the software needs of a facility

Project Details

Why was this project conducted?

Employees at Sherwin-Williams facilities were struggling to accomplish tasks in the facility workbench tool in a timely and user friendly manner.

Weekly surveys were started to get an idea as to how employees were using the current version of the tool. This was kept as part of the schedule throughout to get a weekly response from employees as the updates and new version of the tool was being updated.

Throughout the project, the UX team cross-collaborated with subject matter experts, business, and technology teams weekly so each group was aligned in the overall project and individual sprint goals.

Interviews and proto-personas were a major part of the beginning stages to help us get a good base idea of what these employees needed to do using the tool in their daily activities. This helped inform what needed to be included in the usability studies later on and ultimately what needed added to the tool to make the experience more streamlined.

What was the impact?

The impact was felt immediately with each research method and usability study conducted, processes and tasks done in the tool were made easier to use for all facility employees.

Order entry was simplified and steps were reduced to make the process faster. These orders then got to the employees making and packaging the products quicker. Those employees also were able to complete orders and get them shipped out quicker which then allowed the facility to be able to complete more overall orders in the same amount of time as before.

I was able to see this project through all the way from the beginning stages of understanding changes were needed to the facility workbench tool up to the final design changes being added to the tool.

Project Timeline

Step 1: Weekly Surveys

Sent out surveys to get an idea how new software is running and how easy it is to use.

Step 2: Usability Study

Create a series of tasks for different facility employees to complete in order to determine how the current application is operating.

Step 3: Interviews

Interview different facility roles to determine their needs and experiences in the new application.

Step 4: Create Proto-Personas

Create proto-personas based on existing content to compare with current employee experiences.

Step 5: Design Wireframes and Prototyping

Create new wireframes and clickable prototypes for alternate facility application experience for different roles.

Step 6: Usability Study 2

Retest employees using the new prototype to see which areas work better and what areas still need to be improved.

Step 7: Deliverables

I presented findings from all research to business and technology teams. Findings were prioritized in a list and labeled recommendations that were technologically feasible.

Step 8: Redesigns & Launch

Final designs were done based on the 2nd usability study and afterwards, handed off to the technology team to build out the designs. The new Facility Workbench designs launched and are used at Sherwin-Williams facilities.