ADP Payroll Solutions UX Case Study : Scheduling Feature in ADP App Design to self manage shifts and timings.
Challenge Identified
Many part-time employees don't have a fixed schedule and need to provide their availability on an as-need basis. They also have difficulty interacting with their colleagues if they aren't available and need to switch shifts.
ADP is a common app that part-timers use within Canada. Although ADP displays the employee's upcoming schedule, it has limited functionality. It's not interactive and it does not allow them to provide their future availability or swap shifts with other employees if they become unavailable. Employees have to resort to using other platforms to communicate their needs. Managers also need to field requests and updates from multiple platforms as there is a lack of consistency in the platform usage. This might create difficulties for employees to understand their schedule and for managers to schedule effectively for the employees alike, which might lead to decreased productivity and satisfaction.
ADP Overview
The ADP app is a mobile application used by employees in Canada to manage their schedules and payroll. The app is designed to provide employees with access to their work schedules, pay stubs, and other important work-related information. Employees can use the app to check their schedules, request time off, and track their hours worked. The app also provides a messaging feature that allows employees to communicate with their managers and coworkers. The ADP app is available for both iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. While the ADP app is a useful tool for managing schedules and payroll, it has some limitations, as discussed in this case study.
How Might We
Our team proceeded to conduct a brainstorming exercise using How Might We statements.
This process helped us reframe the challenge and generate insights into opportunity areas. We focused on quantity over quality and tried to develop as many ideas as possible.
We then shared our statements with one another and voted on the key areas we wanted to focus on.
We distilled it down to two main goals we want to help users accomplish:
• The ability to see people's availability
• The ability to communicate requests and availability
User story
Using the ideas generated from our HMW statements, we crafted a user story to better understand their needs.
As a part-time employee in Canada, I want to provide my upcoming availability and adjust it when needed. I want to swap shifts with other employees if I become unavailable so that I can better plan my work schedule around my personal life and have more control over my work-life balance. Additionally, I want to stay informed about any changes to the schedule and easily communicate with my managers and coworkers.
Competitive Analysis
There were many existing apps that targeted shift swapping for employees, such as Shyft and Homebase. However, these apps still required the employees to message one another albeit through a common platform.
We wanted to help streamline the process by minimizing the back-and-forth communication. While there were also other apps available for this purpose, we decided to add this feature to the ADP app since many Canadian part-time workers were already using it to clock in and view their schedules. It would have been redundant to require them to download another app solely for requesting shift swaps and indicating their availability.
GUSTO
PAYCHEX FLEX
SQUARE TEAM
There were many existing apps that targeted shift swapping for employees, such as Square Team and PayChex. However, these apps still required the employees to message one another albeit through a common platform.
We wanted to help streamline the process by minimizing the back-and-forth communication. While there were also other apps available for this purpose, we decided to add this feature to the ADP app since many Canadian part-time workers were already using it to clock in and view their schedules. It would have been redundant to require them to download another app solely for requesting shift swaps and indicating their availability.
Phase 2
Define
Success Metrics & Signals
To help focus our direction, we defined some key goals and signals.
• Improved communication and coordination between employees and managers
• Reduced miscommunications and scheduling conflicts
• Increased responsiveness to schedule changes and requests
• Increased efficiency and productivity in scheduling
• Increased coverage of available shifts
User Flow
Wireframes and Sketches
Decision-Making
Previously, each team member took turns presenting their sketches and explaining their proposed solution. Because our core solutions overlapped, we decided to take that flow and refine it based on feedback from each other. If a team member had a differing opinion, they would get a chance to explain their reasoning and we would go with the majority decision. This helped give everyone a chance to contribute their opinion and allowed the team to come to a consensus on the best course of action to move forward.
We then analyzed the feasibility of the potential solution and made sure it was aligned with our original objective and user story. Given the time frame, we used the MoSCoW method to help prioritize which features we wanted to include in this iteration and also control the scope of our project.
MUST-HAVE
Schedule
Availability
Swap function
SHOULD-HAVE
Hours completed
COULD-HAVE
Manager function
WON'T-HAVE
Chat function
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
User Testing
1. Testing Goals
We wanted to understand how intuitive the process of switching shifts and adding availability would be for the users. We also wanted to gain insight into what they think about the overall function and if they found the navigation intuitive.
2. Methodology
We conducted 3 rounds of user tests through usertesting.com. Our test audience targeted participants who work part-time.
Pre-Test Screening Question
Which of the following best describes how you receive your work schedule?
A. My manager assigns me a schedule based on their discretion and I do not have to provide my availability in advance.
B. My manager provides me with a schedule based on my availability, which I provide in advance.
C. I'm part of a team that creates our own schedules based on our availability, and then we submit them to our manager for approval.
D. I do not have a set schedule and am assigned shifts on an as-needed basis.
Test Script Introduction
We'd like to invite you to explore a new feature we want to introduce to the ADP Mobile Solutions app.
In this scenario, you are a part-time employee who is interested in switching shifts with your co-workers and updating your availability for the following week.
It's important to keep in mind that the project is still under development and it’s presented in low-fidelity with little emphasis on the visual front. We’re primarily focusing on the concept and interactions at this stage.
Please remember to think out loud and provide honest feedback. When you are ready, go ahead and begin your task.
Thank you!
Test Script Task
Flow 1: Request a shift swap with a colleague
Task 1
You got a busy week ahead of you and you need to understand your schedule this week. Go ahead and check your schedule.
Task 2
You're unavailable on Sunday so you would like to swap shifts with a colleague. You decide to send a swap request.
Post-test Questions
• What are your initial impressions of how your schedule for the current week is displayed? Please explain your answer.
• How did you feel about the process of requesting a shift swap?
Flow 2: Accept a shift swap request from a colleague
Task 1
You realize you're not scheduled for Tuesday, but you're available to work that day. Go ahead and check if you can work on Tuesday.
Post-test Questions
• How easy or difficult was it to navigate between the days of the week?
• How did you feel about the process of accepting or declining a swap request?
• Did you know where to find swap requests?
Flow 3: Adding in availability
Task 1
You already know what your next week looks like and want to update your availability. You're available to work on Thursday, April 20th from 10AM to 5PM. Go ahead and add in your availability.
Task 2
Great! Before submitting, you decide to check the details of your newly added availability.
Task 3
You decide to change your availability from 10AM to 5PM to All-day instead. View your newly updated schedule.
Task 4
Awesome! Go ahead and send it for approval.
Post-test Questions
• How easy or difficult was it to find where you could add your availability?
• How did you feel about the process of providing your availability?
• How easy or difficult was it to check and edit the details of your availability?
Usability Testing Results
Participant 1 Feedback
Key insights
• Could not complete Flow 1, They didn't know to click on the "swap shift" text and tried to click on the entire card instead. They also only tried to swap shifts with Employee 1 instead of Employee 3
• Did not understand Flow 2, could not see the relationship between wanting to work on Tuesday and accepting a swap request eventually figured out the task requirements after reading the post-test question
• After updating their availability, they went back to check their schedule and were confused on why it wasn't updated. Found it difficult to navigate back and thinks it would be nice if there was a shortcut to see the availability
Participant 2 Feedback
Key insights
• Could not complete Flow 1. They didn't know to click on the "swap shift" text and tried to click on the entire card instead. They also only tried to swap shifts with Employee 1 instead of Employee 3
• Did not understand Flow 2 could not see the relationship between wanting to work on Tuesday and accepting a swap request eventually figured out the task requirements after reading the post-test question
• After updating their availability, they went back to check their schedule and were confused on why it wasn't updated.Found it difficult to navigate back and thinks it would be nice if there was a shortcut to see the availability
Key Takeaways
The results were unexpected because we got complete opposite sides of the spectrum. One participant could not complete any of the tasks and another one flew through everything in mere minutes.
2 out of 3 participants could not complete "Flow 1: Request a Shift Swap" because they had a difficult time recognizing what was interactive on the page. It seems that people expect the entire card to be interactive and that the "swap shift" text was just information.
While most participants felt that the process of accepting a swap request from their colleague was straightforward, it was not clear to them how to navigate to the actual request. One participant found it by accident. Similar to the issue in the first flow, they tried to click on the entire text and did not realize only the arrow was interactive.
Most participants would prefer being able to see their schedule at a glance instead of navigating through it day by day.
All the participants were able to find where they could go to add their availability.
The action of adding in availability had mixed results. One participant had a difficult time dragging as they would accidentally exit their browser when doing so. Another participant could not make it past the overlay animation so they could not perform the action. However, they were familiar with this feature as it exists in many scheduling apps. The final participant loved the feature and found it intuitive and easier to use than a manual process.
Iteration Focus Area
After reviewing the user tests, we decided to focus on the key pain points:
• Changing the way swap requests were being displayed
• Adjusting the swap request interaction
• Allowing users to easily see their entire week's schedule at a glance
• Incorporating multiple options for users to navigate to their availability and their swaps
High-Fidelity
Using the ADP app as the base, a style kit was created to maintain consistency in the high-fidelity prototype.
The following slides are the updated app-map.
User Testing
User testing was conducted on participants who were selected through our screeners
Our screeners filtered part-time employees who used the app frequently to check their schedules and pay roll information.
We received following feedback from participants
• " I love the Scheduling feature and the way it swiftly allows to swap our shifts"
• "I am excited to see this feature live as would not need to personally request my colleague for swap I can just do it through the app"
• "The flow and navigation is super easy, this feature could change lives of part-time students who have to miss their classes due to fixed pre-scheduled shifts "
Take Away
Building a schedule swap feature in ADP allowed us to explore the world of employees and issues faced by them and now we are motivated to build more of such features that can help employees not only with their schedules but also their payroll and training.