100Storm Power Restoration

Project Summary

The Storm Daily Time Report system is a digital solution designed to replace the manual, paper-based process currently used by storm response crews and Florida Power & Light (FPL) representatives. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and provide real-time visibility into time tracking, labor costs, and expense management for contractors and employees working on storm recovery efforts.

Led the user experience for the Storm Daily Time Report, a critical application for tracking labor costs during storm response. This innovative digital workflow replaced a manual process, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy for FPL’s storm response teams. The design’s focus on user needs resulted in an intuitive and effective solution, leading to a US Innovation Design Patent.

UX/UI Design Application Screens

Project Summary

Led the user experience for the Storm Daily Time Report, a critical application for tracking labor costs during storm response. This innovative digital workflow replaced a manual process, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy for FPL’s storm response teams. The design’s focus on user needs resulted in an intuitive and effective solution, leading to a US Innovation Design Patent.

UX/UI Case Study: Storm Daily Time Report

Objective: Design a user-friendly, time-entry integration system to streamline approval workflows, track time, and manage labor costs across multiple storm response teams.

Project Overview

The Storm Daily Time Report system is a digital solution designed to replace the manual, paper-based process currently used by storm response crews and Florida Power & Light (FPL) representatives. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and provide real-time visibility into time tracking, labor costs, and expense management for contractors and employees working on storm recovery efforts.

Target Users

  1. FPL Representatives (Approvers):
    • Need to verify and approve hours, expenses, and equipment usage daily.
    • Require a clear overview of submissions and team activities.
  2. Foremen (Submitters):
    • Responsible for submitting daily time and expense reports for their teams.
    • Need a simple, intuitive interface to log hours and expenses quickly.
  3. Contractors/Employees:
    • Individuals logging their own hours and expenses.
  4. Admin/Finance Teams:
    • Use data for payroll, invoicing, and cost tracking.

Key Features

  1. Calendar with Color-Coded Legend:
    • Displays report statuses:
      • Approved (Green)
      • Submitted (Orange)
      • Rejected (Red)
      • Created (Blue)
    • Allows users to filter by date and status.
  2. Create New Expense Report:
    • Option to initiate a new report for time, labor, or expenses.
  3. Time Report:
    • Team Bulk Hours:
      • Input fields for Team Name, Standard Hours, Overtime Hours, and Double Time Hours.
    • Contractor Individual Hours:
      • Tracks individual employee hours with fields for Start, Stop, and Total Hours.
  4. Expenses:
    • Categories: Meals, Lodging, Fuel, Equipment, Other.
    • Fields for Expense Reason and Expense Amount.
    • Receipt upload option (Y/N toggle).
  5. Additional Fields:
    • Roster Info: Employee Name, Classification, and ID#.
    • Staging Site: Work Location.
    • Traveling (Yes/No): Indicates Mob/DeMob status.
    • Production Lead: Name of the PL overseeing the team.
    • Report Status: Tracks the approval workflow.

UX Design Process

1. User Research

  • Pain Points Identified:
    • Manual paperwork is time-consuming and prone to errors.
    • Lack of real-time visibility into report statuses.
    • Difficulty tracking expenses and receipts across multiple teams.
    • Approval delays due to physical handoffs between foremen and FPL reps.
  • User Needs:
    • Quick and easy data entry.
    • Real-time status updates.
    • Mobile accessibility for fieldwork.
    • Centralized data for reporting and payroll.

2. User Personas

  • Persona 1: FPL Representative
    • Role: Approver | Tech Comfort: Moderate
    • Goals: Efficiently approve reports, reduce errors, and ensure compliance.
  • Persona 2: Foreman
    • Role: Submitter | Tech Comfort: High
    • Goals: Submit accurate reports quickly, manage team hours, and track expenses.

3. Information Architecture

  • Home Dashboard:
    • Calendar View
    • Quick Actions (Create Report, View Submitted Reports)
  • Time Report Module:
    • Team Bulk Hours
    • Individual Contractor Hours
  • Expense Module:
    • Expense Entry Form
    • Receipt Upload
  • Approval Workflow:
    • Submission → Review → Approve/Reject
  • Settings:
    • Roster Management
    • Staging Site Updates

UI Design

High-Fidelity Mockups

Home Dashboard:

  • A calendar grid with color-coded dots on each day.
  • Buttons for “Create New Report” and “View Reports”
  • Summary cards showing pending/rejected reports.

Time Report Form:

  • Clean table layout for team and individual hours.
  • Dropdowns for classifications and toggle switches for Y/N fields (e.g., Mob/DeMob).
  • “Submit” button at the bottom (Orange until approved).

Expense Entry:

  • Form with dropdowns for expense type, text fields for reason/amount, and an upload button for receipts.

Usability Testing

  • Test Scenarios:
    1. Foreman submits a team report with 5 employees and 2 expenses.
    2. FPL rep reviews and approves a submitted report.
  • Findings:
    1. Users appreciated the color-coded calendar for quick status checks.
    2. Foremen requested a “Save Draft” option for incomplete reports.
    3. FPL reps wanted bulk approval for multiple reports.

Iterations:

  • Added “Save Draft” functionality.
  • Implemented a checkbox system for bulk approvals.

Technical Considerations

  • Platform: Web-based with mobile responsiveness (foremen often work in the field).
  • Integrations:
    • Payroll systems for labor cost tracking.
    • Cloud storage (e.g., AWS) for receipt uploads.
  • Security:
    • Role-based access (FPL reps vs. foremen).
    • Data encryption for sensitive info (e.g., employee IDs).

Success Metrics

  1. Efficiency:
    • Reduce report submission time by 50% compared to paper forms.
  2. Accuracy:
    • Decrease error rate in hours/expenses by 30%.
  3. Approval Speed:
    • Average approval time reduced to under 24 hours.

Conclusion

The Storm Daily Time Report system transforms a cumbersome manual process into an intuitive, efficient digital workflow. By prioritizing user needs—such as quick entry, real-time tracking, and seamless approvals—the design enhances productivity for storm response teams while ensuring accurate cost management for FPL.