![]()
MICA Maint
MICA Maint
MICA campus, being an art and design college, has a long history of needing many
repairs and maintenance. Students and faculty
members request and receive responses through
a work order program called eMaint. However, eMaint has a lot of obstacles, like having to find the link on the MICA website, filling out request forms on another website, and not updating requests. This makes the process uncomfortable since the progress is disjointed.
Role:
User Research,
Visual Design,
UI/UX
User Research,
Visual Design,
UI/UX
Time:
7 days, 2020
Tool:
Invision
7 days, 2020
Tool:
Invision
Challenge
Create a new experience campus facilities management system to reduce the overall burdens for requestors and managers and better communication.
Solution
Campus Progressive Web App (PWA) that is easily accessible and allows both sides of work order communication to be an all-in-one service.
Design Process
Understand Background
I went through the current system to get to know the experience from requesting to getting it fixed. The system was too complicated and scattered:
A simple experience is being divided into different platforms, creating confusion for the user.
- No direct access to the eMaint site (Users should detour the MICA website first to create a work order.)
- The interface of the eMaint was confusing. Its mobile site, which allowed the user to send immediately upon discovery of facilities problems, was also not intuitive nor responsive.
- Communication such as any questions or feedback can only be continued via email rather than the platform itself.
A simple experience is being divided into different platforms, creating confusion for the user.
![]()
Research
User Survey
I surveyed a professor and eight MICA students and interviewed a manager for MICA’s Facilities Management, who frequently use the system to gain a better understanding of the pain points.
Main findings from requestor experience research:
- Users feel it is difficult to find and use eMaint.
- Users hardly call the management office to receive updates.
- Users find typing in their location to be bothersome.
- Users would like to be informed about the processes and completion time for repairs.
Main findings from the Facilities Manager (Peter):
- eMaint’s website does not function properly because he uses email to communicate with requestors.
- It’s impossible to respond to all requests due to the volume, in part because there were many repeat requests as a result of poor communication between requesters and between requesters and receivers.
- Identifying the main issue from requests takes time because of the note format.
Ideation
User Persona
Based on the collected user surveys, I created two prospective users. The purpose of the two personas was to compare those who send requests with those who receive and take action in the repair process.
User Journey
The User Journey has made a visual representation of what behaviors and emotions are going on with the current state (when there is no web app like MICA/maint) in achieving goals.
Jane’s case was created to distinctly display the request process with eMaint.
On the other hand, Mark’s case is for the process of receiving requests and fixing them. The conclusion was that making and checking the request takes a long time because of the disconnection. I designed MICAmaint to solve these problems.
Problems
- The whole process is difficult and takes a long time.
- Requestors have difficulties with knowing the progress.
- The platforms are scattered, so users and managers can’t communicate with each other.
Solutions
- Create an easy, intuitive system so users can send requests directly.
- Provide requestors progress updates.
- Make end-to-end experience: from requests to fixes with all communication in between, and even monitor the equipment.
Key Features
- MICA facilities code to attach to campus equipment, allowing for immediate requests by just scanning the code.
- Use PWA for not only direct access to the site but also notifications like an app.
- MICA facilities code contains all repairs and information related to the facilities.
![]()
Develop
Site Map
I created a site map with reference to the user personas and journey to structure the three features: request, notification, and management. I separated sitemaps for requesters and managers to make a unified app for both of them. Even though the structure has changed a little bit, this process has been rendered to show how my primary features should be mapped out.
Wireframes
I created a wireframe based on the site map and visualized the overall flow. While making wireframes, I decided to make the order of priority out of the three features; I thought the request was the first one so I moved the home screen from the request list to the scanning page and changed the manager’s home screen accordingly.
MICA Facilities Code System
The MICA facilities code, which contains all basic information regarding the facility, repair history, location, and repair personnel, was created based on the MICA brand identity.
Design Decision
For Requesters & Managers
Sign in and Download
Users enter the MICA maint website by mobile and sign in with their MICA account. The user can download and get easy and direct access to it, like an app.
For Requesters & Managers
Scan MICA Facilities Code
Once the user has signed in, the camera will be active to scan the MICA Facilities code. When the user scans the code attached to facilities, the name and location of the device will automatically appear and the user gets ready to request on the spot. If someone already reported the same request, the user can upvote to add it to the user’s request list and be notified without making a new report.
*The MICA Facilities code contains data and repair history about equipment and facilities, shared only within MICA. Each facility and piece of equipment has its own code. For Requesters
Reporting the issue
The possible failures in the facility or equipment are listed so that issues can be communicated with a couple of clicks. The code tells the user which building, floor, and piece of equipment, enabling the user to send the request by just clicking the problem. Then, the technician who is in charge of these types of facilities will be automatically assigned and get the notification right away. The user can track the requested progress information related to facilities. The manager can view the history of the equipment and edit and update the status after the repair is completed.
Reporting the issue
The possible failures in the facility or equipment are listed so that issues can be communicated with a couple of clicks. The code tells the user which building, floor, and piece of equipment, enabling the user to send the request by just clicking the problem. Then, the technician who is in charge of these types of facilities will be automatically assigned and get the notification right away. The user can track the requested progress information related to facilities. The manager can view the history of the equipment and edit and update the status after the repair is completed.
For Managers
Facilities Detail
When the user clicks on each facilities card, the user can track the requested progress information related to facilities. The manager can view the history of the equipment and edit and update the status after the repair is completed. 
For Requesters
My Requests and Open Requests
My Requests is a list of user-generated requests that the user can add to others’ requests from Open Requests. Open Requests is a list of requests searched around the user’s location. The user can upvote them to increase the repair ranking. This feature eliminates the irritant from creating new requests and avoids any outstanding disrepair. Managers don't have to receive the same request, and they can also prioritize requests.
For Requesters
How to Use and Troubleshoot
People usually try to make equipment repairs themselves before submitting a work order. MICAmaint provides tutorials for users that are accessible through scanning the MICA Facility code. Equipment introduction videos are also available through scanning to teach users how to properly use each piece of equipment.
For Requesters
Notification
Users can easily update the progress with the PWA notification function. Requestors and managers can track it in real-time even within a work order.For Managers
My Management
My Management lists all facilities cards listed in the order of the most upvotes. Managers can see the upvotes in total when they search the equipment to see the status, repair history, and data of the equipment through tags and sorting. Managers can monitor all facilities through this My Management page.
What I learned
Consider all the people, processes, and experience involved in one service
Interviewing the manager as well as the requester using the current service allowed me to know new information and define how my design should function.
Also, when I think about the experience, I realized that it was only to make the current system a simple app, so I came up with an offline medium, “MICA facilities code.”
Test the design
As I designed, I found that my design becomes complex and difficult. Its focus as an app for solving maintenance issues became buried. After several tests, I identified the key features and changed the home screen from My Request to Scan the MICAFacilities Code.
Interviewing the manager as well as the requester using the current service allowed me to know new information and define how my design should function.
Also, when I think about the experience, I realized that it was only to make the current system a simple app, so I came up with an offline medium, “MICA facilities code.”
Test the design
As I designed, I found that my design becomes complex and difficult. Its focus as an app for solving maintenance issues became buried. After several tests, I identified the key features and changed the home screen from My Request to Scan the MICAFacilities Code.