sPro Time Entry and Approval : PeopleSoft

Format: Internet Application
Date: 11.04

In my position as Senior Interaction Designer at Peoplesoft, I redesigned the user interface for the 8.9 release of the PeopleSoft Services Procurement (sPro) Time Entry and Time Approval components.

User Interaction Flows
 As the first step in this project, I carefully mapped out the current (Services Procurement 8.8) Time Entry and Approval process to determine how user types (time entry and the time approver) interacted with the competent. I did this to get a complete understanding of where the Time Entry and Approval process fails the user as well as to determine where the current process meets user needs.

sPro 8.9 and 8.8 (Inset) Time Entry Flow

I then mapped out a new user interaction process, breaking down user interactions into primary, secondary and tertiary tasks. With the new process I was able to:

  • Streamline user system interactions to focus on time entry and submission.
  • Reduced user interactions with unnecessary PeopleSoft components.
  • Reduced the number of pages with which the user had to interact.
  • Significantly reduced the number of user mouse clicks.
 
 

User Interface
Secondly, I designed the user interface based on the user interaction flow, while taking into consideration user expectations and requirements, the limitations of the development tool, and the project schedule. My new interface designs:

  • Allowed the user to enter time in multiple ways (weekly, monthly, bi-weekly.)
  • Reduced the number of pages the user has to interact with from six to four.
  • Implemented the Search Box Design Guideline.
  • Reduced timesheet creation process from five steps to one.
  • Allowed the user to copy previous timesheets without leaving time entry screen
  • Compartmentalized district user interaction into separate page areas
  • Removed all text and terminology (such as Work Order) not relevant to user work experience
  • Added instructional copy.

Customer Review
 I then presented the designs to sPro customers for their comments and suggestions. All customers felt the designs were a big improvement over the previous Time Entry and Approval and interface and felt they could implement the new designs without having to make significant modifications.

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Search Box Design Guideline
I developed the Search Box Guideline to be used when developing non-standard search interfaces for the self-service user. The Search Box design was a major Interface enhancement to the Time Entry and Approval interface.

sPro Interface Consistency Evaluation
I Conducted the Interface Consistency Evalution to discover what aspects of the sPro interface were not consistent with each other. I applied the finds from evaluation to the Time Entry and Approval designs.

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