Law Enforcement Messaging Service Dashboard

Log of Messages

Directory of Inqueries

Tired of lost sales and bad reviews of the inefficient and outdated interface the client was asking for a face lift redesign. But it was clear in the discovery session that they would need more than that since features had been added with little consideration for user experience. The client acknowledged the user base is equal parts expert and novice but attempts at accommodating them both had done more to alienate and frustrate than delight. The original single screen interface was cluttered with menus and heavily relying on icons to make it all fit much to the chagrin of novices while experts were overwhelmed with steps and explanations.

After testing multiple concepts we found that users most responded to an approach that separated message templates from the sent requests and replies users grasped the concept quickly, maintained their sense of orientation in the design.

To address the needs for entrenched users keyboard shortcuts a powerful command line tool was added to the application bar. Long time user tend to memorize keyboard commands for their common actions which can be executed in the command line. Novices meanwhile found the directory with full titles and descriptions as a fast and reliable method that when combined with the quick access tray made them almost as effective as the experts with no additional training.

Both user groups reported high satisfaction with the reimagined request and reply interface. Particularly the reduction of clicks, they could simply and quickly scroll through all the related replies. Many noted that it felt familiar to their email and was easy to use.

Overall the client was impressed with the reorganization and design.