The
Problem

Provide a concept for effective resource utilization and management.

The
Solution

An application that helps employees find available rooms quickly and efficiently. We call it Number 2.

How did we get here?

First, we looked at what “resources” we were working with. 

ROOMS
CHAIRS
WHITEBOARDS
PROJECTORS
MONITORS
PHONES
WEBCAMS
POST-ITS
MARKERS
PAPER
CABLES
ADAPTERS
ETC...

There are plenty when you think about the typical office, however we felt some were out of our scope. Things like post-its and whiteboards are very important for some professions, but we felt a business could easily handle these by purchasing more. Instead, we chose to focus on resources that are harder to easily come by or purchase—rooms.

Talking to others who work in an office setting, we found a few things.

People steal rooms.

It's unfortunate, but it happens.

People forget to book rooms.

You know you're guilty.

People want rooms.

ASAP, please.

We took these to heart, especially “as soon as possible.”

Analyzing calendar applications people were using as a starting point, we found that many were full of great features, however, sometimes those features can have a habit of hiding core tasks.

We wanted to focus on seeing what’s available and reserving. Nothing else.

One of our first concepts strayed away from this idea. Using the application Clear as inspiration, we designed an app that found you a room after completing four steps.

1. List who will be attending.

2. Enter the length of time.

3. Select the room.

4. Confirm your choice.

To the right is a quick demo used for feedback purposes. I created the animation, then my teammate compiled it into a video with short descriptions.

We liked this concept, but felt it wasn’t streamlined enough.

You had to enter names to estimate the size of room you would need. We felt there were faster ways to get that information.

We didn’t like the use of the hidden gestures to move you from step to step. The steps were so simple, they didn’t need dedicated screens.

It looked too much like our inspiration.

It required a lot of typing. The names, the minutes—we felt we could do it better.

In order to streamline, we changed a few things.

Names to numbers.

Eliminates the slowest task.

Hidden gestures are gone.

Everything fits on a single page.

Typing is no more.

Just swipe or tap.

It's as easy as

STEP 1

Select how many are attending.

STEP 2

Select the amount of time you'll need.

STEP 3

Swipe through your options and confirm.