Context
In the context of a fully remote company, finding a time-tracking solution is crucial. The tool in question should be able to adapt to all employees, regardless of their location. It should also be suitable for small businesses such as SMEs and microenterprises, with a price tailored to this market.
The issue at hand is how to effectively and intuitively track the hourly rate of our collaborators.
Inspirations & benchmark
As for our sources of inspiration, we relied on Timeular, a leader in time management solutions. This choice was justified by its customization options, ergonomic design allowing for quick reading, and playful aspect with the tracking cube changing tasks depending on which face it's on.
For competitive analysis, we looked at Toggle Track. While it has strengths such as multi-channel support and automated timers, we identified areas for improvement regarding a somewhat childish color palette and overloaded panels in terms of ergonomics.
Protocol and Results of Qualitative Interviews
Here is the interview protocol for our questionnaire on remote work and time tracking. We aimed to understand the French-speaking market of remote workers. Our panel consists of 8 testers aged between 30 and 50, with an average age of 36. 75% of our panel are male, which fairly represents the average of French-speaking remote workers. Regarding their professional situation, they primarily work in the digital sector, including roles such as web developers, digital communication managers, or professional coaches working remotely.
PERSONA & USER STORY
From these results, we were able to develop a persona for this project. William, aged 36, lives in Liège, Belgium. A former executive, he has set up his own coaching business and wants to consolidate all his management tools in one place. He is a fan of to-do lists and is very meticulous about his schedule and time management. He is a big fan of his smartphone and laptop. His personality is rather analytical and organized, given his busy schedule, but he is also outgoing with a strong team spirit.
As a user, he would like to have an overview of his activities and organize them in a SMART way. He would like to categorize his tasks by project, client, category, and color to list these elements more efficiently and better manage his time to increase productivity.
Functionalities
During our initial user feedback sessions, we identified four main features that we wish to add to this MVP version of Tempus:
- Recording working hours with the ability to manage tasks simultaneously
- A counter for hours to be completed within the month
- Exporting time summaries for personal use or accounting purposes
- Creating customizable spaces based on regions, companies, and projects.
Wireframe Test Protocol and Results
For our second test conducted on wireframes, we created the following usage scenario: you are a freelancer working remotely. Your employer, Tom Dupont, asks you to install this software to track the time you spend on your assignment. We had a panel of 5 testers. We maintained an average age of 36 and a majority of males, aiming to represent our future target audience, primarily consisting of professionals in the digital field.
In the context of this test, we set three distinct objectives. The first objective was to access the Administration tab and verify the availability of all configuration options, with a success rate of 100% among our panel. The second objective was to open Tom Dupont's file and download his statistics. We observed some differences among the members of our panel, but overall, the criteria for ergonomics and accessibility were respected. Finally, the final mission was to select the icon for monthly hour objectives and review its indicators. The feedback was more mixed, with two positive and two negative responses, indicating that the solution was difficult to find for some members of our panel.
Site Map
Here is the structure of the Tempus dashboard, which consists of calendars, a statistics panel, and an administration panel. Within the administration tab, users can access teams and workspaces.
MOODBOARD & STYLE GUIDE
For the color palette, we focused on shades of green. We chose the Montserrat sans-serif font for its timeless and fluid appearance, providing users with comfortable readability without being imposing.
As for the UI icon kit, we relied on the Material UI catalog, a tool used by developers in our company, representing the iconographic signature of our organization.
The name "Tempus," was chosen for its Latin roots. In designing the logo, I aimed to bring a touch of modernity. Drawing inspiration from the series "24 Hours Chrono" for the mission and objective. Hence, I selected the Digital 7 font for the text, blending the past with modernity.
ROADMAP
Here is our roadmap for the Tempus MVP version, which started in July with a kickoff to frame the project. Then, we entered an exploration phase that lasted about two months, during which I conducted benchmarks, gathered user needs through a questionnaire, and conducted research to find inspiration. We reached early October with the ideation phase, where I organized a focus group to test the wireframes and rethink the features to add to this MVP version. In November, we moved on to the production phase by creating the wireframes and mockups. Then, I worked on the prototype that we put into production while continuing to test and refine the solution, especially on the user interfaces. Finally, we reached the evaluation phase in January.
UI Design Questionnaire
This evaluation aims to gather feedback and opinions on the appearance and usability of the Tempus project's user interface, to identify any issues and opportunities for improvement.
In this MVP version, we have confirmation that our project meets a user need. While it still needs refinement, we believe we are on the right track. Our tool is accessible for both daily time management and budget tracking for small businesses and independent professionals. Currently, the time management software market primarily targets large and medium-sized enterprises. In line with our business model, there is an opportunity for us in the market among SMEs and freelancers.