Performance Dashboard
Client
ASML
Year
2023
Duration
6 months
Platform
Microsoft Power BI
Tools
Figma & InDesign
Dual Project
Approach
Project 1:
Improving an existing dashboard’s UX through interaction & UI design
Project 2:
Creating a library of UI components, templates based on findings from Project 1 accommodated by UX methods to improve future designs
The Challenge
What is acceptable performance?
Deciphering indicators of optimal performance versus performance decline from data can pose a significant challenge. While experts on the data adeptly analyze data to discern its implications and make informed decisions within the context of their expertise, transferring this interpretative ability to users unfamiliar with the intricacies of the data can prove challenging. Such endeavors demand additional time, introduce heightened complexity, and inherently harbor potential for misinterpretation and error, particularly when disseminating dashboards to users of varying expertise levels.
As ASML maintains its forefront position in lithography machine development, significant efforts have been undergone in terms of comprehensive training in agile methodologies and design thinking to ensure the efficient tracking of results. However, within this dynamic environment, the integration of user research and usability principles has yet to become an integral aspect of their workflow. Recognizing this gap, a department within ASML had embarked on a journey to incorporate UX thinking into their processes.
In tandem with an ongoing dashboard enhancement initiative, the team is undertaking the establishment of a portfolio/library of UX tools aimed at enhancing usability in forthcoming projects. Their objective is to explore how UX design principles can effectively guide users through the performance analysis process, thereby minimizing time expenditure and mitigating errors. This strategic endeavor reflects ASML's commitment to continually refine its approach to product development and user experience enhancement.
My Role(s)
UX Design & Research Lead
As the sole UX Designer within the department overseeing the project, I assumed full responsibility for orchestrating the entire UX process, employing a spectrum of user-research methodologies including usability testing, speed-dating protocols, interview protocol creation, competitor analysis processes, and affinity diagramming. Additionally, I imparted design strategies such as prototyping in Figma, as well as user-research techniques, to a diverse team of developers spanning from data scientists to experimental physicists.
My role extended to making sensible design decisions concerning the project's front-end components, leveraging the skills honed during my Bachelor's program to shape a pivotal deliverable for the department as a whole."
Project Manager
Operating at the intersection of ASML's UX division and the EUV department, I was the driving force for an innovative approach by integrating UX methodologies with cutting-edge technology, catalyzing an exemplary project within ASML's traditional design framework. My responsibilities encompassed user/participant recruitment and communication, as well as conceptualizing and executing new projects akin to, but distinct from, my graduation project.
Throughout this journey, I maintained regular progress updates to a department spanning components, culminating in presentations at board meetings where I annotated the profound advantages of UX design within ASML's operations.
Executive Summary
Goal:
Improve the accesibility to UX design whilst also minimizing diagnosis time and errors.
Solution:
Designing a SharePoint-based tool with a library of UX methods, contact information and UI templates to improve consistency, including operating window-based components.
The Users
Target users: ASML’s Customer Support
During the initial interview phase, I conducted 9 in-depth interviews with engineers to delve into their perceptions and encounters regarding performance diagnosis using an existing dashboard. Crafting the interview script, I emphasized narrative-driven discussions aimed at eliciting comprehensive accounts from participants. Importantly, the script steered clear of soliciting solutions, thus fostering open storytelling without encumbering participants with problem-solving constraints, inherent to design engineering mindsets.
Due to confidentiality, items such as personas can only be requested internally via ASML.
UX Research
Identifying the problem
As the performance dashboard was in its infant stage, its reliability from a developmental standpoint was insufficient for handover to critical entities like Customer Support, which depend on highly dependable dashboards. Moreover, there was a lack of understanding within the development team regarding Customer Support's dashboard utilization and preferences. Thus the picture of what they actually required was blurry. Without clear UI cues, engineers struggled to make accurate diagnoses and pinpoint the sources of underperformance.
Software selection
Within ASML there are many software solutions available to create a dashboard in. Certain software have been renamed. Research was conducted to find out what software fits best for a performance monitoring dashboard from both the development’s team perspective (1-7) and Customer Supports’ perspective (8-9) and weighed through the Weighted Objectives-method.
Testing Methods
Peer review
Once all the improvements had been implemented from the SUS-test, a design critique was performed with UX Designers, UI designers, Interaction Designers and UX researchers.
AB testing
Using a mock-up of the final design, a deep learning algorithm was used on each page of the original dashboard and the mockup, to determine if changes in layout and styling create focus on the right areas.
Usability testing
Having taken on board findings from AB Testing, a SUS-test was performed on a high-fidelity prototype to test the usability of the soon-to-be delivered results. For the SUS-test a diverse group of people was recruited, male and female, people from different ages, different levels op experience and knowledge and lastly someone with a disability.
Quotes from testing
All testing sessions were recorded and analyzed to discern the subsequent course of action.
“..I found it quite intuitive, and I liked the way they brought me through the different views.”
“Yeah, when I click, I would expect only the one machine already to be loaded.”
“Reading the text on my monitor is fine, however if I’m just using a laptop screen, its too small.
“So I feel like I, you know, I feel like I'm getting to grips with my problem. … I would definitely make a screenshot of this and put in my PowerPoint with…”
“I don’t see why you need a homepage, as I don’t know what to do there”
SUS-Test results
Results are based on a controlled case with diagnosis being consulted with various physics experts beforehand. Conclusions from test subjects had to align with the experts’ conclusions for a task to be deemed succesful.