Company

Livo health

Industry

healthcare

Period

jan 24 - mar 24

Understanding nurses’ shift scheduling

In this project, we aimed to enhance the shift scheduling experience for nurses by reimagining how they interact with the platform. Our goal was to align the platform's design with nurses' daily habits and reduce friction in claiming shifts for both near and far future dates. Through research, design, and iteration, we developed a new calendar-based interface that improved usability and drove higher engagement.

The problem

Facilities regularly publish shifts that nurses can request. However, the conventional marketplace design presented two critical challenges:

Limited future planning: Nurses couldn’t request shifts well in advance or filter shifts to match their free days effectively.

Unfamiliar patterns: The initial approach didn’t align with nurses' common scheduling practices, creating friction and confusion.

Nurses needed a more intuitive way to plan their shifts and incorporate them seamlessly into their routines.

Our Challenges

Reducing friction:
Make it easier for nurses to claim shifts far in advance or during their free time.

Balancing passive and active searching:
Introduce an active search mechanism without disrupting the existing passive browsing experience.

Improving alignment:
Adapt the platform to match nurses' typical scheduling patterns and preferences.

Introducing a design system:
Develop and implement a cohesive design system to ensure consistency across the platform and streamline future updates.

Design Process

Through user research and testing, we uncovered essential insights: nurses rely heavily on calendars and are accustomed to dividing their schedules into three main blocks—morning, afternoon, and night.

Armed with this information, we made the following updates:

Through user research and testing, we uncovered essential insights: nurses rely heavily on calendars and are accustomed to dividing their schedules into three main blocks—morning, afternoon, and night.

Armed with this information, we made the following updates:

1.
Redesigned shift cards:

Matched card designs with the daytime blocks (morning, afternoon, night) to make shifts instantly recognizable.

Tweaked the information hierarchy to prioritize key details like time, location, and role, improving readability and decision-making.

2.
Calendar-based interface:

Designed a color-coded calendar to mimic familiar scheduling tools.

Enabled filtering shifts by availability and free days.

Provided custom filters to match specific times and shift types.

These updates simplified the experience while making it familiar and efficient, addressing both usability and visual clarity.

These updates simplified the experience while making it familiar and efficient, addressing both usability and visual clarity.

What we learned

Calendars are key:
Nurses’ schedules revolve around a calendar-centric view, making it the ideal interface.

Flexibility matters:
Nurses’ routines often change weekly, so the ability to plan ahead and adjust easily is critical.

Efficiency wins:
Clear, color-coded designs save time and effort, improving usability and satisfaction.