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Codifi CRM

Role:

User Interface Designer, Database Architect, User Experience Tester, Graphic Designer

Brief:

All CRM firms need to submit forms to the state Department of Parks and Recreation based on what features they catalog when they survey a site. My job was to create a mobile digital application that would do more than just replace their standard paper recording forms; it would speed up their process so they could submit the state DPR forms faster. Current CRM workflow involves recording data on paper in the field and then collating and transcribing it for submission to the state DPR.

Design Process:

Research

Working with a client I obtained blank and complete versions of various state DPR forms for both California and Nevada. I decided to begin with the California 523A Primary Record form, as it is the first form that CRM firms always need to submit when they survey. The data collected for submission includes UTM location data, verbose text descriptions, dates, and photographs.

Initial Design

Wireframe

My initial wireframes focused on two main features for the final product:

1. Organizing and presenting the data collected for the 523A Primary Record form in a way that took advantage of the flexibility of the mobile digital interface while not straying so far from what the original paper form presented as to be unrecognizable, and thus become a barrier to use and unfamiliar to the CRM technicians in the field

and

2. Taking advantage of digital data collection, display, and correlative techniques to show technicians more useful data and allow them to produce more archival quality data directly in the field so they could submit forms to the state DPR more quickly.

To do this, I began by figuring out what information was being collected by the 523A form and what were logical ways to group this data for the user. I also needed to decided how the user would input and access this data, would there be multiple ‘pages’ or tabs in the mobile interface.

The wireframes I designed showed the information needed to complete the 523A form divided into five logical sections: Administrative (site name, date, recorder, etc.), Location Data, Description, and Resource Attributes. This information would be displayed in a simple scrollable form on the mobile device, with no pagination so the user has access to all information at all times. Additional digital recording features like automatic latitude/longitude mapping in the location data section and in situ display of representative photograph are examples of how digital recording could help CRM technicians with their data collection. The final added bonus of digital field recording would be the “Output” function, which would display the live field data on the actual state mandated DPR form on the mobile device.

Final Design

The final design includes the seal of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, as well as a project Administrative section in addition to a renamed Identifiers section for administrative data specifically related to the 523A form. The Checklist section has conditional formatting to match the green or red icon per section header for easy spot checking by the Crew Chief.

The Output button has been changed to say Preview, and the Preview itself is the live form data presented on a 300 DPI resolution blank image of the 523A Primary form, that can be exported and emailed as a PDF directly from the mobile application in the field.