HP
CLICK
Software design
Client
Hewlett-Packard
Involment
UI designer
Accessibility spec.
Skills used
Prototyping
Wireframing
Interaction design
User test
Tools used
Axure RP 9
Jira
Sketch
Adobe XD
Date
2019 – 2021
Client
Hewlett-Packard
Date
2019 – 2021
Involment
UI designer – Accessibility specialist
Skills used
Interaction design – User test
Tools used
Axure – Jira – Sketch
Context
HP-Click is a job-submittal tool that helps HP DesignJet and PageWide XL printer users in the process of preparing and sending their files to print.
The main goal of the software is to simplify the printing experience, allowing the users to configure and preview the final result with a few easy steps.
Product status
When I arrived at the program, a new version was under planning. The goal was to make the product more enjoyable and easier to use by:
- Adding new features requested by users
- Improving the design of current components and flows
Team & role
In the beginning, the project had a product manager, two developers, a marketing representative, a QA manager, a visual designer, a UX designer, and me. Soon after, I was left as the only designer responsible for the experience, creating the requirements for the visuals when needed.
Within this role, I performed several tasks. One of them was to evaluate the requirements coming from the different stakeholders according to how they could affect the experience. In many cases, I recommended adapting the requirements or even rejecting them, in order to find a balance between the goals of the stakeholders and those of the users.
Clearly, my main task was to find design solutions for those requirements that were approved by the program, along with the creation of specs needed for their implementation.
Accessibility
Another key point in this new stage of the application was to make it more accessible. At first, it was a bit difficult due to my basic knowledge of the subject. To face this challenge, I gathered with specialist colleagues in the United States, studied documentation, and attended user tests focused on accessibility that were done in the lab. In this way, I became the lead accessibility designer for the entire user interface team in Barcelona.
Design process
As in other projects within HP, the work approach was agile methodologies, especially Scrum. Tasks were planned in 2-week sprints, with meetings held with all stakeholders to follow up on tasks. Additional meetings were held with the UI team to maintain consistency between the different products.
In particular, I developed the habit of regularly reaching out to developers. In this way, I sought to break the friction that existed between the teams. In addition, it allowed me to be aware of possible technical limitations to the proposed solutions in time to design a new proposal.
The specs were made in Axure RP 9 and saved as PDF documents.
Testing
One of the advantages of the HP offices was having a laboratory for testing. This allowed me to observe firsthand how users used the application and the functionalities I was designing. In this way, I was able to make changes to the proposed solutions to improve them before launching them to the market.
For these user tests, it was necessary for me to create prototypes of different complexities, using tools such as Axure RP 9, Sketch, or even Adobe XD in the last stage of my stay in the project.