Designing for Complex Operational Workflows

Simplifying a high-frequency administrative workflow for a Navy application

The Challenge

In operational software, even routine administrative tasks can become surprisingly complex.

Administrators responsible for creating and approving new user accounts had to navigate a fragmented workflow that required repeatedly switching accounts and moving between disconnected screens. While each step served a purpose, the overall experience increased cognitive load and made it easy to lose track of pending approvals.

My goal was to reduce unnecessary complexity while preserving the existing security model.

My Responsibilities:

  • UX Research

  • Workflow Analysis

  • UI Design

  • Stakeholder Collaboration

  • Prototype Design

Understanding the Workflow

Rather than immediately redesigning screens, I focused on understanding how work actually flowed through the system.

Research Activities

  • Interviewed six administrators

  • Collaborated with the product owner

  • Reviewed technical constraints with developers

  • Mapped the existing workflow

What I Learned

Administrators consistently described friction caused by:

  • frequent context switching

  • repetitive navigation

  • uncertainty about what required action

  • difficulty keeping track of pending approvals

The original workflow required seven separate steps to create and approve a new user.

Because responsibility shifted between different roles, administrators were required to repeatedly change context before completing what should have been a simple task.

Design Goals

The redesign focused on four objectives:

  • Reduce the number of required steps

  • Minimize context switching

  • Increase visibility into workflow status

  • Reduce opportunities for administrative error

Impact

Workflow Improvements

Reduced new user creation from 7 steps to 3

  • Eliminated repeated login/logout cycles

  • Reduced context switching

  • Improved visibility into approval status

  • Simplified one of the application's most frequently performed administrative tasks

Reflection

This project reinforced an important lesson:

The biggest usability problems aren't always found on individual screens. They're often hidden in the transitions between them.

By stepping back and examining the entire workflow instead of isolated interfaces, I was able to remove unnecessary complexity while supporting the operational requirements of the system.