TRANSPORT CANADA OPERATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Emergency Response at Transport Canada
On any given day, Transport Canada may be called upon to respond to many kinds of emergencies. Transport Canada must be ready to respond to any situation that disrupts the national or regional transportation system or Transport Canada employees. TCOMS ( Transport Canada Operation Management System) is built to collect data and then provide reports on situations affecting Canada’s transportation infrastructure, including marine, air and surface modes
UX specialist
As part of my role as UX Specialist at Transport Canada:
Usability and user Interviews
Conducting usability testing sessions with users to validate proposed designs and workflows, and communicating findings to stakeholders.
Using qualitative and quantitative data to create user stories, profiles, personas and journey maps to support user-centric development of TCOMS
Designing scalable service standards
Working with the appropriate stakeholders to identify and design departmental service patterns and standards that scale (where applicable and feasible) for the benefit of IMS and Transport Canada.
Continuous iteration
Assessing the impact of the new user-centric design on the IMS and end users.
Monitoring the need for design changes as the project progresses and making adjustments or updates as necessary.
User needs
Evaluating existing applications and suggesting improvements after an interview with stakeholders and end users based on their workflow and needs.
Achievements
Identify and prioritize critical pain points during live observations at emergency centers, then work with responsible teams to resolve them effectively within existing constraints, resulting in 45% faster data entry and significantly easier data recovery.
Prototype and test interactive workflows with colleagues and users; iterated designs based on findings to deliver clear, user-friendly solutions with an increased 35% impact.
The challenge
TCOMS, like many other government systems, is used by a large number of users in different parts of Canada. All users employ this system in various ways and for different purposes. TCOMS, being primarily an interaction recording tool, also offers its users additional opportunities, such as maps, person search, and document management. The challenge is to identify common ground among all users, as well as unique opportunities to improve TCOMS based on the particular needs of each group.
Another main challenge is the environment in which users work. The Emergency Situation Centers are a 24-hour-operated office, handling hundreds of calls each day. They work quickly and require a system that works with them, not against them.
The insight and the solution
After interviewing each group’s users, sending surveys, holding group stakeholder discussions, and observing how different groups operate on a day-to-day basis (some of those user groups are located in Ottawa), I concluded that each of these groups has particular needs. Still, several groups can be combined by their needs and activities in TCOMS. I created user flows, workflows, and personas for users, and communicated these to the TCOMS team.
I have been a user advocate in the TCOMS team, not only documenting users’ needs but also genuinely understanding their workflow and suggesting designs to address those needs. I have made several changes to the TCOMS structure to accommodate each user group differently. Small changes, such as limiting user tabs, made a dramatic difference in the users’ day-to-day experience as well as TCOM performance.
Another significant improvement was to identify and improve any issues with the search functionality. Based on my user research, I identified the best solution for the search function, making it both easy to use and fast. I used Surveys, user testing, and user interviews to determine the correct flow for the search and the search results. Minimizing the information TCOMS was needed, as well as tailoring the search results to the user group, was crucial.