I was the designer on a team that had been assembled to build a responsive web app for a nationwide chain of frozen food storage warehouses. The project was exciting because we had the chance to start from scratch and build an immensely helpful tool. This company was trying to normalize all of their data across all of their facilities. 

Up until this point, most facilities had their own separate software systems for monitoring things like labor, volume, shipping, etc. We were asked to develop ways for managers to quickly assess the productivity and efficiency of their facilities from anywhere, in real time.

Our team visited facilities, interviewed users and managers, and conducted on-site discovery and planning retreats to learn about the different metrics that they wanted, and to get consensus from stakeholders. The requirements and resources changed frequently as we narrowed in on what metrics were important, and whether or not there was even data being gathered to support them. In order to design them, I had to understand the significance of the data to the user, a lot of which was very industry-specific jargon.

Understanding what the numbers meant was vital to designing a meaningful visualization - for instance, is a low number good or bad? To keep track of all of the facets that made up each visualization, I created "biographies" of each one. Then as we learned more about each of them and whether the data was there to make them possible, we would update the bios so we had a canonical reference for developers and stakeholders.  

At the same time I was collaborating with the developers who were trying out graphing libraries to make sure I was designing within the capabilities of the library we were using. You don't want to design something that will make more work for the team when there is a good solution that already exists! And I worked with the company's marketing department to manage the client's expectations for branding and look & feel. It was a massive project, with different desktop and tablet layouts as well. These screens are just some of the main graphs for the app. 

This was one of the most challenging projects I've ever been a part of and it's hard to convey all of that in a couple of paragraphs. Along the way I tried to put a couple of easter eggs in to add a little counterpoint to all of the graphs and numbers.