DesignMap Inc.

Model N

Model N provides a suite of integrated applications that provide visibility and control across all departments of the entire revenue management life cycle. This includes pricing strategy, contract management and administration, and order execution.

LANStudio defined the overall look and feel for the product, provided a clearer information architecture and developed the user interaction design models for Search, Editing and Viewing all components of the application.

Model N completed a redesign of their brand at the same time we were redesigning the application, providing the ideal opportunity for all customer facing products and communications to follow a common standard.

With an application of this complexity, it is important to use all the real estate on the screen efficiently. Some of the problems we identified was the inefficient use of the real estate, with windows within windows taking up space that can better be used for relevant information.

The Search function, the core of the application, provides the quickest method for users to quickly find the contract or document. This is the number one usability measurement. Search functions were consolidated.

Before Redesign

The following design issues were resolved:

  1. Extra windows took up unnecessary space on the screen.
  2. The company logo is centered at the top of the screen, also taking up real estate.
  3. The information hierarchy with two levels of tabs makes it difficult to distinguish where the user is in the application.
  4. Search options were explicitly called out.

After Redesign

  1. Search options were combined and a "Quick Find" field is always available to the user.
  2. Redundant windows were removed, providing more room for the data.
  3. Table columns can be sorted by clicking on the table header.
  4. Information hierarchy established and screen real estate used more efficiently with the tabs and secondary categories taking up less space.

Before Redesign

  1. The Edit/View interface in the upper right corner took up space and it wasn't well understood.
  2. It was unclear what data was being acted upon by the action buttons (SAVE, CANCEL, etc). It could be the whole contract or a portion of the data.

After Redesign

  1. The action buttons were located contextually and separately to better distinguish which data was being acted upon.
  2. The Edit/View interface was removed and implied in the design. If the fields were editable, the application was in EDIT mode. If not, then the application was in VIEW mode.