Design Software Material Enhancement: Improving Performance, Collaboration, and Customization
Role: UX Researcher
Duration: 10 weeks
TLDR: The aim of the project was to enhance material functionality within a design software product. This project addressed challenges like the absence of library-level sharing, performance issues, and UI instability, aiming to provide users with increased flexibility, better performance, and improved collaboration capabilities. The mission was to reassess all aspects of materials and create a superior user experience.
Background
In architectural design software, materials are a fundamental component, intricately woven into the fabric of design elements. These materials' digital representation and management have always been pivotal, allowing designers to envisage real-world simulations. Yet, as technology advances, so does the complexity and demand for enhanced functionalities. Over the years, professionals have identified several gaps and limitations, leading to feedback and the need for a more evolved system.
Understanding the Problem
Materials play a paramount role in the design elements of architectural modeling software. However, the existing system raised several concerns among users. There needs to be more support for library-level sharing or collaboration. Real-time thumbnail generation has turned performance into a significant challenge. Additionally, the stability of the Material management user interface needs to be revised. These challenges, compounded by the technical constraints of the current system, make significant advancements an arduous task.
Research Goals and Questions
The research goal was to comprehend how BIM software users interacted with materials.
Goals:
Understand how end users utilize materials in their projects.
Learn what types of tasks they’re completing and who is completing said tasks.
Understand how materials and material libraries are used for collaboration.
Identify areas of success and opportunities to improve.
From there I collaboratively framed the research questions alongside stakeholders. Because the team was distributed amongst the US and China this involved a lot of written discussion—primarily using Slack, email, and comments in Google docs. We’d also meet once a week, later in the evenings to align on the project.
Research Questions:
What workflows and personas are using the material libraries and browsers today?
How might we define the material life cycle in building design (and downstream consumer workflow)?
What primary problems do customers need to resolve during the material life cycle?
What are the most difficult-to-use/ learn problems with the software solutions today for each major persona?
What are the key capabilities that exist in the software’s material features today that are important to keep?
Compared to favored solutions, what gaps exist in the software’s solution ecosystem of handling materials?
The Research Journey
The research methodology was structured around qualitative interviews with 13 participants. I chose qualitative interviews for this research project because I believed they would provide the depth and richness of insights needed to understand the nuanced experiences and challenges that users encounter when working with materials in the BIM software. Architects, engineers, and BIM managers, working in medium to large firms, were chosen as interviewees. These experts spanned the globe, hailing from various countries and working in firms of varying sizes.
Note on Recruit:
The recruit aimed to get a mix of Architects, Engineers (of all types), and BIM Managers with more than a year's experience with Revit.
The focus was on medium to large firms that typically work on projects like apartment complexes and commercial work (avoiding just single-family home work).
I also aimed to get those that reported a mix of workflows including Structural Analysis, Thermal Analysis, Carbon Reporting, Takeoff & Scheduling, and Design Visualization
Participant Summary
Analysis
I’m constantly eager to try new things and expand my skill set. For this project, I dipped into research software using Dovetail and Notably at first, then just Notably, and finally Miro. While I found all of the tools helpful in their own right—I ultimately used Miro for its ability to collaborate with stakeholders.
Throughout sessions, I took notes, and after each session, I summarized my meeting with the participant to keep folks on the team aware. Because the team was distributed, they only attended a few sessions. Slack, Miro, and email was great way to keep everyone on the same page regarding the research process.
This worked for a bit, but as the project continued, I wanted stakeholders to have a voice in the research and feel more involved—beyond just a Slack message or a 30-minute weekly check-in. Ultimately, I conducted a workshop to facilitate some light group analysis. Workshop participants were given research-significant clips to view in advance (and to watch during the workshop for those crunched for time). During the workshop, participants shared what stood out to them during the clips on sticky notes and, at the end, rated the videos based on importance. It was great to hear what my stakeholders found most priority, and it was also a mechanism of engagement for the whole team. They were able to speak to one another and further align on priorities.
For the remainder of the project I continued to use Miro to map insights. From there I placed the insights into a word document to further organize my thoughts.
Findings
One common pain point was recurrent amongst nearly all users - the absence of a globally shared material library, making collaboration and consistency a challenge. It also became clear that the goals and struggles concerning materials differed for different user personas.
Personas use materials for different purposes.
For architects, materials were vital for visual representation and rendering. Conversely, structural engineers focused on accuracy for analysis. Custom libraries were important to architecture firms, and the absence of shared libraries was a pain point. Creating new materials was prone to errors, and collaboration on materials was confined to team members within the same discipline. BIM managers played a critical role in material management but faced challenges in training users and maintaining material standards.
Architecture Persona
Goal: Rapid and accurate material representation for models, renderings, and 2D drawings.
Pain Point: Creating materials is a prolonged process, often involving third-party tools, and is a frequent task, heightening the inconvenience.
Engineering (Structural) Persona
Goal: Reliable physical data for analysis, ensuring data integrity when transferring between design and analysis tools.
Pain Point: Material data often faces transfer issues between different tools, leading to errors and necessitating extended quality checks.
BIM managers were unsung heroes, navigating the complex landscape of material management. Improving their experience would have a cascading effect, benefiting entire project teams.
Recommendations and Solutions
I found that there's a significant window for the architectural modeling software to re-envision its approach to materials. By addressing the unique needs of each user persona, the software can offer a more tailored and efficient material management experience.
Global Material Library: Develop a globally shared material library within the BIM software that allows users from different disciplines and locations to access and collaborate on a standardized library of materials. This library should include a wide range of materials commonly used in architectural projects.
Personalized User Experiences: Recognize the distinct needs of different user personas. Implement features that enable architects to focus on visual representation and rendering while providing structural engineers with tools for accurate analysis. This personalization will enhance user satisfaction and productivity.
Streamlined Material Creation: Simplify the process of creating new materials within the software. Introduce intuitive interfaces and guidelines that reduce errors and inconsistencies in material creation. Consider incorporating a user-friendly material editor with real-time previews.
Enhanced Material Management: Provide BIM managers with tools to efficiently manage and maintain material standards across projects. This might include batch updates, version control, and the ability to enforce material guidelines and standards.
Collaboration Features: Enable cross-disciplinary collaboration by allowing users to share and collaborate on materials seamlessly. This should extend beyond their immediate teams, promoting collaboration between architects, engineers, and other stakeholders.
Training and Support: Develop comprehensive training resources and support materials for users, particularly BIM managers responsible for material management. This will help users make the most of the new features and capabilities introduced.
Challenges
Recruitment Diversity: Recruiting participants from diverse geographical locations and firm sizes was a bit of a challenge. Ensuring a representative sample required extensive outreach and coordination.
Solution: Worked closely with an internal recruiting coordinator to shape guidelines. Increased flexibility in schedule and extended timeline to meet the needs of the client.
Time Constraints: Balancing the depth of insights with project timelines was a challenge.
Solution: Streamlined data collection and analysis processes to make the most of the available time. Used a semi-structured moderator’s guide for interviews, coding frameworks, and analysis tools to expedite the research process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my research provided a comprehensive understanding of the challenges users face with materials in the BIM software. It outlined the pain points, illuminated opportunities for improvement, and underscored the importance of a more personalized, efficient, and collaborative material experience within the software.