Global Notes in Aria ATSPM
Redefining Workflow Efficiency in Legacy System
Global Notes streamlines communication in ARIA with centralized, timestamped logs and author visibility. Designed for clarity and ease, it enhances collaboration and boosts workflow efficiency.
Role: UI/UX Designer, UI Developer
Deliverables: Hi-Fi Design Prototypes, UI Components
Industry: Traffic Management
Duration: Feb 2024 to Apr 2024
Team: Fahad Shuja, Shayan Ghazi, Dom Esplen
The Challenge: A Fragmented Workflow
It all began during user group meetings with Durham Region and Waterloo Traffic Management Centers (TMCs). As users shared their experiences with ARIA - a decade-old system managing traffic lights, scheduling, day planning, and more, it became clear that communication within ARIA was a major pain point.
The Problem
The Find a solution to enhance communication within ARIA quickly and with minimal developer resources.
The existing notes feature within ARIA was a basic text box meant to log changes. However, it lacked consistency across pages, didn’t show who left the note, and had no timestamps.
Users often didn’t bother leaving notes, and those who did found their efforts wasted because others couldn’t identify the note’s author or relevance.
Teams resorted to in-person conversations or endless email threads to track changes.
What seemed like a minor issue snowballed into disrupted workflows and frustrated users.
Different Aria screens with notes section
Piecing Together the Problem
Conversations with developers revealed the intricacies of ARIA’s backend, a decade’s worth of interconnected modules, each like a house of cards. Any significant change risked collapsing the system. "Notifications? Out of the question," they said. "We’d need six months at least." My initial idea to build a notification system was dead before it began.
The product manager’s input wasn’t encouraging either: "Keep it simple. Just improve the notes. We’re releasing this in three months." I felt the weight of balancing user needs with technical and time constraints. Then came the users. Their struggles painted a clearer picture:
UX Research and Understanding the Problem
During an user interview session with few Traffic Analysts in the Durham Region, they shared: "When I make changes to a traffic light’s timing configuration, I don’t always write it down because the current notes section doesn’t show who added it or when. If something goes wrong later, no one knows who to ask." This led to the inclusion of authorship and timestamps in the Global Notes feature, ensuring accountability
Scenario: Emergency Response Miscommunication During a major intersection breakdown, multiple teams tried to coordinate repairs. A note was left in ARIA about a temporary configuration change, but it lacked a timestamp and author. As a result, a second team unknowingly overwrote the temporary fix, causing further disruptions.
Impact: Delays in repair and frustration among teams.
Solution: With Global Notes, the temporary fix would have been logged with a timestamp and author, preventing overwrites and miscommunication.
Challenges and Opportunities
Current Workflow
User needs were mapped based on research and stories to align proposed features with real-world workflows and pain points. Detailed user flows were created to visualize and validate how users would navigate each tool, ensuring a smooth, efficient, and user-centered experience.
Generating Ideas
I thought about how we use notes in real life. When I study or work, I keep a physical notebook, something central, accessible, and reliable. What if ARIA had a digital version of that? A centralized notebook for users to log changes, accessible from anywhere in the system. Of course, sticky notes also came to mind, but the thought of 20 people adding sticky notes to a page felt chaotic. Notifications were already ruled out. Frustrated but determined, I decided to go back to basics a notebook and pen
Wireframing
I sketched a simple flow for adding a note. But ARIA’s complexity meant that a simple flow wouldn’t suffice. Over days, I iterated, adding layers to handle multi-level modules, intersections, day plans, and configurations. Each iteration drained me, but slowly, a clear and efficient flow emerged. Low-fidelity wireframes followed. When I presented them to the PM and developers, there was cautious optimism. "This could work," they said, though the backend still required adjustments. I refined the flow and wireframes based on their feedback. Progress was slow, but the foundation was solid.
1st iteration
Building on the notebook metaphor, I designed a persistent, side-mounted overlay that remains available throughout the experience. The overlay is context aware, automatically mapping its content to the user’s current screen, enabling quick reference without disrupting primary workflows.
Components used
1st iteration of Hi-Fi designs
What went wrong ?
Refined Search & Filtering Experience
The search and filter experience needs further refinement. Since each entity contains multiple nested levels, it’s unclear which specific level a note is associated with. To address this, we decided to allow notes to be pinned at multiple levels, giving users clearer context and greater control over note placement.
Smart Handling of Orphaned Notes
As the volume of notes increases, filtering becomes critical. Notes that are not associated with any entity, or those left behind after an entity is deleted, become orphaned. Instead of removing them, these notes are preserved as proof and categorized as Orphaned Notes. A quick filter was introduced to help users easily isolate and view only these notes.
Controlled Edits for Note Integrity
To maintain notes as reliable proof, editing or deletion is restricted to the first 24 hours after creation. A visible countdown timer helps users understand how much time remains to make any changes.
Clear & Contextual Notes Icon States
The Notes icon visually indicates the presence and status of notes. A standard icon means notes exist on the selected entity. A green indicator on a dark background shows that unread notes exist elsewhere but not on the selected entity. A green indicator on a light background indicates unread notes on the selected entity. A plain icon on a dark background means no notes exist on the selected entity and allows users to add a new note.
Final Screens
After usability testing with a real working prototype, we identified a few potential cases that could cause confusion for users. To gain more clarity, we refined the micro-interactions and removed a few unnecessary steps to make the flow more straightforward and smooth.
