Autodesk PowerBI Template Gallery

Introduction and Role

about Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC)

Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) is a construction project management software that connects project teams and data through each stage of the construction process from planning, designing, to building.

I was a UX designer on ACC’s Insight app. Insight visualizes data collected throughout a construction project’s lifecycle in a dashboard for project executives and analysts to monitor project health, risk, and progress.

PROJECT DETAILS

Role
UX Designer

Team
10 Engineers,
1 Project Manager,
1 UX Design Mentor,

Timeline
5 Weeks (end-to-end design)

Project Overview

To conduct a deeper analysis on project health, our users export Insight data to PowerBI, a 3rd party data visualization tool where they create graphs and charts.

PROBLEM

Autodesk’s PowerBI Templates are located outside Insight, making them hard to find and download.

GOAL

Provide users with the ability to easily discover and download PowerBI templates.

SOLUTION

I designed a PowerBI Template Gallery for Insight users to browse and download templates.

PROJECT IMPACT

Now that the PowerBI Template Gallery is live here’s how it has impacted real users and project teams.

40%
increase

in data export efficiency.

79.5%
adoption

rate from account holders.

1.55k+ 
downloads

per company each month.

Problem Space

Who needs templates?

Project Managers*

As a Project Manager, I juggle a few projects in my company. I use Insight’s data with PowerBI to track the performance of my crew across projects.

Project Engineers*

As a Project Engineer I make sure the team has all the information and approvals they need. I use Insight to gain a high-level view of workflow statuses.

*Personas built by Autodesk’s user research team

Why do users need templates?

Pain Point #1

“It is hard to find and download PowerBI templates.”

Many customers have been contacting support about PowerBI templates.

Without updated templates, users cannot keep their project data up-to-date.

Pain Point #2

“I don’t know when templates are updated or when new templates are added.”

Pain Point #3

“I am frustrated with the download process because I can’t choose what I want to download.”

Users have to download all the templates at once, even the ones they don’t need.

Exploration and Ideation

User flows

Creating a user flow helps visualize information hierarchy. Based on the flow, I decided templates belong in the Data Connector page because that is where users export data.

During the ideation process, I shared the user flow with product managers, engineers, designers, and subject matter experts (SMEs)* which allowed for early buy-in and team alignment.

*SME– product experts that have industry experience using ACC products. SMEs act as proxies for end users.

Design Requirements

1. Users must be able to browse and download PowerBI Templates within Insight

2. Users must know template details before downloading (template description, version number, snapshot)

3. Users must stay up to date with new templates.

Lo Fidelity Designs and Prototyping

First Concept Iterations

In my initial concepts, I decided to leverage existing ACC design system overlay patterns: drawer and modal for users to browse templates.

second concept iterations

After a cross functional design critique, I learned that users need more information to feel confident in template download.

The second iteration explores a full page gallery to create more space for template details.

Why does information density matter?

1. Long descriptions slow down template browsing experience.

Too much text creates information overload, resulting in a less efficient browsing experience.

2. Short descriptions reduce user confidence.

If the descriptions are too short, users will not have enough context to feel confident in downloading the PowerBI template.

key constraints

No PowerBI Experience

PowerBI is a complex and powerful Microsoft tool, so it was difficult to outline functionalities.

No access to end users

Difficult to confirm assumptions and test solutions

problem solving & overcoming constraints

Leveraging market research to identify industry trends and patterns.

Solution

Delightful browsing experience

Users can sort and filter through the templates they need. The templates are organized by date so users can stay up to date on the newest templates.

User Confidence in template selection

The detailed modal view and template preview provides users with a deeper understanding of templates before downloading.

Download templates efficiently and accurately

Users can now specific the number and type of templates they want to download.

Reflection

Challenges

Gaining Project Context
When I joined the project, I did not understand how to use PowerBI.

To overcome this challenge, I learned how to lead organized meetings and ask effective questions to my teammates.

Navigating Ambiguity
When I first joined the project, there was no design spec I was unsure on how to navigate the grey area

To overcome this challenge, I interviewed stakeholders to gain project context and inform a project plan.

Key Learnings

“Good communication means achieving your goal at the end of a meeting”
My design mentor taught me that good communicators have meaningful, productive, and satisfying conversations.

Document design processes and decisions for the good of the team.
There are a lot of moving parts in projects. Documenting design decisions helps other designers, product managers, and engineers understand your work.