nova

overview

Nova is a web-based portal designed to make error reporting easier for nursing home staff. It’s built as a system that actually works for them: users can quickly log incidents, access previous cases, and see relevant data trends on their dashboard, all without feeling lost in clunky software. The primary goal was to give staff confidence and ease, while simultaneously addressing the much bigger problem of underreporting.

What I loved about this project was thinking through how to make a serious, sometimes intimidating task feel approachable. I focused on simplifying workflows, creating clear visual cues, and designing an interface that guides users naturally. Nova became a project about empathy and clarity — helping people do their jobs with less friction and more confidence.

role

UX Designer
(3 person team)
May 2024
(8 weeks)

skills & tools

ideation / prototyping / user testing / collaborating / figma

recognition

Best UX/UI Design
(2024 Interactive Media Showcase - The University of Miami's School of Communication)

the research

general

I began this project by conducting some general research on the current state of error reporting systems in the workplace.

questions I considered

- "What is the importance of error reporting?"
- "Why is underreporting a problem?"
- "How are current systems trying to solve the problem of underreporting?"

insights

- Incident reporting plays a huge role in improving the safety of workplaces across all industries.
- Staff often does not report incidents due to poor system design or the unwillingness to learn how to use it.

competitive research

the ideation

concept mapping

A concept map was vital to Nova's design process. Creating it allowed me to establish the main features of the portal: a general dashboard, incident reporting and a system settings. From here, user tasks were identified.

identifying user tasks

Collectively, the team identified user tasks.

primary tasks

- Create a Report
- Save Report
- Submit Report
- Edit Report in Progress
- View Submitted Report
- View Case Updates

secondary tasks

- Add Media to Report
- Add Witness to Report
- View Blank Reports
- Filter Reports and Cases
- View Schedule
- View Staff Information

the designs

low fidelity wireframes

I was responsible for designing the following user task flows:

styles

Collectively, the team finalized styles. Click here for the full style guide.

The Nova Logo

prototype

After applying all styles, I created early prototype for user testing.

the testing

Participants were encouraged to think out loud as they used the application. Using a feedback capture grid, they offered their ideas, questions, likes and dislikes about the application.

user insights

- Participants reported that the functionality of certain dashboard elements was unclear.
- Participants found the elements in the information and review section of the form to be confusing.

the iterations

I made the following changes upon considering user insights:

Participants struggled with various dashboard elements. I addressed this by updating the terminology on the 'In Progress' element (to clarify functionality) and making the incident summary elements interactive (to provide a direct route to the report management page.)

It was not clear to participants that inputs in the 'Information' section were auto-populated. I addressed this by replacing these input fields with static text (to enhance affordance.)

Participants felt overwhelmed by the 'Review' section. I addressed this by visually separating each form section and removing input fields (to improve readability.) Clicking the 'edit' button for each section navigates the user back to the corresponding section within the form.

the final designs

Interact with several data elements within the dashboard.

Access 4 different report types and their corresponding blank forms.

Navigate through and fill out form by section.

Add media and witnesses to report. Submit report upon completing.

Save report in progress and continue at a later time.

Delete form at any point.

View reports and cases by status in report management.

View all report and case updates in report management.

View shift schedule and all employees on shift

Access staff directory with all employee information.

Interact with several data elements within the dashboard.

view prototype -->

Working on Nova introduced me to a new layer of UX: designing complex forms and managing detailed content. From incident reporting to case management and data visualization, every element needed clarity. Defining each feature and detail for myself allowed me to make informed and intentional design decisions. Once that foundation was in place, I didn't overthink the design. Now, it's a step I never skip — because let's be real, overthinking in UX is the enemy.

Overall, this project reinforced the value of balancing complexity with simplicity. Thoughtful organization, clear visual hierarchy, and attention to detail helped me create an interface that feels approachable while still handling a lot of information. Nova taught me to consider every interaction, no matter how small, because every detail matters when building a tool that people rely on.