Enterprise Human Resources · 2020
Simplifying Associate Attendance
Summary
Retiring attendance technology and COVID-related schedule changes exposed backlogs and rigid records in the Variance Log. As the product’s sole UX designer, I led research planning and experience design for a replacement that let HR managers and location leaders review and correct records with a traceable change history.
My Role and Contributions
Sole UX designer for attendance and the Variance Log within FAST, a broader HR initiative supported by designers across related products.
Major Decision
Replace the legacy restriction on changing entered variances with clearly labeled editing access and back-end change tracking, supporting corrections while preserving accountability.
- Worked with the team to prioritize shared research questions and define participant scope for an effort intended to inform work beyond a single feature.
- Planned the broader FAST research, organized three interview groups, created a consistent capture form, mapped location visits, and coordinated store communications.
- Replanned the research within a week after the California trip was canceled, shifting visits to Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina.
- Used research synthesis, workflow mapping, and iterative validation to shape multi-record review and clearer correction of attendance records.
At a Glance
Scope of the broader FAST research across forecasting, attendance, scheduling, and timekeeping; not attendance-only research.
Interviews across associate and manager roles
Locations across stores and warehouses
Research groups coordinated
Why Change Was Needed
The Variance Log was the attendance product within FAST: Forecasting, Attendance, Scheduling, and Timekeeping, part of the broader HR organization. Its aging architecture was being retired as COVID-related schedule changes generated backlogs that could take days to reconcile.
Once a variance was entered in the old system, it could not be changed or withdrawn. Some users therefore tracked changes manually and entered them later. Attendance records could lead to disciplinary action, making accurate notes and the ability to correct mistakes important alongside processing speed.
Research Leadership Under Changing Constraints
We lacked a broad research foundation across the FAST products. I worked with the team to pool and prioritize questions and determine how many people and which roles and settings we needed to reach. With future field access uncertain during COVID, the effort aimed to provide a foundation for ongoing product decisions rather than answer only the Variance Log’s immediate questions.
I was the sole UX designer for attendance and the Variance Log, not for all of FAST. I recall two other UX designers working on timekeeping and forecasting products. We organized the fieldwork into three groups, with a UX designer accompanying each group, so the research could cover related areas within the shared HR initiative.
I began planning in January for a February or early-March trip to California, aiming to reach associates beyond the frequently researched Atlanta environment. When travel was canceled as COVID approached, I replanned within a week for Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina.
I organized three groups, created a shared interview-capture form, mapped visits, and coordinated communications with stores. The wider effort reached 90 interviews across more than 50 locations, including associates and managers in stores and warehouses. These interviews covered all four FAST areas; they were not all attendance-specific or conducted personally by me.
Journey maps, service blueprints, personas, remote usability testing, and A/B testing supported the attendance design work. The research broadened our understanding of different roles and settings, while the workflow exposed the consequences of the old system’s restrictions.
The findings informed work through 2020 and 2021. Variance Log issues identified through this research were addressed and released afterward. That is a reported period of research use, not a claim that the sample was representative of every associate or that all findings remained current throughout the period.
Making Records Easier to Review and Correct
We introduced a data table for reviewing multiple variances and surfaced the most important information at the top. HR managers and location leadership could update records as appropriate, with clear labels showing when edits were available.
Back-end tracking retained changes rather than forcing every original entry to stand uncorrected. Notes and supporting details preserved context for attendance decisions, including situations where disciplinary action was appropriate.
The aim was a system leaders could trust to use directly, reducing reliance on separate manual records while preserving accountability. This was a change to the working model, not simply a visual refresh of the old application.
What Shipped and What Remained Missing
The revised Variance Log was implemented and used after work began at the start of COVID. Delivered changes included multi-record review, clearer editing access and labels, and back-end change tracking. I do not have a confirmed completion date or measurement basis for specific reconciliation-time savings.
In my experience with these systems, releases were not routinely communicated to end users and structured follow-up was uncommon. There was no in-app feedback mechanism for the Variance Log at the time, limiting what we could learn after release.
A future improvement would pair release notices with a way for users to respond. That is a recommendation, not a delivered feature. Changes in trust, disciplinary outcomes, and manual tracking were not measured in the evidence available for this case.
Evidence note
Based on firsthand recollection and available documentation. Internal materials remain confidential; specific estimates and outcome limitations are noted where relevant.