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Jack D. Davis
Game / UX Designer | Team Leader | MBA
Simulation Manager
A tool for engineers for running and monitoring large-scale computer simulations. For example, a user may be simulating a large, complex system, such as an automobile, and are running thousands of simulations to explore their design, find design solutions, or verify the design is performing per requirements.
Year of production: 2020-2023
Platform: PC, Mac, Web
Company: The MathWorks
Role: Lead UX Research & Design
Click here for more information about Simulation Manager
Requirements
I owned requirements definition and authored this artifact. I conducted a large amount of research to define the requirements, which included analyzing users' current workflows, internal research, and external interviews with key customers. Requirements also underwent numerous rounds of internal review.
(choose "Open in Fullscreen" for a more readable view)
(choose "Open in Fullscreen" for a more readable view)
Ideation
Whiteboard and paper sketches exploring the potential workflow at a high-level.
Ideation
Sketches produced in a collaborative design session with the core team, paired with a potential toolstrip design, and pieced together on the whiteboard as a potential overall app design direction.
Ideation
Sketches exploring how the tool will integrate with its parent tool: Simulink.
Also, on the bottom of the whiteboard: a feature roadmap of how the tool will evolve over several customer releases.
Also, on the bottom of the whiteboard: a feature roadmap of how the tool will evolve over several customer releases.
Ideation
Paper sketching taking the design to a slightly higher fidelity.
Workflow map
This workflow map puts the Simulation Manager tool in context of the larger workflow in which it fits. It is based on an actual user role and goal, as detailed in the artifact.
Prototyping
Interactive prototyping that brings the design to even higher fidelity. On the screen, the prototype user can choose from among two different workflows, and the prototype will respond accordingly.
Prototyping
Interactive prototype: simulation configuration steps.
Prototyping
Interactive prototype: simulation preview steps. This shows the user what will run, and that is important because a run may take hours or even days. The user wants to ensure the parameters are configured correctly.
Prototyping
Interactive prototype: simulations are running and the tool shows progress, design results coming in, and any errors encountered.
Design evolution
Originally, the design was a separate app in which the user would configure, run, and monitor simulations (this is what the prior images depict).
The team and I ended up bifurcating the experience, by adding a new panel to the parent tool, Simulink, for configuring the simulations and, once the user began the run, a new window would open for monitoring. We made the change because the user's algorithm under design (the model) is in the parent tool, Simulink, and it was more convenient for the simulation configuration to be adjacent to the algorithm, since the user had to refer closely to the algorithm and choose parameters from it.
This image shows the bifurcated experience, with the panel for setting up simulations on the left (outlined in orange) and the UI for monitoring the simulations on the right. In essence, the bits outlined in orange are what I was designing with the team.
The team and I ended up bifurcating the experience, by adding a new panel to the parent tool, Simulink, for configuring the simulations and, once the user began the run, a new window would open for monitoring. We made the change because the user's algorithm under design (the model) is in the parent tool, Simulink, and it was more convenient for the simulation configuration to be adjacent to the algorithm, since the user had to refer closely to the algorithm and choose parameters from it.
This image shows the bifurcated experience, with the panel for setting up simulations on the left (outlined in orange) and the UI for monitoring the simulations on the right. In essence, the bits outlined in orange are what I was designing with the team.
Shipped Product V1
This shows the initial version of the product shipped to customers, with the new panel for configuring simulations in the left side of the left image, and the new window for monitoring simultions on the right.
Shipped Product V1
"Grid view" of the monitoring tool.
Simulations are running: this view shows the health of simulations from an IT perspective. Each green box represents one simulation. The green color indicates each simulation completed successfully.
Simulations are running: this view shows the health of simulations from an IT perspective. Each green box represents one simulation. The green color indicates each simulation completed successfully.
Shipped Product V1
"List view" of the monitoring tool.
This view shows each simulation in a list table, which reveals more information about each simulation.
This view shows each simulation in a list table, which reveals more information about each simulation.
Shipped Product V2
An updated version of the monitoring tool. The toolstrip, top, has been refined and additional options added.
Simulations are running: this view shows the progress toward answering the user's design problem, in the figure in the lower-left.
Simulations are running: this view shows the progress toward answering the user's design problem, in the figure in the lower-left.
Shipped Product V2
An updated version of the monitoring tool. The toolstrip, top, has been refined and additional options added.
Simulations are complete: the data visualization provides the insights the user was seeking.
Simulations are complete: the data visualization provides the insights the user was seeking.
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