Through my research, I gathered that one of the biggest pain points the supervisors and management faced was information and key components of their daily workflow being scattered across not only various systems, but different rooms within the venue and even different computers.

My vision, was to create a place where all of this information could live and allow the windows of productivity and collaboration to flourish. This was a grand idea, but without the budget in place for an app to be developed, I did the next best thing. I created a system using google workspace. After about 2 months of data entry, sheet scanning, user testing and iteration, I developed a user system that is shared amongst the team that is easy to use, customizable, quick and readily accessible for up to the minute updates. The aptly named, “TM Guide” capitulated us into a new state of being, where work flows harmoniously from task to task.

No more running to the second floor to get information from the filing cabinets, no more clicking through endless excel and word documents, no more looking the copious amounts of emails to find information. No more. A system built out of necessity, the longing for something better, the need to grow. After launching the system, productivity skyrocketed, the team began hitting deadlines early, began to work on projects long overdue, and most importantly, the stress of trying to find something, an answer, a question, was gone.

In addition to the TM guide, I developed a new system for employee placement. Every night before the show begins, we would print out a placement for all of our team to know where they will be placed for the evening. This was a great tool, however we found that we were always having to make last minute changes to the placement sheet. So you would find the management team often having to make changes, print out multiple sheets to deliver them to several key areas of the theater, then advise each other of the changes.

It was at this moment I remembered how the creation of the first webcam began. A group of scientists were tired of not knowing if the coffee machine in the other office was low, so they developed a system that would allow them to see if the coffee machine in the other room was full. The rest is history, and now we all have one of the most influential tools of the modern age. The Webcam.

I know it’s funny because I didn’t do anything that grand, but it is in this instance that you can see how often i’m channeling my inspirations. This was one of those moments, and born out of that need, was the “Usher Position Sheet”. Using UI/UX principals, I created a digital version of the position sheet that could be accessed using an old Kindle that I retrofitted for this purpose. Now any changes that occur on the spot, the manager on duty can make the change via phone or computer and it get’s instantly updated across all our systems throughout the property. Now everyone knows where they’re going to be without a doubt.

But I didn’t want to just make simple text to digital transfer of information, it had to expand upon the idea, and it had to look good too. Using Jakob’s Ten Usability Heuristics, came into play heavily. Specifically Match between system and the real world, User Control and Freedom, Consistency and Standards and Flexibility and ease of Use.

So with the new system built, now the ushers can not only interact with a digital touch system, they are able to see who their manager is for the evening (something they previously wouldn’t know until the very start of their shift), alongside a revolving slideshow of team members that recently graduated their new hire Journey. A splendor to behold, and it harkens back to what I said earlier in regards to making sure people feel seen and heard. It is with small gestures like these, that you make it happen.