Enabling Company Data Flexibility with Custom Data

Challenges

CATAPA, a Human Resource Information System (HRIS), has been an invaluable tool for companies to manage their HR-related tasks. However, it faced a significant challenge - the predefined data fields cannot cover all possible required data within different companies. Each company has unique requirements, and CATAPA's current structure left users unable to capture every essential information crucial for their HR processes.

Based on feedback from CATAPA company requests, the primary company needs arising from the absence of unique data can be categorized into two main areas:

1. 9 companies needs some form of free variables that can affect payroll amounts (e.g. daily amount of packages delivered by courier employees that will be counted for their salaries). This is a potential deal breaker to 3 of those 9 companies.

2. 6 companies needs some form of customizable fields on employee data (e.g. employees' uniform clothing size). This is a potential deal breaker to 2 of those 6 companies.

My Role

(Note: The solution explained here is limited to MVP and is restricted to features that are already accessible within CATAPA.)

As HR practitioners, users aspire to effortlessly view and manage company-specific data that falls outside the predefined parameters of CATAPA, so they can seamlessly access and utilize such information within CATAPA processes. In response to these needs, the team has chosen to introduce a novel feature, Custom Data, that I proposed to be integrated into our existing Master Data module.

Considering the prospective user personas:

1. HR managers, the authorized personnels to setup and manage HR data components

2. HR staffs, the personnels who fill in the values of the HR data components on a daily basis

Also considering differences in menu access permission within CATAPA, as well as the placement consistency of other menus, I have decided to divide the Custom Data feature into two menus:

1. Custom Data Item: Allows users to view and manage custom data components.

2. Custom Data Value: Enables users to view and manage the values of created custom data components.

   
   

To enhance the flexibility of the Custom Data feature, its components and values are not limited to the two mentioned use cases but rather to their characteristics and how users typically access and manage them.

My hypotheses of Custom Data characteristics are divided into two types:

1. Periodic Custom Data (Time Sensitive): HRs input this type of Custom Data every period (currently daily only). Users may need details of each value for each employee in each period since it is time sensitive, ensuring that all data are displayed.

2. Non-Periodic Custom Data (Permanent): HRs input this type of Custom Data, and its value remains effective until replaced by a new value. Users typically only need the effective data, but they can access historical Custom Data of each employee.

   
   

With this division instead of by specific use cases, the display of each type of Custom Data can align with users' behavior. Additionally, one use case (e.g., using Custom Data for payroll calculations) can utilize both periodic and non-periodic Custom Data.

My hypotheses were proven through user testing. This ensured that users requesting this feature understand the differences between Custom Data types, and can categorize their custom datas based on the guidelines provided when creating a custom data item.

Based on the mentioned user needs, Custom Data will become an attribute of employee data. Consistent with how users update other data in CATAPA, users can add and delete data individually or in bulk (massive).

As a Payroll module product designer at CATAPA, I have also designed the integration of Custom Data into payroll calculations. I leverage the functionality of existing features (Custom Salary Item) to bring variables from Custom Data components. After calculations through scripting, the obtained returns are mapped to Salary Items and will be reflected in employee salaries.

To assess the success of this feature, Task Success Rate and System Usability Scale metrics will be used. These will be obtained through usability testing with users, with predefined minimal standards set by the CATAPA UX team at 78% and 65, respectively.

Outcome

The CATAPA Custom Data feature became a collaborative narrative, uniting teams to empower HR professionals in crafting unique data stories. In a collaborative role as a designer, weaved flexibility and satisfaction into the user experience, with metrics confirming the success of our features (100% TSR and 78 SUS).