DESKTOP WEB APP CASE STUDY

Walt Disney World's

Training Planning Application

OVERVIEW

The Walt Disney World training team needed to revamp their approach to assigning, planning, and scheduling employee training.

The existing training planning process hadn’t been updated in over three decades. With more than 500 Cast Members involved, much of the work relied on individual, manual, paper-based methods. I partnered with Disney’s Training Innovation team to develop an application that enables Cast Members to assign training, schedule employees, and ultimately replace the outdated, Excel-driven system that had been in use for more than 30 years.

ROLE & DETAILS

Lead Product Designer
User Research, Personas, Empathy Maps, Sketchboarding, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing, Documentation, Visual QA

Team
1 Product Designer, 3 Product Owners,
1 Business Analyst, 7 Engineers

Timeline
August 2018 – February 2020

THE CHALLENGE

"How might we design a flexible application that empowers our 500+ users to assign, plan, and schedule training in any sequence they choose?"

The chance to completely reinvent how Cast Members assign, plan, and schedule training was thrilling—but it came with significant challenges. Over 500 users had relied on Microsoft Excel, email, and verbal communication for more than three decades, each with their own unique approach. Despite the potential benefits of a standardized user flow—such as streamlining the process and reducing edge cases—the business team preferred to maintain flexibility, allowing users to complete tasks in whatever way suited them best. As a result, the application needed to be both simple to use and adaptable enough to accommodate the diverse workflows of all users.

USER RESEARCH

I began by engaging with users to learn more about how they work.

By interviewing users and shadowing a typical day in their roles, I was able to truly put myself in their shoes and develop empathy for their challenges. Without this firsthand experience, I wouldn’t have fully grasped the vast amounts of paper each Cast Member used or the significant time involved in managing it. It became clear that the new application needed to reduce paper usage, save costs, improve operational efficiency, and support environmental sustainability.

PERSONAS & EMPATHY MAPS

Aligning the entire project team around our users was essential.

During my research, I delved deeply into understanding my users—their motivations, frustrations, and ideal experiences. I distilled these insights into three personas and empathy maps, recognizing that it wasn’t enough for just me to grasp what users needed from the new application. It was equally important to bring the business and engineering teams on board. By aligning these cross-functional teams around a shared vision, I was able to streamline collaboration and keep the project moving smoothly.

SKETCHBOARDING

I collaborated with the business team to sketch out user flows and rough wireframes.

With the project’s requirements still evolving, I initiated weekly sketchboarding sessions to capture ideas and actively shape user flow decisions. It was exciting to explore design possibilities quickly while aligning the business and engineering teams together to align on user stories and project goals.

WIREFRAMES

I developed several wireframe versions for each screen to encourage feedback and collaborative discussions with the internal UX team.

At Disney, the internal UX team had developed a comprehensive design system, called Kingswell, featuring dozens of controls, components, and design patterns, which made iterative wireframing incredibly efficient. This system also allowed me to present more polished options to the business and engineering teams, helping to clarify and finalize user stories and requirements. Collaborating closely with my internal UX team, I gathered feedback, addressed questions, and refined my designs before sharing them with the broader business and engineering teams for review.

USER TESTING

Getting the chance to test my simulations with our users was vital.

After coordinating with the business team, I tested my prototypes with five prospective users to gather their initial reactions and impressions. I loaded the simulation onto their computers and let them take the lead. I asked questions like, “What are you seeing on the screen, and what does it mean to you?” and “If you wanted to perform this action, how would you go about it?” This approach encouraged Cast Members to think aloud and guide the conversation, while I observed and took detailed notes. Afterwards, I met with the business team to synthesize the feedback and determine which changes should be implemented. This iterative testing process was invaluable in refining the application to better meet user needs.

Some notable callouts during user testing included:

“What if I need to assign training to a Cast Member who hasn’t been onboarded yet?” We addressed this by adding a feature that identifies trainees who are not yet onboarded, allowing them to be assigned training accordingly.

“How can I create a training experience that isn’t tied to a specific product?” We introduced flexibility to allow creation of training experiences without requiring a product to be specified upfront.

“Pretty darn cool!” It was always rewarding to hear when we hit the mark with our users and that they were genuinely enjoying the experience.

USER FLOW 1

Assigning a training experience product to a new hire Cast Member.

The goal of this user flow was to enable our persona, Tracey, to assign training experiences to one or more trainees. On her dashboard, I designed three primary cards representing her key tasks: assigning training to Cast Members, scheduling them for training, and viewing which Cast Members have already been scheduled. It was essential to clearly display the number of users she needed to manage in each category—such as the eight trainees ready for assignments shown on her “Assign” card. Clicking the 'Assign Products' button takes Tracey to her list of trainees awaiting training assignments.

From here, Tracey can sort and filter her list to group trainees who will receive the same product. Once she selects her first checkbox, a blue ribbon appears, grouping all selected trainees. Clicking the “Assign” link within the ribbon opens the “Assign Product” modal, where she can quickly pick from her recommended products based on business location—or opt for a product outside the recommended list if she prefers. Finally, by clicking the primary “Assign Product” button, Tracey submits the assignment, triggering a success message that confirms the products have been assigned.

USER FLOW 2

Creating and scheduling a training group for the "Mad Tea Party" attraction.

The most extensive and complex flow in the application was enabling our 500+ Cast Members to create training groups and plan their trainees in whatever way suited them best. While the business team preferred not to enforce a uniform user flow for these tasks, I was able to establish some guiding process rules where possible. All users would begin on their dashboard by viewing the number of trainees awaiting planning on their “Plan” card. From there, the Cast Member could select a specific product to initiate the planning process.

Once our persona, Tracey, chooses whether to continue with an existing plan or start a new one, she lands on the calendar screen where I designed a flexible planning process. By separating the shift cards at the top from the trainee and trainer lists below, Tracey can plan exactly how she wants. Whether she wants to add only trainees, assign trainers to just a couple of shifts, or mix and match trainees and schedule specific dates and times across shifts, this new streamlined and flexible process makes all of those workflows possible.

THE SOLUTION

Finally, our users won't need to open Microsoft Excel anymore.

Launched in February 2020 alongside the debut of the new attraction, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Cast Members were finally able to retire the Excel-based, paper-heavy process they had relied on for decades. With five personas, over 30 screens, and more than 15 user flows, I designed a modern experience that is efficient, streamlined, and enjoyable—built to serve users for decades to come. I’m excited to see this application continue to expand its impact!

WHAT I LEARNED

It's imperative to keep the users top of mind, at all times.

With limited opportunities to engage directly with users, it was tempting to rely solely on the business team’s perspective to represent them. I quickly realized the importance of consistently advocating for the user throughout the entire process. Equally vital was keeping the engineering team informed of any changes to user stories to ensure alignment. As my first full-scale user experience project, this experience ignited my passion for the work and gave me a deep sense of fulfillment knowing I was making a meaningful difference in people’s daily lives.

ONE MORE THING...

I also got to redesign the Welcome Itinerary that got sent out to new hires.

The Welcome Itinerary serves as a new hire Cast Member’s first onboarding document, detailing their specific role, schedule, costuming guidelines, and more. As you can see below, the original itinerary was neither on brand nor made a strong first impression. I took the initiative to redesign it, making the experience more engaging, immersive, and—most importantly—mobile-friendly. While reimagining the training planning process was rewarding in itself, knowing that my work would positively impact tens of thousands of Cast Members during this critical onboarding phase made it an especially meaningful and honorable opportunity.