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2026 Simpson Strong-Tie
Q4 2024CM DirectorEvaluative

Director Settings

Research by Ian Wyosnick

Background

CS Director is configured by CS Director Settings. There are over 1300 settings for users to configure CS Director. With the CS Director redesign to Cloud Director (formerly Harpoon), Settings has also been redesigned and simplified.

The purpose of this research study was to test prototypes of a new Cloud Director Settings with customers.

Methodology

  • 45-minute moderated interviews concept walkthroughs of a Director Settings prototype.
  • Study Plan: View Study Plan

Executive Summary

Top FindingsRecommendations
Many of the settings currently under Project are associated with a Facility by participantsChange the Information Architecture to prioritize Facility first and flatten sections under Project.
Facilities have unique processes and workflows that can be impacted in real time by workloadsAllow customers to create custom workflows per facility and even per project type that can be dynamically updated based on workloads and other conditions.
There is a need for a small number of customers to approach Director Settings from a larger, organizational level and/or manage multiple FacilitiesCreate a settings experience for a "Super Admin" that will oversee multiple facilities. Allow customers to add multiple facilities that they can dive into separately, and which do not share project level settings.
Hours and schedules are relatively stable and fluctuate primarily by shift or by workload rather than seasonallyRemove the ability to set multiple hours in Settings. Focus on helping customers dynamically set schedules based on workload.
Calendars are a primary way for some customers to keep track of projects and their statusKeep the current experience and explore improvements.
Many tracking and planning processes still use Excel or more ad-hoc processes like in-person discussion or chat over Teams/Slack/etcContinue to dive into customers' work processes and find opportunities for us to introduce efficiencies.
Notifications would be beneficial for helping customers keep track of project status, know when to order supplies, and let people know when they have been assigned work.Create a system for customers to set up automations that send alerts based on certain triggers.

Top Findings - Details

Finding: Many of the settings currently under Project are associated with a Facility by participants

  • Recommendation: Change the Information Architecture to prioritize Facility first and flatten sections under Project.

Details:

  • Interview with Wilfredo: Preferred facility-specific changes for practical reasons: "As a facility, I want to change just the lead days for everything."
  • Interview with Josh: Emphasized the need for unique configurations for each facility: "There has to be some granularity for that configuration..."
  • Interview with Tessa: Acknowledged the role of a central figure for settings due to server setups: "Josh handles a lot of the settings."
  • Interview with Schalk: Supported facility-specific project settings for clarity and efficiency: "Tasks and statuses, that would have to be contained to the facility."
  • Interview with Ricky: Mentioned operational separation but unified database management: "All of our employees are in one database... We just have a design company and a production company that keep the two separate."

Finding: Facilities have unique processes and workflows that can be impacted in real time by workloads

  • Recommendation: Allow customers to create custom workflows per facility and even per project type that can be dynamically updated based on workloads and other conditions

Details:

  • Interview with Wilfredo: Noted that hours fluctuate based on workload rather than seasonality: "Our hours fluctuate, based on workload... There we've had years where we're just stable all year and there's no fluctuation."
  • Interview with Josh: Emphasized the need for granular configurations for each unique facility: "There has to be some granularity for that configuration for us to allow those kind of fifteen locations whilst all being in the one Stark Trust."
  • Interview with Tessa: Discussed plant-specific workflows and the extensive use of web calendars to manage them: "The way they set up their orders, the way they set up their bids... The baseline of it, they're it's all similar. But when you get to the end line, they're not it's not the same."
  • Interview with Schalk: Compared the workflows for larger projects, such as building a hotel, versus smaller ones like a house.
  • Interview with Ricky: Explained that office hours expand based on production workload: "When production goes up, office hours can expand. When production goes down, office hours shrink."

Finding: There is a need for a small number of customers to approach Director Settings from a larger, organizational level and/or manage multiple Facilities

  • Recommendations:
    • Create a settings experience for a "Super Admin" that will oversee multiple facilities.
    • Allow customers to add multiple facilities that they can dive into separately, and which do not share project level settings.

Details:

  • Interview with Tessa: Highlighted central oversight by a specific individual: "Josh handles a lot of the settings." Emphasized the usage of individual servers and the limited access across facilities: "We all have different servers. So I can't access, like, the director settings for any of the other facilities besides our CAM plant."
  • Interview with Josh: Mentioned the need for flexibility and clarity in settings to manage multiple locations. Discussed the variation in settings across different facilities and the importance of organizational-level oversight: "The roles and permissions of people... new users need to be set up in there and then given established roles and permissions."
  • Interview with Ricky: Indicated the challenges of managing separate entities under one organizational umbrella. Mentioned the necessity for organizational control over settings to ensure consistency: "There are certain things that I wish we could lock so people couldn't change, or things that I could, like, see who changed them."

Finding: Hours and schedules are relatively stable and fluctuate primarily by shift or by workload rather than seasonally

  • Recommendations:
    • Remove the ability to set multiple hours in Settings.
    • Focus on helping customers dynamically set schedules based on workload.

Details:

  • Interview with Wilfredo: Explained that their hours fluctuate based on workload rather than following a seasonal pattern: "Our hours fluctuate, based on workload. It doesn't really follow any... we used to do in the summer, we were working more hours, typically. Since COVID and after... we've had years where we're just stable all year and there's no fluctuation."
  • Interview with Tessa: Confirmed that their hours remain consistent throughout the year: "Our hours are eight AM to five PM, Monday through Friday. It doesn't matter what season it is."
  • Interview with Schalk: Mentioned that their office hours are consistent and not seasonally driven: "Our office, regardless of winter, summer, doesn't matter where. We're always, there's always somebody in the office by six, but most office personnel, designers, and whatever, we're pretty much seven to five."
  • Interview with Ricky: Highlighted that office hours expand based on production workload: "When production goes up, office hours can expand. When production goes down, office hours shrink... Primarily, it's seven to four Monday through Friday. But if things start getting crazy as far as production... the hours would extend."

Finding: Calendars are a primary way for some customers to keep track of projects and their status

  • Recommendation: Keep the current experience and explore improvements.

Details:

  • Interview with Tessa: Highlighted the critical role of their web calendar for managing project schedules: "We're very, very, like, in tune with our web calendar is the gospel for shipping."
  • Interview with Schalk: Noted the lack of calendar integration as a pain point, emphasizing the need for better tracking: "Keeping track right now is really, you know, I rely on my designers to to communicate... I think tracking stuff would be a lot easier if if that could be done."

Finding: Many tracking and planning processes still use Excel or more ad-hoc processes like in-person discussion or chat over Teams/Slack/etc

  • Recommendation: Continue to dive into customers' work processes and find opportunities for us to introduce efficiencies.

Details:

  • Interview with Wilfredo: Mentioned their heavy reliance on spreadsheets for tracking: "Pretty much spreadsheets... our production is completely tracked on spreadsheets."
  • Interview with Josh: Discussed the role of spreadsheets in managing production and tracking tasks: "Pretty much spreadsheets is the main one and, unfortunately, notepads for some project managers."
  • Interview with Schalk: Emphasized using Excel to track job progress and status: "We track jobs using Excel rather than Director... you know, project status... designer, checked out by."
  • Interview with Ricky: Representative of how ad-hoc communication is crucial for coordination.

Finding: Notifications would be beneficial for helping customers keep track of project status, know when to order supplies, and let people know when they have been assigned work

  • Recommendation: Create a system for customers to set up automations that send alerts based on certain triggers.

Details:

  • Interview with Tessa: Highlighted the importance of notifications for project tracking: "I think it'd be beneficial if I got a notification if something was scheduled within, like, the next week and it's not marked design completed."
  • Interview with Josh: Emphasized the value of clear notifications for better process management: "Oh, if I was gonna wave a magic wand on this… maybe telling me a little bit more clearly where I'm at and what I'm doing."
  • Interview with Schalk: Suggested notifications for process completions could be helpful: "If you have it in the software where, you know, when the guy is done with the layout, he checks it off, get a little notification, this project layout is complete."
  • Interview with Ricky: Discussed the need for notifications related to ordering supplies and task assignments: "If it could pop up, you know, this is now in your thing. Like, if we have a saying that there's a filter that they wanna be notified of when something pops up, that would be awesome."
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