ClimHaz Dashboard
2022 //
Case Study: U.S. Department of State
Data Visualization Web App
Data Visualization
User Experience Design
User Interface Design
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The Department of State needed a tool that can assess natural hazard risks (especially those compounded by a changing climate) and facilitate proactive, data-driven decisions to mitigate those risks.
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Designing the first comprehensive natural hazard risk management platform for the US Department of State’s global building portfolio.
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The ClimHaz Dashboard is the first tool to include real property management, global hazard data sets, and site search functionality all in the same application.
Objective
With nearly 300 diplomatic missions across the globe, the U.S. Department of State’s overseas portfolio is exposed to the gamut of natural hazards, from earthquakes to coastal flooding.
The Department of State needed a tool that can assess natural hazard risks (especially those compounded by a changing climate) and facilitate proactive, data-driven decisions to mitigate those risks.
Research
User Requirements
Engineers
Know when a structure must be designed to comply with hazard-specific building codes
Design adaptation measures to ensure facilities are resilient
Facility Managers
Mitigate against unavoidable risks to minimize frequent repair costs and life safety concerns
Draft relevant emergency planning documents for overseas residents and staff
Planners
Determine whether a site will be adequate for at least a 50-100 year building life span
Decide between remaining at a current location or performing a property search elsewhere
In addition to interviewing internal stakeholders, we met with partners from other federal agencies involved with remote sensing, mapping, and global portfolio management. These discussions confirmed that any existing hazard mapping or portfolio risk assessment tools in use within the U.S. government already did not have adequate functionality to assist our users at Department of State with making proactive, data-driven decisions.
Insights
Our research had revealed several public and proprietary tools for hazard mapping or portfolio management, but none of them fulfilled the minimum requirements necessary for use with a global building portfolio.
Process
Wireframes
UI Design
Initial prototypes started with familiar GIS web map elements.
Second iteration prototypes incorporated database management menus. Location pop-ups on the Data Explorer app included color coding and numeric risk scores for each facility. The “Top 50” list was added to the landing page (though it wasn’t well integrated with the UI yet).
Final Model
The ClimHaz Dashboard is the first tool to include real property management, global hazard data sets, and site search functionality all in the same application.
Reflection
“Red tape” got me feeling blue
Designing user experience solutions for the federal government presents all the additional challenges government work is notorious for — bureaucratic road blocks and security-related restrictions abound. The constant feeling of resistance to any progress you attempt to make can quickly take a toll on your creative drive.
The best remedy for this powerlessness is the same one UX designers should always rely on when combating a resistance to adoption of new tools: take a step back from your work, and put yourself in the mind of the users — the REAL PEOPLE — who will be using your design. It sounds cliché, but it’s the best way for you to realize the essential elements of your design that you need to fight for.
Be your users’ advocate!
As a member of a multidisciplinary team, you as the designer have the responsibility to ground your project in this fundamental principle of UX design. Contractors and consultants will often make assumptions about the necessity of functionality to a user that are just based on their own experiences. Left unchecked, this can lead to development delays or loss of important functionality in favor of features that may not provide any benefit to the user at all.