Scheduler Update
Sole Product Designer • Push Operations • March – May 2024
Overview
Redesigned the weekly schedule view — one of the most heavily used parts of the platform — to dramatically improve density, clarity, and usability for real-world restaurant managers.
Many of our users — including large brands like Earls, Tim Hortons, and A&W — rely on our scheduling tool every single day. But we kept hearing the same thing: the scheduler feels cramped.
On a typical restaurant computer screen, only 5–7 employees were visible at once, making it nearly impossible to manage conflict resolution, availability, and shift compliance at a glance. The feature had grown messy and inconsistent over time, with patchwork UI that hadn't kept up with user needs.
I was tasked with a full redesign of the weekly scheduler view to solve this issue. The goal was to significantly increase screen density without sacrificing legibility, modernize the interface, and improve scheduling accuracy — all within the constraints of an aging codebase and a small dev team.
Problem
The old scheduler layout only showed a handful of employees at once, leading to inaccurate scheduling decisions, poor visibility into conflicts, coverage, and compliance, and frustrated users who felt the tool was inefficient. "As a schedule maker, I want to see more of my employees' schedules on screen so that I can make informed decisions around conflicts and availabilities." Our users needed to see 20+ employees at once — not 6.
Goals
- •Significantly increase screen density without sacrificing legibility
- •Modernize the interface for better usability
- •Improve scheduling accuracy and visibility
- •Work within constraints of an aging codebase and small dev team
- •Minimize disruption for existing users
Constraints
- •Aging codebase with technical limitations
- •Small development team (3 engineers)
- •High-usage feature requiring careful changes
- •Need to support lower-resolution screens (1366px and 1920px common widths)
- •Balance between vision and implementable scope
Process
Research & Discovery
I started by reviewing Productboard insights and support feedback, conducted interviews with restaurant managers and operators, and audited dozens of real customer schedules to understand density and device limitations. This research phase helped establish a clear understanding of user needs and technical constraints.
Prototyping & Iteration
I started with greyscale lo-fi prototypes to test new layout approaches, conducted internal and customer reviews throughout the design phase, iterated quickly to find balance between density, usability, and scope, and designed with lower-resolution screens in mind (1366px and 1920px common widths).
Componentization & Standardization
I established consistent visual hierarchy for shift cells, headers, and cost rows, introduced a hover interaction pattern for lightweight editing and quick visibility, added collapsible rows and position headers to let users focus only on relevant employees, and leveraged a previously built sidebar component to reduce vertical scrolling and allow in-context view settings.
Challenges & Solutions
We faced several challenges during the project. The aging codebase made new layouts difficult to implement, so I worked closely with engineers to prioritize changes that brought clarity without requiring major refactoring. This was one of the most heavily used parts of our product, so even small UI changes could disrupt workflows. I designed carefully, conducted many design reviews, and considered adding a 'legacy mode' toggle before settling on a version that modernized without alienating. I also created a full 'scheduler refresh' UI concept, but the team didn't have capacity to build it — so I distilled the best parts into the final design.
Vision: The Scheduler of Tomorrow
As a side exploration, I also designed a full reimagining of the scheduler — a minimal, full-screen interface that merges modern drag-and-drop UX with subtle system intelligence. Inspired by best-in-class scheduling tools and refined through dozens of visual references, this version showcases what our platform could become. While out of scope for this phase, the concept has become a rallying point across product and leadership teams.
Solution
The new scheduler shipped with major improvements, including:
Visual Hierarchy Overhaul
Cleaner, denser layout showing significantly more employees and shifts per screen
Shift Cell Redesign
Condensed data display, improved color contrast for accessibility, and logic rules for what's shown
Sidebar Optimization
Contextual filters and settings now live in a collapsible sidebar, saving space and reducing clicks
Collapsible Rows & Position Headers
Users can now hide irrelevant roles (e.g., kitchen vs. FOH) while scheduling
Cost Row & Weather Row UI Refinements
Tightened layout for these essential planning tools
Results
- •Dramatic increase in on-screen density with side-by-side comparisons clearly showing 2–3× more usable information per screen
- •Positive feedback from high-volume clients with early access customers embracing the new version without complaints or confusion
- •Team-wide excitement for future vision with my 'inspirational' full-screen scheduler design celebrated internally and used as a visual North Star in company meetings
“The new scheduler layout is a game-changer for our team. We can now see so much more information at once, which makes scheduling faster and more accurate.”
Reflection
I gained a deep understanding of how frontline managers build and interact with schedules, learned to push for meaningful design improvements — even when it means navigating legacy constraints, and improved my skill in balancing vision with scope, and in building solutions that enhance the product without alienating loyal users.