Background:
The client works on a team that writes and processes contract proposals for state government. Her team consists of my client, her manager, and a younger employee who is relatively new to the company. The new employee is tasked with routing the proposals to the different departments and managers for sign off. Unfortunately the employee has been sending the proposals to the wrong individuals and forgetting to send them to others. The client asked for a simple solution that the employee, and other other employees that come on staff, can keep at their desk and refer to whenever needed to properly route proposals for sign off. 

Solution:
To begin this process, my client and I held a call to discuss the issues, success criteria, and project constraints. It was a great conversation and in the end I think I’m really going to be able to help her out. The client offered three key piece of criteria for this project.

• First, it must be a small piece which can be kept easily on someone’s desk or desk drawer. For me, since there was more information here than could fit on a single sheet of paper, this criteria also meant that it needed to be able to lay flat on the table and not be a pile of loose print outs.
• Second, it must be designed in a way that a user can easily and quickly find the information that is needed.
• Finally, and most importantly, they must be able to tell what individuals need to sign off on each proposals based on what the revenue/expense is.

The only constraint on the project is that it needs to be something that can be printed and left at desks in the office so that multiple people can make use of it over time.

Results:
The final design for this project turned out very nice. While staying within the constraints I was able to come up with a nice looking piece that successfully fulfilled the requirements of all the given criteria.

• The design is a half sheet (8.5″ wide by 5.5 inches tall) which is quite small and takes up very little space on a desk and can also fit easily in a drawer. To further this space savings, the design calls for a coil bind along the bottom edge. This coil allows the pages of this tool to fold all the way around and lay completely flat on the desktop.
• The next criteria was that users needed to be able to find what they need very quick. To meet this goal, I made sure the design was very clean and simple. The top edge of the sheet is tab cut which allows a user to quickly get to each tab. The tabs themselves are labeled clearly with a number corresponding to the revenue/expense of the proposal. Then, on each page, the order is clearly marked from beginning to end and each person who needs to sign off. There is plenty of whitespace, clearly indicated instructions and discreet directions on the page to help users quickly access the information they need.
• With a solid, clean design this part of the request was easy. The sections and individuals required to sign off of the proposals is simply stated from beginning to end.