Recommendations for change and/or improvement

This sub-section lists different recommendations collected from users. As seen in the figure 10 below, participants shared their opinions on what could potentially be changed or modified in the current offering of the EB that might result in possibly improving their well-being at work.

Figure 10. Recommendations for change and/or improvement

Different possible processes to book a room

One of the identified challenges was that the users were not able to book free meeting rooms from the screen when they were in the office. Sometimes one would see the room that was free, but when getting to the room, it was already taken/reserved by someone else who got there quicker. For instance, a user elaborated that: “Happened to me few times when I was chatting with the person who I was supposed to meet soon, I suggested to go to that free room, but while I was walking there, someone else managed to get there faster and reserved it on the spot”. As a result, of this challenge, the user suggested that there be different processes with a possibility to book the room upfront from the screen on the floor that is showing the real-life occupancy of the spaces in EB. In practice it would work this way: if a person is on the floor next to the screen and can see that some meeting room is free, he or she could have an option to press “reserve” right from the screen for that specific room and it will be keeping a reservation for a few minutes. This way the person can pre-reserve it for a limited time to walk to the room and press “Check in” the same way as it works currently to confirm the booking and keep the room reserved. If the person fails to go to the room and instead finds another room, he or she would not need to cancel the reservation, as after a few minutes the room will be free and someone else can book it.

The suggestion was supported by a number of respondents. For example, one user stated that:

“I usually use it on own floor to see which meeting rooms are available to avoid wondering around

the floor to find a room. It’s quite easy, but I would rather prefer to have a possibility to reserve a room directly from the EB instead of again walking to the hallway to get to the screen, finding a room and then again going to the room hoping that it is free”.

Another user confirmed that: “Ideally it would be great to have an easy feature in the map to book it, so I navigate the building by the map, then I just find the room that is most suitable by size, location, having windows and then I just click it and it gives me the date and is booked”.

However, walking to the room was not a challenge for some users. They admitted that they were comfortable rushing to the meeting room before anyone else gets there and therefore having a possibility to pre-book the room that shows as free from the screen. For example, one user added that:

“I would be more at ease on my way there”.

The site’s design, appearance and functioning

One of the prominent recommendations regarding the EB site was about the process of logging in. One user suggested that: “When accessing the EB from desktop, the site remembers the password and logs me in automatically, but on mobile every time I go to the EB URL (Uniform Resource Loca-tor), the page always asks me to log in and insert user name and password every time, which is annoying. It’s not as quick as on the screen as there I don’t need to identify myself and I can simply see what I need.”

All users agreed that the communication channel has not been consistent, and people were often confused about the source of information in the site. For example, one user commented that “The VOICE function has been advertised in the elevators, but I haven’t seen it anywhere else” and sug-gested that it could be good to have some sort of alert when something new is released, for example push notifications. The users also agreed that too much updates would be a bother; hence the com-munication must be concise. For instance, one user suggested that: “In terms of UX design, it’s better to have as minimum stuff as possible, show only relevant data that you need, no extra. But it would be good to have change log with updates and available feature in the side menu, so people can check them if they are interested, something like “What’s new”.

Also, a user added that “good to know, but ideally could be profile based on your own prefer-ences, if the updates come too often, it could be bothering”.

Improving the service ticketing system

The users agreed that they experienced challenges creating the service ticket through mobile phone. One user stated that, “When using EB on the phone, to access Tieto building one has to log in as a user of that specific building to see the layout of the specific office space.” She adds that “Once

I recovered the password, it was easy and straightforward. But since I was on the go when I wanted to report the issue, I didn’t like that resetting the password took some time and effort, so it was a bit frustrating. Would be nice to do it automatically without logging in also.”

Similarly, another user stated that “It’s a hocus pocus whether they get resolved” explaining that it was a time-consuming process. Further, a third user noted that: “I put the ticket in EB from mobile after again going through struggle to remember the password, then once I placed the ticket I wasn’t sure when would they receive it, so I wasn’t comfortable leaving the building since there weren’t any notification on receiving my ticket.”

One more recommendation was that it could be useful to get a follow-up or maybe EB could have a have a change log where the progress of all the tickets is kept instead of sending additional notifications separately to each user. One user stated that “As a user I’m not sure my vote made any difference. So next time I see an issue, I’m not sure if I need to report on it knowing that it might not get fixed. “

Another user has reported service tickets and would not think of any real issues, besides one minor intuitive problem. “I didn’t find it automatically intuitive that once you create the service ticket to locate it to the right location on the floor you need to move the map/background, not the ticket itself to set the location and leave the ticket in the right place. But then once you know how to use it, it made sense.”

Follow-up, feedback and communication

The users also gave insights on the need or frequency follow-up. A chat box that would recog-nize that the user left the request and would provide a unique ID for that error was recommended.

This meant that if the user is interested to see the progress on that issue, he or she can find it and follow-up. For instance, one user commented that: “If I reported about the lightning issue, I wouldn’t necessarily want to get an update after its completed, I trust the system to be working and unless the issue is really urgent, I don’t see the need for ay follow-ups and wouldn’t want to get any more additional emails.”

On the other hand, there was a general report that there is no need for adequate follow-up. For instance, one user stated that “It’s not necessary to have a follow-up for your own tickets, but it would be nice to see general reports on the progress.” Another user said that it really depends on the issue, clarifying that: “If I reported about the lightning issue, I wouldn’t necessarily want to get an update after its completed, I trust the system to be working and unless the issue is really urgent, I don’t see the need for ay follow-ups and wouldn’t want to get any more additional emails.”

Another challenge that was identified was maintenance updates and follow-up. The process f fixing of issues and subsequent follow-up was not proper in the EB system with updates still showing after an issue has been resolved. For example, one user stated that: “If I report about some issue in the room, I expect it to be fixed and ready for the next people who will come to this room, so I don’t necessarily need to get the update. But I don’t understand why they still show on the map even after they have been solved. So, it’s a bit of a mystery for me.”

One more person also showed in interest in understanding how the system works. His words were: “I do believe that there are certain things that get fixed. But it’s not clear who is responsible for solving the end problems? Is it the EB team or maintenance.”

The users give a lot of information through the EB system. There is need for feedback on what has been done in response to the comments given, such as damaged tables have been fixed, rooms with poor sound isolation have been repaired, what we have learned from the 20 months of data:

biggest peak for rooms, floors etc. This can be achieved through the introduction of a change log, in which new features in the service can be shown, as well as what has been updated in the physical space and the data that has been discovered from the user data. In this way people interested in the topic can get it from one source. Facebook news feed type can be used as an example. For example, one user commented that: “It’s the same with the service tickets. I don’t expect the single follow-up from own tickets, but it would be interesting to see the overall progress, monthly or quarterly reports on how many issues have been solved, in what time and what was the response rate. That would be interesting.”

The use of these logs would ensure that the feedback is presented in a way that users would be eager to see rather than emails that could be irritating. One user confirmed that “I don’t think I would appreciate more emails.” Another user confirmed that: “No need to send anything additional, but you can always check it on your own with statistics available for people to check if they are interested.

You can open the view of the newsfeed and see what has been fixed, what tickets have been created.

It would be nice to make it more social in the feed that can be opened ad checked.”

A user also added that “But it would be good to have change log with updates and available feature in the side menu, so people can check them if they are interested, for example under “What’s new.” Another user said that “From random office person’ point of view, I don’t really need that data, but it might likely be useful for other people who maintain the facilities, for following SLAs (service-level agreements), how stuff is repaid etc.” One more user added that “If presented as fun facts, it could be nice to have and it would increase positive thinking”.

Proper Technology Incorporation. There was a general consensus on the need to improve some components of the system such as ticketing services and monitors. For instance, a user indicated that:

“If that’s the case, then it goes down to service tickets again (cables to work properly and any other possible issues).” The person admits that she does not find the issue to be that disturbing. Another person has pointed the same issue regarding the work of monitors. “Sometimes screens are down and have error messages, but other than that on the web-site it works well.” One other user added that:

“Sometimes screens are down, or search button don’t work, but I wouldn’t call it a really big issue.

Usually I’m checking the rooms from the screen, but if it’s down, I just ask someone for help on the floor”.

Another user stated that the speed of the system is also reducing gradually stating that “It used to load really fast, now it loads slower, but I guess it’s due to the number of increasing features, so it probably needs more loading time. Basic web-sites can load temporary content.” Below in figure 11 are some of EB design examples of current loading content:

Figure 11. Some examples of current loading page design in EB (Tieto 2019)

Additionally, there is need for the system to select more than five categories as it only allows five categories. One user stated that: “I was able to only select 5 features at the same time and when I tried to choose 6th or 7th, the other categories stopped working. So, when I tried to check the tickets, it was already selected with other components and it stopped showing other features for example desk availability.”

Image 11. Limitations on map layers selection.

Linkage between EB and the systems around it (house automation, meeting room cafeteria or-ders). Another prominent recommendation was the need to integrate EB with catering service to sim-plify the process of making online orders such as catering services such as ordering food and snacks through one place in EB. Online booking was also suggested, whereby, a user is able to book a room, then insert the date and time and the number of persons expected to be present in the meeting. Once the number of persons is inserted, the information updates to appropriate amount of lunch or coffee and buns. One user stated that “These types of integration shouldn’t require half a year of develop-ment work, but for people who make these orders, it could save quite a lot of time and simplify their days.” The suggestion was supported by several users. For example, one user commented that: “The data collected by EB might be interesting in some cases for example if there is an automation system controlling heating, air ventilation, it might be beneficial for some purposes to get EB data for that.

From user’s point of view, in general if you can use stuff through one UI it helps unless that UI gets really crowded since there could be too much stuff. Not sure, its large subject and area, depending on what you are plugging into it. I wouldn’t integrate our HR system there, but something related to building automation, maybe.”

Further, a user added that: “If it was easier to get in touch with service personnel and can be connected through EB, that would be great. Usually I ask someone for contact details or search for information in internal portal.”

The system should list skills the users need to learn with small rewards for active users to gain critical mass. There is a SKILL function that is currently seen in the profile tab of the user. If user wishes to add some skills that should be visible to other employees, he can list as many skills as he wants. The suggestion is to identify the most popular skills needed in the company and list them in the Internal portal. If it is facilitated, sales case can be generated and could be coordinated by HR. An example of a user who supported the idea indicated that: “As for the mentors, the work must be rec-ognized and if it’s a very hot topic, it could be a combination of a video course with additional ses-sions. Could be useful to talent management to also see what people like to learn and in which areas they would like to develop. Mentor should be rewarded for being a mentor and to give encouraging factors for people to become mentors. Because it’s a lot of work and not a lot of gain.”

The SKILL function also makes the work of HR managers easier as they can easily identify users with a particular skill set. For instance, one user mentioned that: “I’m for example in sales development and I’m mirroring how to reach sales people easier based on their skills, so if there will be some kind of campaign utilized through EB, it would be easy to see where they are located if they are in Keila office and if they use tag.”

Most of the users accepted that rewards would be very beneficial in improving the UX of EB users. For instance, one user mentioned that: “It could be gamified to get activity starts as an active user. If you are in the meeting rooms a lot, you could gain the status of “Wizard of meetings”, make it more fun. Just like in Smarp you get the stars and points for sharing the posts.”

The suggestion raised a lot of interest among other users, but also a lot of questions. One con-cern was the complexity of use by the users. For example, one user commented: “I wonder if it goes into integrations again because we have so many platforms already. If it’s going to be yet another new place where I need to submit the data that no one will be informed about or instructed further how to find it, then I’m quite skeptical. There are too many places already, some of which are com-pletely overlooked and it’s a bit of an endless ocean with lots of data in which you can’t always find what you are looking for. I wouldn’t want to turn EB into the same type of huge amount of data that will be difficult to navigate. As long as it’s done in a smart way without extra work for users.”

The recommendation was opposed by two users on the basis that it may be a complex task that would trigger changes in a large portion of the corporate sector. For instance, one user indicated that:

“If I had a rare skill and 300 people would come to ask about that skill. Not sure if EB is the right place, maybe…maybe not. Not sure I see enough value of EB in that, perhaps in other systems for example when a company can arrange a training for popular skills.”

Another user added that: “It must be a corporate wide system that would be doing something like that. Maybe people could be connected in Learning as a Lifestyle or have some other type of portal, but I think EB isn’t ideal for it as it’s not used in every office. Because there are a lot of

Another user added that: “It must be a corporate wide system that would be doing something like that. Maybe people could be connected in Learning as a Lifestyle or have some other type of portal, but I think EB isn’t ideal for it as it’s not used in every office. Because there are a lot of