The main objective in the school budget review project was to simplify and consolidate the cumbersome process for the client. A compact accordion style design replaced the seven steps which were on one long continuous page. Cutting down the number of steps and making the previous steps always accessible alleviated the burden on the user. Previously the first step involved choosing the school to review. The list of schools was added to the dashboard which at first only had the login. This makes focusing on different schools' budgets one at a time possible. The second step asked the user to confirm they were looking at the right school. This was an unnecessary step as the user had already made this decision on the dashboard. As a replacement, the current school's information is listed on top of the collapsible accordion. It can be viewed in accordance with the other open steps below. The third step was also axed for the same reason. It asked the user to confirm they were looking at the right year to review. This was replaced by the dropdown menu on the top right which allows the cycling of the school's years. The fourth step of submitting feedback is now the first step in the new iteration.
Since the client's computers were using 4:3 CRT monitors, the school budget web portal had to be designed in a compact way. In order to minimize the amount of scrolling in an already restricted environment, a collapsible accordion design was the best solution. The different steps can be opened and closed dynamically while still allowing all of the content to be on the screen. To signify progression of the step by step process, green checkmarks were added as well. The checkmark appears once the step is complete. Opening a previous marked step will get rid of the checkmark. The fifth step of the previous version, the budget attestation, is combined now with the sixth step, the superintendent certification,. to create the new second step. This was done as the budget attestation is already inherent with the superintendent certification step. It's already assumed and was another unnecessary step. The last and seventh step of the previous version is now the final third step in the new version. If this is the first time the user is viewing the specific budget, the button will read "I Certify". If the user is coming back to view the same budget from before, the button will read "Rescind". The same is the case with the third step with the only difference being that the button says "I Approve" instead of "I Certify". After clicking the final button, a last checkmark signifies the school budget review process is finished. As a result of the new changes made, the client was extremely grateful for the simplification of their school budget review web portal.
