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Dashboard Design
Streamlining Compliance Monitoring: A Nursing Home Oversight Dashboard
Role
Lead UX/UI Designer (solo)
Tools
Tableau, Figma
Timeline
8 Months
Impact
80% faster data access · WCAG-compliant · Adopted by 4+ teams
Note: Due to the sensitive nature of this internal dashboard, all visuals use randomized placeholder data. This case study focuses on the UX strategies and design decisions behind the work.
The problem
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, NYS needed tighter oversight of long-term care facilities. But enforcement and analysts were working with:
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Outdated Excel sheets with no version control
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No centralized source of truth for facility data
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Analysts struggled to locate high risk facilities quickly
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Data interpretation required excessive manual filtering
This lack of clarity delayed reporting and decision making, during a time when every day mattered for vulnerable nursing home residents.
Users
The primary users were analysts and supervisors within the Office of Aging & Long Term Care. Their workflow was investigative, not passive. They needed to:
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Move quickly between statewide views and facility-level detail
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Asses risk at a glance
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Trust that the data they were acting on was current
Key Insights
Research consisted of stakeholder interviews with analysts and supervisors and a content and accessibility audit.
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Critical data was scattered across multiple Excel spreadsheets with unclear ownership and unreliable update schedules
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Analysts had no way to assess data currency without hunting for it manually
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The existing layout did not reflect how analysts actually scanned for risk
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The interface had accessibility gaps and no consistent application of DOH branding
Key Design Decisions
Decision 1
Centralizing data with clear hierarchy
A unified layout replaced the fragmented workflow of cross referencing multiple Excel files, charts, and graphs, organized around how analysts actually scan for risk: filters for residents, vacancies, incidents, and sick patients, with trend graphs surfacing areas of concern and drill downs enabling movement from statewide to facility level data.
Decision 2
Making data currency visible
Timestamp indicators were added to every data source so analysts could immediately assess reliability without hunting for it.
Decision 3
Interactive state map
All nursing facilities plotted in a single view. Hovering surfaces key information: location, last inspection date, and violation status.
Decision 4
Accessibility and brand alignment
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Full WCAG audit conducted and requirements addressed throughout the design
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DOH brand colors and typography applied consistently, following NYS Health and Human Services brand guidelines
Outcome
The redesign gave analysts a single, reliable tool where there wasn't one before. Adoption across 4+ teams reflected that the design solved a real workflow problem, not just a visual one.
80%
Time to access data
Analysts previously spent up to 15 minutes locating relevant facility data across multiple spreadsheets. With a centralized, filterable dashboard, that dropped to approximately 3 minutes.
Increased
Data Source Trust
Timestamp indicators added to every data source gave analysts immediate visibility into data currency, eliminating the guesswork that previously slowed decision making.
Visual hierarchy
Layout Structure
A single dashboard replaced a fragmented collection of spreadsheets and disconnected views, organized around the investigative flow analysts actually use.
Reflection
Working closely with analysts on this project clarified something about dashboard design: the layout is a hypothesis about how people think. The original tool had information. It just didn't have a point of view about what mattered first. Restructuring around the investigative flow analysts described made the same data significantly faster to act on.
A missing timestamp isn't a data problem, it's a confidence problem. When analysts can't verify that what they're seeing is current, they slow down, double-check, and sometimes act on stale information. Fixing that was a one line addition to the interface and one of the highest-impact changes in the project. Working under pressure with high stakes data made clarity and speed non-negotiable, not aspirational.