Lenovo XClarity Administrator

Lenovo XClarity Administrator (LXCA) is a comprehensive systems management application. The product ships as a virtual appliance that customers can deploy within their data centers to manage their hardware and infrastructure. Below are some screenshots of the finished product and a brief overvier of a small selection of features.

As the Lead UI/UX Designer on this team, my responsibilities included:

• Designing and creating live mockups for the user interface
• Working with technical leads to review features and their designs
• Enforcing a set of style guidelines and UX expectations across the entire product
• Reviewing the product with senior management as development occured
• Running customer feedback sessions and collecting comments

The Login page may not have lots of functional aspects but it is one of the most important screens a user will interact with. It communicates to the user that this is a Lenovo product and strictly follows our branding and product guidelines. Bringing together some of the assets in the branding and product guidelines, enabled me to create a welcoming, energizing, and professional login page for this application.

The Dashboard is where we bring of all LXCA together and allow the user to keep a finger on the pulse of their environment - all on one single page. It brings together key information from various components to give the user a comprehensive view at the state of their hardware environment. Pulling together this information and alerting the user to any situations that need attention saves the user time and frustration and enables them to accomplish their next task in an informed manner.

The Hardware Lists are some of the most information-dense screens in the entire product. By using a table/grid widget, we can show the most pertinent information for numerous pieces of hardware on a single page. The user can also customize this view to show more items or different types of information. Every grid also comes equipped with a quick filter which allows the user to sift through large datasets easily.

The Details pages contain all data and information for any hardware item being managed. The left-hand navigation menu lets users quickly jump to the category or information they are interested in. Information found here is critical for performing repairs or initiating service and warranty requests.

Configuration Patterns is one of the most powerful features of LXCA. It allows for the mass deployment of hardware profiles in an environment. Designing the interface in such a way that allowed for the easy creation and organizing of patterns and profiles was key to making the function usable. To do this, I used the Master-Detail design pattern to help construct the UI in a clear and organized hierarchy.

Navigation is one of the most important facets of any application (and, historically, can be very complex for enterprise level applications). For LXCA, I strived to keep the navigation as flat and simple as possible in order to promote a good user experience. This also helps the application itself feel more familiar and less daunting to users. The use of a Mega Menu enables users to reach their intended destinations in just a few clicks.