Background

In this project, I designed a comprehensive dashboard for a client navigating the Authority to Operate (ATO) process, which involves multiple approval stages and signatures from various stakeholders. The primary goal was to provide clear visibility and tracking for both the status of each system and the progress of the approval process across multiple phases. The system needed to be intuitive for both day-to-day users who handle the process and executives who require an at-a-glance view of overall progress.

Challenge

A significant challenge faced by the client was tracking multiple systems simultaneously through the various stages of the ATO process. Since the phases could overlap and progress in parallel, it was difficult for both the operational teams and executives to get a clear sense of the status and overall progress. Long signature chains and delays in certain phases also made it hard to pinpoint where bottlenecks were occurring. The absence of a composite view made it challenging to understand the health of the entire process at a glance.

Solution

I developed a dashboard with multiple layers of functionality to address these challenges. For operational users, I focused on tracking outstanding signatures, offering real-time visibility into which stakeholders were responsible for delays. For executives, I implemented a composite progress tracker that displayed how far each system had advanced through each phase of the ATO process. The system tracks progress across five distinct phases, each of which can occur concurrently, and visualizes the completion percentage for each phase. Additionally, the dashboard calculates a composite progress score, providing a single, clear percentage of overall completion, making it easy for executives to quickly assess where systems stand. This dual-layer approach increased accountability, streamlined the process, and improved executive oversight, resulting in a more efficient and transparent workflow.