Overview
Charterhouse Lagos is a top-tier British Independent School based in Nigeria's bustling capital. As an institution that prioritizes structure, excellence, and forward-thinking operations, they needed a smarter way to manage their physical environment. Their challenge? Organizing and maintaining every chair, fan, AC unit, and desk spread across multiple buildings, floors, and rooms.
They reached out to our team to help design a solution—a facility management tool that could streamline operations, track assets, and simplify maintenance. I worked alongside two stellar designers, Timi and Joc, and collaborated closely with Pere and his dev team over five months to bring this tool to life.
The Business Challenge
Charterhouse needed a digital system to take full inventory of their assets—think every table, AC, and fire extinguisher—categorized and tracked across their entire campus. The goal was to eliminate manual processes, reduce errors, and gain real-time oversight into everything facilities-related.
This wasn't just about digitization—it was about operational excellence. Their key objectives included:
- Reducing manual labor and errors.
- Keeping maintenance tasks on schedule.
- Gaining clear visibility of facility and asset data.
- Empowering teams to make faster, data-backed decisions.
My Role
I was brought in to co-lead UX research and design, working end-to-end—from early user interviews to prototyping and developer handoff. It was a collaborative process. I worked closely with Charterhouse stakeholders through interviews and check-ins, synthesized insights, created flows and wireframes, and shaped the product direction together with Timi, Joc, and the dev team.
Design Process & Collaboration
We kicked off with stakeholder calls to understand their current workflow and pain points. This led to a contextual inquiry and a mini on-site tour by their internal team—which turned out to be very imortant for what was ahead.
Here’s how our process unfolded:
- Research & Discovery:
- Moderated user interviews with key staff (Admins, Facility Managers etc).
- Weekly check-ins with stakeholders.
- Contextual inquiry and a facility walk-through to better understand the physical space.
- Identifying UX Gaps:
- Manual inventory tracking was chaotic and error-prone.
- They lacked a way to categorize and search assets effectively.
- Maintenance was reactive, not scheduled.
- No visibility into energy use, budget allocation, or technician performance.
- Strategic Design Decisions:
- Smart Categorization: We introduced a flexible asset categorization system: main categories like "Electronics" with subcategories like "Fan" or "Fridge". Teams could also create their own categories using a guided flow.
- Location Mapping: Thanks to the facility walk-through, we mirrored the school’s real-world layout into the app—buildings, floors, rooms, and all. This meant assets could be assigned to their actual physical locations without confusion.
- Barcode Integration: Added asset barcode scanning for easy tracking and logging.
- Modules We Built:
- Asset Management: Take inventory, scan, categorize, and monitor every item.
- Work Orders: Create, edit, assign, and track maintenance requests.
- Maintenance Operations: Schedule preventive maintenance, get alerts, and track progress.
- Dashboard & Reports: Insights into energy use, budget, task status, asset availability, and technician productivity.
- Artifacts:
- Flows for each user type.
- Personas to understand goals and frustrations.
- Low to high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes.
- Testing & Iteration:
- We brought early mockups to the Charterhouse team for usability testing.
- Feedback led to layout simplifications, better iconography, and faster workflows.
The Result
The tool is now live, and Charterhouse Lagos has digitized their entire asset system. Admins and engineers can now:
- Track every asset in real time.
- Assign and resolve maintenance tasks faster.
- View dashboards that show where time, money, and resources are going.
The feedback? Smooth sailing. No more guesswork and endless spreadsheets.
Business Impact
While it’s early days, the software has already:
- Cut down manual asset tracking time drastically.
- Helped prevent lapses in maintenance.
- Empowered better decision-making through real-time dashboards.
- Improved service quality by capturing feedback from every completed task.
What I Learned
This project reminded me how much clarity can come from simply walking in the user's shoes—literally in this case, via our mini-tour. Context changed everything.
It was also refreshing to collaborate with other designers. Timi and Joc each brought fresh, sharp perspectives that pushed the work forward in ways I couldn’t have achieved solo. Working cross-functionally with Pere’s dev team gave me a deeper appreciation for feasibility and iteration in real-world product development.
Next Steps
We’re continuing to support the Charterhouse Lagos team with maintenance and updates based on feedback. There’s potential to expand the tool into other areas of school operations over time.
Final Thoughts
Facility management might not be flashy, but when done right, it makes everything else run smoother. This was one of those rare projects where design met real operational needs, and I’m proud of how we brought clarity, order, and ease to a complex system.