Skip to main content

Rostering Self-Service App Mobile-first rostering tool for NHS nurses and support staff

Client: Skills for Health

  • Healthcare
  • Workforce Management
  • SaaS
Designed a mobile-first rostering solution enabling NHS staff to view shifts, set preferences, request leave, and arrange swaps.

Overview

Problem

NHS nurses and support staff work across complex and changing shift patterns, often spread over multiple locations. Existing rostering systems were rigid, desktop-centric, and did not support self-service, leading to inefficiencies and low staff satisfaction.

Goal

Create a mobile-first rostering app that empowers NHS staff to view their schedules, set preferences, request leave, and swap shifts easily, improving engagement and operational efficiency.

Challenges

  • Designing for diverse user groups including nurses, support staff, and managers with varying tech skills.
  • Integrating with legacy rostering systems and trust-specific rules.
  • Ensuring accessibility and usability in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments.
  • Balancing mobile-first self-service with administrative oversight and control.
  • Delivering end-to-end design as the sole UX and visual designer.

Role Sole UX & Visual Designer

Responsible for journey mapping, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, and developer collaboration.

Team

Product owners, NHS stakeholders, offshore development team (~6 developers), QA.

Responsibilities

  • Translated research insights into user journeys and prototypes.
  • Developed user journeys and personas for multiple staff roles.
  • Designed and iterated mobile-first UI and desktop admin interfaces.
  • Created a comprehensive design system for consistent UI components.
  • Supported agile development cycles with detailed specs and design reviews.

Approach

  • User Journey Mapping – Mapped end-to-end rostering workflows including shift viewing, preferences, leave requests, and swap approvals to identify pain points and opportunities.
User journey map showing steps to set roster preferences
User journey map showing how staff find roster and clinic details
User Journey Maps
  • Mobile-first Design – Prioritized mobile usability with thumb-friendly navigation, clear schedules, and quick actions for shift management.
Mobile screen listing available weekly rosters
Mobile interface displaying a selected week’s roster by day
Mobile interface for selecting shift preferences by day and time
Wireframes from Shift Preferences flow
  • Admin Interface – Designed a desktop dashboard for managers to oversee rosters, approve requests, and handle exceptions efficiently.
  • Iterative Prototyping & Testing – Conducted usability testing cycles with representative users to refine interactions and visual clarity.
Screen showing current shift allocations with staff and request status
Pop-up modal showing a shift swap request with dates and staff names
Mobile screen listing incoming shift swap requests
Wireframes from the Shift Swap flow
  • Design System Creation – Developed a scalable, accessible design system ensuring consistency and ease of future updates.
High-fidelity mock-up showing staff shift preferences UI
High-fidelity mock-up showing list of weekly rosters
High-fidelity mock-up of a leave request form with start/end date and notes fields
High-Fidelity mock-ups of Roster preference and list screens, with Leave Request form.

Solution

A mobile-first rostering self-service app that:

  • Enables NHS staff to view personalised shift schedules on the go.
  • Allows setting of shift preferences, leave requests, and shift swaps directly via mobile.
  • Provides managers with a robust desktop interface for roster management and approvals.
  • Integrates trust-specific rostering rules while maintaining simplicity and usability.
  • Delivers an accessible, consistent UI across mobile and desktop platforms.

Impact & Results

  • +75% engagement
  • -40% admin overhead
  • High adoption

Quantitative Outcomes

  • Increased staff engagement with rostering tools by over 75%
  • Reduced administrative overhead for roster management by 40%
  • Achieved high adoption rates across multiple NHS trusts within the first year

Qualitative Outcomes

  • Positive user feedback highlighting ease of use and improved control over shifts
  • Enhanced communication and transparency between staff and managers
  • Recognition from NHS stakeholders for improving workforce satisfaction

Reflection

This project underscored the importance of deep user engagement to design for complex, real-world workflows in healthcare settings. Balancing mobile self-service with administrative control required careful UX decisions and iterative testing. Developing a flexible design system proved crucial for managing diverse user needs and trust-specific requirements. Close collaboration with distributed teams ensured quality delivery despite technical and organisational challenges.

Work with me

Let’s make your digital experiences work better for everyone.

Whether you need strategic direction, accessible design, or facilitation to align your team, I offer flexible support — as a UX consultant providin fractional UX leadership and defined projects to tailored workshops. I bring the right expertise and, when needed, a trusted network of collaborators to scale your delivery.

Let's talk
I’m Jonathan Kokké, a UX consultant who helps organisations create digital experiences that are inclusive, scalable, and genuinely useful. My work spans UX strategy, design systems, accessibility (WCAG and EAA), and DesignOps — bringing more clarity, consistency, and care to every product for everyone.