Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex, Ala. -- The Reliability and Maintainability Information System (REMIS) is a system that has been around for many years, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make it better.
Taking advantage of the capabilities and skills that the Business and Enterprise Systems Product Innovation (BESPIN) team has, REMIS started the journey to improvement by improving user experience. Feedback from users shows we’re hitting the mark with more improvements to come.
In February 2021, REMIS surveyed the REMIS user base to determine overall user satisfaction and identify areas within the application that needed improvement. When asked about the level of user satisfaction with the look and feel of REMIS, users responded with “Not at all satisfied” which was the lowest score. Another question posed to users was, “Do you find navigating the menu system too complex or cumbersome?” A common response was, “The menu is very sensitive, and you can easily get the wrong screen when going over the menu with your cursor.” Users also indicated that REMIS’ Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO) management capability needed to be simplified and more manageable.
The survey clarified that improvement to the REMIS User Interface (UI) could significantly improve the overall REMIS user experience. REMIS chose to bring in UI expertise and selected BESPIN as the ideal source. In September 2021, REMIS and BESPIN began strategizing on the approach to improve the UI and the ideal level of support from BESPIN in achieving the goal. The scope of the effort was to improve the REMIS menu system and upgrade the TCTO screen functionality. Key to the effort would be engaging actual REMIS TCTO users to provide input and feedback on the menu and TCTO screen improvements.
In May 2022, the new UI effort commenced with daily planning sessions to identify epics, features, and stories, along with creating, refining, and prioritizing the product backlog. Before beginning the development of the new look for REMIS, new menu layouts and TCTO wireframes were reviewed with the user community.
Prototyped architecture changes needed to support the new UI were identified as the optimal solution to implement the frontend and backend change
In February 2023, the new REMIS main page and menu system rolled out to users, along with a training video showing what is in store for the new REMIS UI, and these are examples of the direct feedback given:
“Thank you for the (training) video link! Just finished watching. I like the new REMIS interface, very easy to use. The new search feature is awesome. Thank y’all!”
“Thank you for the training video. It helps to see what REMIS is going to look like and how to navigate when it comes back on-line.”
Following the roll out, users had the following to say:
“I just logged in for the first time since the update, and all I can say is wow. I like the new add and that it brought over my current favorites. Thank you!”
REMIS will continue to deploy new UI capabilities for the foreseeable future and looks forward to ongoing work with the BESPIN team.