Role-Split Workflow: Painter vs Manager

Role-split workflow: painter vs. manager

Grounded in PaintIQ IDI sessions — Nathan, Shea, Gunnar, Ken, Pedro · Sherwin-Williams UXR Feb 2026

Painter — "speed first"

Manager — "exception first"

Assign

Receive assigned job Does not choose — assigned by manager or queue. Needs: RO#, color code, vehicle, paint hours. No digital job card today

Assign job to painter, set priority Balances booth capacity, cycle time promises, parts availability. Tracks what's blocked. Whiteboard is the scheduling tool

Color ID

Verify color at vehicle Scan with spectro or pull chip. Large shops: done at intake. Small shops: done at booth time. Spectrophotometer

Not involved in color verification Exception: gets flagged if color is problematic and may delay the job.

Formula

Search code → select variant → set quantity Wants fastest path from "I have the code" to "I'm pouring toner." Zero finance fields visible. Collision Core Color / paint software

Not involved in variant selection But cares about the outcome: wrong variant = rework = cost overrun.

Mix

Pour on scale, monitor real-time feedback Overpour recovery, missing ingredient flags, auto-close on completion. May need "mix more" immediately. Connected scale + paint software

Monitor material consumption (passive) Wants: actual oz used vs. refinish hours billed. Cost per RO. Waste variance alerts. No refinish-hour ingestion today

Spray

Spray vehicle — no device interaction Basecoat → blend → clearcoat. Cannot pause. Any interruption creates visible defects. Black box — no digital touchpoint

Track booth utilization Which booth, how long, dead time between cycles. 4 cycles/day target. Manual tracking only

Inspect finish, close job or remix One-tap status update. Cup weigh-back for waste capture. Pull next job from queue. Job close = shout across floor

Review completed job: cost, quality, cycle time RO-level profitability. Paint & materials gross profit. Rework rate per painter. Compliance docs. BMS reporting (partial)

Core design principle from primary research: Painters and managers share the same underlying job object, but they need completely different surfaces. The painter sees a constrained linear wizard (RO → code → variant → quantity → mix). The manager sees an exception dashboard (what's blocked, what's over budget, what's threatening a delivery date). Mode separation reduces cognitive contamination — finance fields in the painter's view slow them down, and mixing details in the manager's view are noise.