AM ← Back to work Senior Interaction Designer · Systems Design · OOUX
Allegion · Overtur Key Management

Key Location & Inventory

A connected system for tracking physical keys, their locations, and the people responsible for them.

Explore the prototype ↗

Overview

RoleSenior Interaction Designer
TimelineUnder 4 months, research to tested prototype
ToolsFigma · Figma Make · AI-assisted synthesis
UsersLocksmiths · Facility managers · Inventory · Compliance
ProblemKeys could be issued and tracked, but the system couldn't identify the physical key itself.
OutcomeOne connected model linking each physical key to its location, inventory, and owner.

01Problem

The system could track a key. It couldn't identify the key.

Customers relied on paper logs, hooks, and handwritten tags. When a key was lost, nothing told the locksmith what to recreate or which blank to use.

A key cabinet in the field: mechanical keys on numbered hooks with handwritten paper tags, and a clipboard log on the shelf above.
Where we started: numbered hooks, paper tags, and a clipboard log.

02Users

Four roles touch every key.

LocksmithCreates keys, manages blanks, stocks the cabinet. The missing actor.
Facility managerNeeds to see where every key is and who has it.
Inventory managerMoves keys between locations and reconciles stock.
Compliance officerNeeds a trustworthy history for audits.

03Insight

Without the locksmith's data, location and ownership records were always incomplete.

So I modeled the digital system on the physical cabinet, from the outside in.

Physical world

  • Location
  • Cabinet
  • Hook
  • Physical Key
  • Key cut / type
  • Hardware
  • Keyblank

Digital system

  1. Location
  2. Cabinet
  3. Key
  4. Identity
  5. Inventory
  6. Ownership
  7. History

04Solution

One connected key lifecycle.

Create → Stock → Locate → Issue → Return → Replace

LocationThe cabinet, as it hangs on the wall.

Key Location screen: Main Office Master Cabinet at Security Office, Wall A, shown as a grid of numbered hooks, each labeled with its key.
Hooks mirror the physical cabinet, so users recognize it instantly.

IdentityEvery key knows what it is.

Cabinet key list: each hook shows tag number, keyway, key symbol, bitting, description, serial status, and quantities issued and available.
Keyway, symbol, bitting, and serial on every key. A lost key can be recreated exactly.

InventoryBlanks are tracked before a key exists.

Key Blank Inventory table: key blank name, keyway, description, quantity on hand, par level, reorder point, and an OK, Low, or Critical status.
Par levels and reorder points flag low stock. Assigning a key to a hook draws from this inventory.

OwnershipIdentity travels with the key.

Issue Key dialog inside Overtur: the key's hook, symbol, keyway, cabinet, bitting, serial, and quantity carried into the issuance, with issued to, date, and quantity fields.
Issuing a key carries its full identity into the record of who holds it.

05Success metrics

How we defined success.

30% faster
Target key transfers
25% faster
Target time to value for new users
20% less paper
Target during pilot
↑ Adoption
Target OMK adoption among Key Cabinet users

Set in my UX business brief before design began. The product was validated through prototype testing and not released, so these remain targets.

06Prototype

See the connected system in action.

Walk the full lifecycle, from the locksmith stocking the cabinet to issuing and replacing keys.

Explore the interactive prototype ↗

One physical key. One digital identity.
One connected lifecycle.

Allegion · Overtur Key Management · Senior Interaction Designer