PROJECT OBJECTIVE
Create a mobile app for scanning mail containers to trailer position. Create an online Load Manifest that captures container information and position. Communicate data to other applications. Design for accuracy, error prevention and efficiency.
CONTEXT
The Trailerization App is one of six applications I designed for the Mail Innovations Department at UPS as part of a significant modernization initiative. Operational processes, technologies, and applications were revamped to make mail processing more efficient, faster, and more accurate.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Transform a robust, information-heavy, largely manual process into a simple digital user experience.
Design for accuracy, error prevention and efficiency.
Timeframe
August - Nov 2022
Client
Mail Innovations, UPS
MY CONTRIBUTION
Drove UX Research and Design
Planned and facilitated discovery sessions with stakeholders to understand the business operations and goals, the vision for the trailerization process, the users’ context and needs.
Defined Focus and Direction
Synthesized the research into design problems and principles, and requirements which guided the app's conceptualization, design, and testing.
Design for accuracy, error prevention and efficiency
Applied visual communication principles to make the interface and navigation simple and intuitive.
Iterated on the user flows and screen design to achieve simplicity and efficiency.
Skills
UX Research
Research Synthesis
Big Picture Thinking
Problem Definition and Design Principles
Personas
User Flows
Information Architecture
Mental Models
UI Design
Visual Communication
Icon and Logo Design
CASE STUDY
Design for Accuracy and Efficiency
The following case study showcases the conceptualization and design of a process and interface for scanning containers to trailer position and creating an online Load Manifest. Accuracy and efficiency were achieved through:
minimizing the user input to reduce errors
making the process quick, simple and easy
designing a simple and intuitive user interface.
UX Research
I led regular discovery and review sessions with various stakeholders - Operations and Transportation Managers, an Industrial Engineer, a Product Owner, a Scrum Master, and a team of developers.
The sessions focused on understanding the operational processes, the business goals and vision for the app, and the users’ context, needs and goals.
Understanding the Business Processes
For the team to think holistically and understand the role of the trailerization process and app, I created a high-level visualization of processing and transferring mail between UPS facilities (click image to enlarge).
Understanding the Business Goals
In addition to understanding the operational processes, I wanted the team to understand the why behind the requirements and business decisions (click to enlarge).
Personas - Understanding the Users’ Needs and Context
I created personas to capture and communicate the user's goals, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Jobs-to-be-Done
I used the Jobs-to-be-Done framework to capture as many of a persona's goals and tasks as possible. I was particularly interested in the “Why” behind each job. “So that…” and the “Notes” helped us identify deeper user needs or additional complexities associated with the business processes.
Drafting a Point of View
The following themes from the research were used to draft our Problem Statement and Design Principles:
Pain Points
Creating the Load Manifest was:
manual and prone to errors
time consuming
User Goals
Create Load Manifest correctly
Identify and correct errors in a timely manner
Business Goals
Move mail in the network
Quickly
Accurately
Problem Statement
How might we ...
Design a digital experience for Forklift Drivers to quickly and effortlessly create an accurate, easy-to-review, and easy-to-update Load Manifest.
Design Principles
To achieve that:
Require minimal input from the user
Guide the user
Use familiar mental models
Make the process quick and simple
Design an intuitive interface
Build validations, prevent errors
Concept & Prototype Development
Design for Efficiency
From information Architecture to User Flows
Jobs-to-be-done helped me record the needs as requirements. Then I identified the user goals and steps needed to achieve the goals.
Jobs-to-be-Done affinitization to help define the main app functionalities
Jobs-to-be-Done Map - working towards information architecture
User Flows
Using familiar mental models
I used the actual process of loading containers as a mental model for Forklift Drivers to create the online Load Manifest.
Just as a forklift driver in a warehouse would physically remove all containers from a position and re-stack them, I designed the app to provide a similar functionality. Users could easily delete all containers from a position and rescan them back, mimicking the real-life process.
Bringing focus and visual hierarchy
What initially looked like a challenge presented an opportunity to introduce focus and hierarchy—only four “containers” could be seen at a time, each with a summary of the most important information. Clicking on a “container” opened up additional details for verification or inquiry.
The Load Manifest acts as a central and pivotal point. A hamburger menu takes the user to the rest of the app.
Further iteration and refinement
I explored multiple ideas for the Load Manifest to achieve simplicity, ease of use, and minimal user input. The illustrations below show a progression of the design of the online Load Manifest and Container Details screens.
Simplifying the navigation and flows
I experimented with different ideas for the user flows and navigation. I created clickable prototypes and tested them with the Industrial Engineer and the Product Owner. The prototypes are available for further testing with users.
A Home page serves as a landing page and main navigation tool. The Load Manifest is one of the options on the Home page.
Design for Accuracy
Scanning containers to trailer position
One of the main advantages of the new process was creating the Load Manifest by just scanning the container labels. No manual input would be necessary.
Guiding the user
I strived to make the user flows and screens as simple as possible to make scanning containers to a position easy, quick, and error-free. I provided options for the forklift drivers to deviate from the standard flows when necessary.
PROJECT OUTCOME
The prototypes were presented to a group of Operations Supervisors and Transportation Admins and received a favorable feedback and a green light for further development.
We have two clickable prototypes with several design explorations to be tested with real users.