Supervision App for mining operations
An app for administrators and employees to streamline the vehicle tracking and monitoring process. The app will enhance safety, productivity, and cost-effectiveness.
Service
UI & UX Design for Web & App
Client
VRL Co.
Year
2021
My Role
Research & UX Design
Process
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Defining Problem statement
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Assumptions & Hypothesis
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Ideation
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Research Analysis (Personas)
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Re-Ideation
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Wire-framing (high fidelity wire-frames)
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UI & Prototype
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Usability testing (Heuristic Evaluation,User testing)
The Problem Statement
The mining company needs to track their heavy vehicles leaving the site with loads and ensure their safety. The current manual process is time-consuming and risky. To streamline the process and monitor the vehicles in real-time, the company wants to develop an app for supervisors and drivers. The app would also enable employees to verify safe travel and prevent theft.

Goal
Assumptions
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Users prefer a simple interface that is easy to use and does not require a lot of time to enter data.
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Accurate and correct information needs to be displayed, with warnings or alerts if the input data seems abnormal or incorrect.
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Users are likely to use the app on their mobile phones, and may encounter poor network coverage or connectivity issues.
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In case of network problems or connectivity issues, a manual backup or alternative solution needs to be provided to ensure continued usage of the app.
Ideas through Crazy 8 Technique
During my brainstorming session, I employed the Crazy 8 technique to generate solutions related to the problem statement. This method allowed me to quickly come up with multiple creative solutions to address the problem at hand and jumpstart the ideation process.

Basic User Flow
I iterate on the app's user flows post-brainstorming to optimize the user experience. This process helps me identify key benefits for users and determine how to leverage app features to encourage engagement.

Research & Design
Although user research was not conducted for this project due to client requirements, we developed user personas based on the target audience's needs, goals, and behaviors to ensure that the final design solution is user-centric and aligned with their activities.
We developed and tested design concepts with potential users, gathering feedback to refine the designs until the final product met their needs and provided a seamless and efficient user experience.
User Persona

User Flow
Upon generating ideas for the given problem statement, I created a user flow draft as a preliminary step in my design process. This has proven to be an effective tool for maintaining focus and consistency while developing wireframes.


Wireframe
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I created wireframes for the app users - quarry and check-post.
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The dashboard had access to their sign in to work, attendance log, job assigned, profile.
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The quarry person will be able to add the vehicular details leaving the site.
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The check-post person will be able to verify if the vehicle has passed the location.
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The admin/manager access was via website as the designated person will be working on the office computer.

Mid-Fi Wireframe for the Admin/ Manager
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I maintained a simple, cohesive design throughout the website for Admin/Manager. I made the wireframes very simple so that it can adapt for similar functions for different roles.

Mid-Fi Wireframe for the person working in Quarry or Check-post
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I maintained a simple, cohesive design throughout the app for the user, design approach similar to the website. I made the wireframes very simple so that it can adapt for similar functions for different roles.
Prototype
In this stage, I have developed the UI, and generated a UI prototype to assist me in conducting usability testing.
I used Sketch to create the design and Presentator to create prototypes for this project.
Heuristics Analysis
I conducted a heuristic analysis of the mining operations supervising app and identified areas for improvement in the UI. Implementing these changes will enable me to create a more efficient and user-centered app.

New Iteration
Following the Usability Testing, it was apparent that users required more notifications to understand the system's progress fully. For the check-post verification process, we implemented a digital verification system, replacing the previous manual iteration, which only allowed comments and a "crossed" button. This new process will provide more authenticity and prevent fraudulent or manipulated activities.

Conclusion
I faced several challenges during the design and development process. Given the tight timeline, I was unable to create unique icons or an original identity for the app and had to rely heavily on Google Material Design icons. Despite this, I worked closely with users to continuously test and refine the prototype, resulting in an improved design with each iteration.
I had initially planned to include live vehicular tracking features, but budget and time constraints imposed by the client made this infeasible. I also encountered connectivity issues during the development process and had to devise a manual input option for the check-in/check-out process at certain checkpoints to overcome this hurdle.