Optimized Truck Driver Experience

AIZAH BAKHTIYAR

Optimized Truck Driver Experience | Figma and Adobe CC

One-Stop-Shop.

IBM Design Challenge

Nov 3rd, 20201

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Contents.

Discovery Process

1

Research

2

Persona

3

Brainstorm

5

Goal

7

Creative Brief

8

Sketches

11

Next Iteration

14

Wireframes

16

Mockup Iterations

17

Final Mockups

19

Information Architecture

29

Aesthetic Decisions

31

Future Considerations 32

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Discovery Process.

3.

2.

BRAINSTORMING

Setting key goals based on minor assumptions

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5.

LO- FI MOCKUPS

Mapping out the basic way to solve the problem

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PROBLEM SPACE

Understanding the problem through research

4.

GOAL SETTING

Ideating some high level solutions

1.

ELIMINATION

Eliminating other options based on the set goals

7.

REITERATIONS

Reiterating after looking at existing best practices

HI FIDELITY MOCKUPS Making intentional design decisions

1

Research.

Since access to truck drivers, fleet managment companies and dispatch officers was limited, I employed the use of secondary research, reading a number of truck driver’s personal experiences online to understand their pain points.

The following are some questions I researched. While this list is not exhaustive, it gives a sense of the nature of questions asked.

• • • •

What apps do most truck drivers currently use to plan their trips How and in what scenarios do they contact their dispatch officers What are some factors that cause delays that could be avoided Whats causes the most stress in their jobs

I read articles and reports on causes of delays. These include but not limited to increased demand with no sign of decreasing distribution industry trends. This adds pressure on the distribution industry to keep up with the growing need.

In addition, I researched how fleet management systems or dispatch officers contact specific truck drivers. I discovered that dispatch officers were still using primitive methods such as calling over mobile phone.

I looked at best practices for existing car apps. These included the Apple Human Interface Guidelines for CarPlay which helped guide the layout.

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Persona.

Desperate David Occupation Truck Driver

Behaviours • David can be found on the road most days • He tries to stick to the schedule but often falls behind.

Goals

•

• Safely make deliveries on time.

• Find Lodging and pit stops along the route without needing the dispatch officer to tell him where to stop.

Frustrations • Documenting reports, logs and other delivery-related paperwork • Overworking and/or overspeeding to meet delivery schedule • Overloading tractor-trailers to drive a heavier load farther • Receiving incorrect pickup and delivery addresses • Receiving unoptimized route directions from dispath officers • Unavoildable delays due to exogenous factors such as inclement weather and road accidents

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Based on the recurring pain points, I identified the key needs of the primary stakeholder i.e. truck driver as follows: • Contacting the fleet management system/dispatch officers • Optimized route planning • Managing pickup/delivery documentation

Contacting Fleet Management and dispatch officer

Paperwork for deliveries and pickups

Google Maps to plan their trips

One Stop Shop Optimized

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Brainstorm.

I started brainstorming ways I could solve this problem and weighed out the pros and cons for each. Turns out, a tablet device (either custom built or off-the-shelf) would solve the problem best.

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2.

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Goal.

1.

To create an accessible map based UI for drivers to navigate to their destination with minimal distractions i.e only get notified when an action is needed by the driver.

2.

Require maximum three interactions to reach content and initiate functions.

3.

Minimal on-screen information requiring minimal decision making

4.

Voice integration enabling driver to control functions without taking their hands off the wheel

5.

Simple, elegant experience

* Because of lack of actual data and time limitations, the goals are defined in rather ambiguous terms. In a real project, I would follow the SMART goal setting technique.

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Creative Brief.

Problem.

Given the increasing trend in distribution industry growth, there is an increased dependency on trucking industry for delivery of goods. The inefficiencies in the trucking industry lead to project delays that cause loss of monetory resources. Logistical issues lead to poorly timed deliveries that can put a strain on traffic and infrastructure.

Truck drivers also face problems in terms of safety and productivity.

There is pressure caused by the regulatory nature of the occupation. This combined with the tight schedules and max hours of service creates a stressful work environment for the driver.

Assumptions.

Assuming that there are different generations of trucks owned by a trucking company, some trucks don’t have integrated digital navigation or fleet connection systems.

SInce this designed experience is for a trucking company in Canada, it can be assumed that most trucks have the driver seat on the left.

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Functional Requirements.

Alerts must notify the driver about: • • • • • •

Safety (weather alert, object on road etc) Maintenance Pitt stops Goods collection General fleet messages Maintenance

Map and directions must: • Give directions to the driver • Locked by system to ensure goods are picked in an optimal way • Allows stops (Pit stop, Lodging, Gas etc) Must notify the fleet management system when there are unexpected delays caused by: • Accidents • Equipment breakdowns and malfunctioning • Bad weather Must be able to contact: • • • •

Fleet management system Roadside assistance Factory/company there are shipping to or from 911

Must check on the driver’s wellbeing by: • Giving a notification to the driver to make a pit stop

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Technical Requirements.

• The system must not overwhelm or distract the user as they drive.

• It’s key function must be to provide navigation for the optimal delivery/ pickup route.

• It must focus on the key task unless there is an alert that requires an action from the driver

Usability Requirements.

• The app must be accessible to a person while driving to provide directions with minimal interruptions to provide a safe driving experience.

• It must only notify the driver when there is an actionable alert. *Accessibility in this case means that the driver should not have to squint to see any required information

Measures of Success.

To measure the success of the designed experience, I intend to mainly collect user reviews and feedback (if this was a real project) to see how the user feels after using the app. For the purpose of this project however, the driver must not feel distracted or overwhelmed by the whole experience.

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Sketches.

The following is the first iteration of sketches where i explored This first sketch explored incorporating the key tasks into a mobile screen.

Too many driver interactions to complete a certain task

A route is given by the dispatch officer after which the driver inputs it into their maps and optimize.

Possibility of a human error when a driver inputs addresses

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A dashboard view while driving may be distracting. It could instead be offered in a non-driving, expanded mode.

A dashboard is a lot to process while driving.

Alerts are a lot to read while driving. Maybe an assistant reads it out.

It was natural to explore a driving view very much like existing navigational apps.

Focusing on the key task unclutters the view

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Next, a primary and secondary menu navigation bar was explored to account for the complexity in the app specifically designed for a truck driver.

Keeping primary menu items close to the driver i.e. left most side of the screen (assuming the tablet is fitted on the right side of the driver), and secondary options right at the top. This Layout seems most promising.

Layout with primary and secondary menu items easily accessible to the driver

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Next Iteration.

In this next iteration I explored the things that worked in the first iteration to see if the layout would work on the other screens.

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Wireframes.

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Mockup Iterations.

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Alerts and iterations on how they show up:

To see more reasoning for my design decisions, click the following link to view annotated iterations of mockups: https://www.figma.com/ file/iAEg1DMUOXQ5bWD0xNQ4Mw/IBM-design?nodeid=181%3A2108

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Final Mockups.

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Optimized Directions and Route

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Contact with FMS Simply

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Driving and Non-driving Overviews

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One-Stop-Shop

Humanized and Optimized Truck Driver Experience

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Logs to Save Time on Documentation

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Information Archite Keeping the information Architecture simple is key to providing drivers with an easy to use interface. Below is the Information Architecture of this app.

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ecture.

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Aesthetic Decisions.

Choice of Font SF Pro is optimized for accessibility which is one of the goals of this app.

Choice of Color Subtle colors are chosen to ensure drivers are not distracted from the screen. Furthermore, according to the color psychology, blue (as the one used in the app) creates a sense of calmness which is critical to a driver. The accent, teal is a trending color for 2020 which aligns with the modernity this app is meant help to move the distribution industry towards.

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Future Considerations.

• It would be nice to show how the app optimizes the route in the backend in the UI design. For example an alert like, ‘An accident ahead.

Your total time will shorten if you make a pit stop in the next 5 km instead of after 10 km”.

• It would also be nice to have the app convert to driving and nondriving modes itself (without having to tap the dashboard button).

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