(May - September,2020)
Product Overview
Lock8, a provider of premium welding equipment and gas cylinder rentals, required a solution to streamline their rental process and improve inventory tracking. The challenge was to develop a mobile application that integrates with their management software, facilitating efficient handling of both long-term and short-term rentals, and offering features like recurring rentals.
Problem & Solution Statement
Problem:
Drivers faced a time-consuming process of manually updating the inventory system upon returning to the office. This led to human errors and inaccuracies in inventory tracking, resulting in potential stock issues.
Solution:
To address these challenges, a android mobile application was proposed that would allow drivers to scan or manually enter item barcodes. This process would automatically update the inventory system, reducing workload and minimizing errors.
Design Process
- User Research and Interviews: Held discussions with company owners and delivery personnel to gather requirements.
- User Flow Development: Outlined the steps users would take within the app for an efficient rental and delivery process.
- Low-Fidelity Wireframing: Created initial wireframes to visualize the app structure and user interface.
- Usability Testing of Low-Fidelity Prototypes: Tested the wireframes with 3 company drives to identify possible usability issues and areas for improvement. Based on the feedback, we identified navigation challenges, input errors, issues with system status visibility, and lack of immediate action feedback, prompting necessary adjustments to enhance user experience.
- Design System Development: Established a consistent design language for the app.
- High-Fidelity Prototyping: Developed detailed prototypes that closely resembled the final product, including changes we found during usability studies.
- Post-Implementation Testing: Conducted further usability testing with set of same drivers to make sure the app met user expectations.
- Final Documentation and Hand-Off: Compiled comprehensive documentation and managed the hand-off to the development team, ensuring the design was accurately implemented into android mobile app.
Challenges & Conclusion
This project was a valuable learning experience in user-centric design. By conducting thorough user research, developing a user flow, and adapting UI components for mobile, I was able to create an intuitive and efficient application. The process highlighted the importance of usability testing at various stages to fine-tune the design and address the needs of business & end-users effectively.
Learnings
The Lock 8 project taught me the significance of understanding the user's perspective, the value of iterative design, and the effectiveness of breaking down complex projects into manageable phases. The experience emphasized the importance of user research, usability testing, and detailed documentation in delivering a solution that truly meets business & user needs.
