HYBRID HAUL TRUCK ANALYTICS for MINE TRUCK DRIVER

PRODUCT FEATURE & EVALUATION

SYNOPSIS

Analytics dashboard analyzing Driver performance as related to Hybrid Electric Mining Haul Truck.

COMPANY / CLIENT

First Mode

ROLE

Lead User Researcher | UI Design Mockup

CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAMS

Product Management | Software Product Development | Modeling & Simulation

First mode is an engineering product startup company aiming to decarbonize the mining industry. The approach is a hybrid diesel-electric program that converts existing diesel truck into hybrid electric vehicles. It does so by capturing energy through regenerative braking - especially on downhill route portions.

This particular effort focuses on retraining Driver Behavior to optimize downhill brake energy capture. Given that most drivers only have their cellphones during their 2 week long shifts on site, we want to design a mobile app that can help brake behavior retraining.

BACKGROUND

Video by ©Camille Woodthorpe

PROBLEM STATEMENT

“Given the Driver’s work conditions, how can a mobile app help with retraining brake application behavior?”

CHALLENGES

  • Atypical mobile app use scenario; likely user’s only computing device while on-site

  • Driver’s receptiveness to learn will be directly related to the taxing work schedule.

“Conditions such as demanding schedule and mobile being the only analytics interface, should be considered throughout the app development”

For this portion, I collaborated closely with the UX Design team to merge the initial discovery finding collateral with initial design development exercises. Let’s ensure the unique use case conditions are considered throughout the design process. Process includes:

  • Combining User Journey, Use Case Flowchart Diagraming, and initial design mockup screens all together in 1 Miro board. The idea is to leverage the quick zoom in / zoom out Miro functionality and not lose the relevant context as the product is being designed.

  • I've mocked up some of the initial mobile app mockups just to get the process started.

  • Leveraged Usertesting.com as a tool to engage with users and facilitate feedback capture.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & COLLATERAL

    • Understand and empathize with the user, looking into typical traits & approaches to their responsibilities

    • Their context will help us understand how receptive & appropriate the various solutions are.

    • Visually outline the activities the User goes through.

    • Representation of Day | Week | Month in the life of User is like.

    • Provides conversation background to overlay various Hypothetical Solutions & simulate its effectiveness.

A mixed method approach will be deployed, starting with a small sample moderated qualitative 1 v 1 to test out some of the survey questions of the eventual web survey quantitative test. Then the revised quantitative test will be deployed over larger user set for feedback confirmation. The main topics to test are:

  • What are the most important metric(s) to show?

  • How much is too much analytic information?

  • Our hypothesis of predictive behavior improvement trend, is it helpful?

  • Any additional secondary functionality that should be included in the mobile app? Portions of their formal classroom training?

FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

Though most of the training is conducted in a classroom setting, Drivers still would like to have some high level material to review during their 2 week long work shifts.

  • Most important and relatable metric to the driver is Energy Capture.

  • Drivers verified that mobile analytics should not show too much information so to not cause confusion. Of the 3 concepts shown, Concept 3 - SCROLL, resonated the best.

  • Secondary graphics depicting Routes and Brake engagement were helpful, but not essential. It should not compete with the main metrics.

  • Predictive Trend of Driver braking behavior is well-received. It does buffer the initial period Driver learning curve, reassuring users ranging from drivers up to managers that the program is continuously improving toward reaching the goal.

“Generally, simplify the main interface to the most pertinent information needed. Also, metrics should default to what resonates with Drivers.”

IMPACT

USER

  • Users feels appreciative the analytics tool is easily understandable with a low learning curve.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

  • Overlapping the user journey with the product use case is really helpful to keep aware the specialized mining sector context.

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