Quick Summary
Interdisciplinary team consisting of UX designers, UI designers, FE developers, BE developers, scrum master, product owner and various stakeholders
Role: UX designer
Responsibilities:
User interviews, preliminary research
Prioritisation of tasks and estimation of effort
Creation of concept for specific areas of the HMI (done independently)
Design and conducting of workshops and co-creation sessions
Usability testing
Collaboration with UI designers and dev team
Duration: This is a longterm ongoing project which started in October 2020. It has been divided into various project increments and phases.
Tools: Mural, Axure, Teams, One Drive, Sketch, Invision, Microsoft Office applications, Jira, Confluence. Design is now migrating to Figma.
Project Overview
A new and improved version of the HMI for a food packaging machine is required. Our task is to identify the issues being faced by users in the current version and to create the concept and design for the HMI such that it solves those problems. The overarching goal of the concept should facilitate the machine users in increasing efficiency, reducing machine downtime by helping the troubleshooting process quicker, thereby reducing some of the pressure faced by users in the high-pressure work environment.
User groups
Users in charge of packaging
Users in charge of troubleshooting issues in the machine
Challenges
The many challenges in this project include the vastness of the scope and functionalities of the interface, ambiguity of usability issues and a target user group consisting of users from various cultures and of varying degrees of literacy. Additionally, the limitations and pressures of an industrial environment add an extra layer of complexity. Covid-19 has also made it difficult to organise on-site visits, where it would be easier to observe users using the machine and the current HMI.
Deep Dive
Our first task was to understand the users, their needs and goals and the gaps in the current system. We did a deep dive into the material provided to us, such as the personas, some customer journeys and workings of the current system.
Preliminary Research
At the same time, we started conducting user interviews with our target groups. We focused on understanding where the problems were arising in the users’ routines.
Research Consolidation
The initial weeks were spent summarising and analying the research to identify the key findings. We took a deeper look at problems unique to industrial environments, performed benchmarking and created user flows.
Initial Scope
Since this is a huge project spread out over years, a major challenge we faced initially was to figure out where to get started and how to plan the first few months. This stage in the project can be quite overwhelming which is why it is important to follow a straightforward, structured approach at this point. Site maps are a great way to start structuring major areas and content and in general outling the architecture before jumping into ideation. Based on all the information we had gathered up to this point, we created the site map for the new system and identified the critical areas we would work on first. Breaking the information down into smaller-sized pieces and then trying to make sense of it really helped us. The big picture was finally starting to become clear.
Ideation
Once the major areas were identified and prioritised, we had our task cut out for us. The UX team divided the areas so that each topic would have an “owner” who was responsible for the concept of that area. We started with screen and content layouts and paper wireframes before graduating to prototyping in Axure. It was necessary to create high-fidelity prototypes for the purpose of the usability testings that were to follow.
Based on our findings from the preliminary research, we kept the following principles in mind while creating the concept:
Fewer clicks
Easier and quicker movement
Focus on what is currently needed
Streamline content as much as possible
Iterative process
We have a basic process which we have followed from the beginning from developing the concept and design of the system. Many improvements have been made over the course of the project, but the basic idea remains the same.
Conduct user interviews specific to the topic to unearth user needs and requirements
Reach an agreement with all the stakeholders on the identified requirements
Initial ideation phase keeping the aforementioned principles in mind
Sessions with experts to garner first feedback and make changes in the concept
Test the ideas with users
Make improvements based on feedback
Depending on the scope of the topic, either test again or go into approval process with the client
This process has served us well.
Usability Tests
We have regularly conducted (remote) usability tests over Teams through screen sharing since the start of the project. The moderator is always accompanied by a note taker. Due to the differences seen within the target group related to culture and literacy levels, it is imperative that the moderator invests some time in researching the different cultural norms and cues before conducting the interview and shows a great deal of patience. I am very grateful for my multi-cultural experiences and the ability to speak multiple languages. Speaking the user’s language, either through the moderator or with the help of a translator, immediately helps put the user at ease. Rigorous usability testing has been key in helping us validate our ideas and ultimately creating a product that works for the user.
Takeaways
We learned quickly that while testing with high-fidelity prototypes is important, due to the complexity of the topic at hand, it is a good idea to also incorporate the design into the prototype when testing with users. Unlike our previous experience from other projects, in this case, the conversation does not turn solely to the design elements. Instead, it helps the user better understand how the system works. In the end, there is no one solution that fits all.
Planning and prioritisation of tasks but also regular communication with the other teams involved in the project is always important, but it becomes even more important in a project of this scale. Since misunderstanding smaller issues can have a domino effect, we have learned to err on the side of communicating too often.
Up to this point, our focus has been on qualitative testing. This has been helpful in validating our ideas and knowing we are on the right path. However, as the concept for many major areas is reaching the end stages of development and many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are starting to fit together, the obvious next step for us is to start testing the system in a quantitative manner.