Seamless Incident Reporting

Creating an Intuitive UI for Reporting and Managing Vehicle Incidents in a Company Fleet App

Role

UI Designer

Duration

3 moths

Addressing the Need for Accountability in Vehicle Rentals

This project involved designing an incident management and reporting feature for an internal company vehicle rental app. The goal was to allow users to seamlessly report any incidents or damages to company vehicles before, during, or after their trips, thereby improving accountability and reducing unreported damage.

Tackling the Problem of Unreported Vehicle Damage

One of the significant challenges was that many vehicles in the company’s internal pool were being returned with damages, and it was often difficult to identify who caused them. Reporting incidents was typically seen as a negative action, leading to underreporting. Therefore, a solution was needed to encourage timely and accurate incident reporting.

Early Involvement with UX: Setting the Stage

Before fully transitioning to UI design, I assisted the UX team in the early stages by:

Creating Personas: Based on collected data and feedback, helping to define the user types and their needs.
Evaluating Research Results: Assisting in sorting and analyzing the interview data to extract meaningful insights.

This early involvement gave me a deep understanding of user needs and the context, which was invaluable when it came time to design the UI.

Addressing the Need for Accountability in Vehicle Rentals

Tackling the Problem of Unreported Vehicle Damage

Early Involvement with UX: Setting the Stage

Before fully transitioning to UI design, I assisted the UX team in the early stages by:

Creating Personas: Based on collected data and feedback, helping to define the user types and their needs.
Evaluating Research Results: Assisting in sorting and analyzing the interview data to extract meaningful insights.

This early involvement gave me a deep understanding of user needs and the context, which was invaluable when it came time to design the UI.

Designing for Simplicity and Clarity

When I received the requirements, the key element was integrating the familiar vehicle schematics used by rental companies into the app, allowing users to easily mark new incidents or review existing ones.

Key Considerations:

The design had to be intuitive, with the vehicle schematic as the focal point.
To avoid scrolling, I prioritized fitting all critical elements onto a single screen.
I used color coding to differentiate between new incidents, existing incidents, and those that had been reviewed.

Crafting the UI: From Concept to Reality

The process involved:

Focusing on Clarity: Ensuring that the vehicle schematic clearly indicated which side of the vehicle was being viewed.
Maintaining Consistency: Adhering to the app’s existing design library and guidelines while introducing creative elements where necessary.

Validating the Design Through Prototypes

I developed both low-fidelity and mid-fidelity prototypes for user testing, facilitated by the UX team.

Key Feedback:

Early Feedback: Highlighted the need to make the vehicle schematic clearer to avoid confusion about which side of the vehicle was being viewed.
Mid-HiFi Prototype: Received positive feedback, requiring only minor adjustments.

Lessons Learned

Collaboration is Key: Tight communication with the UX team was crucial and was made easier by my early involvement in the research phase.
Balancing Creativity and Consistency: I learned how to work within the constraints of an existing design library while still introducing creative solutions.

Moving Forward

The developer team is now implementing the design, and the next version is already being planned. Future enhancements include allowing users to select incident categories and report if damages were from a previous driver.

Validating the Design Through Prototypes

I developed both low-fidelity and mid-fidelity prototypes for user testing, facilitated by the UX team.

Key Feedback:

Early Feedback: Highlighted the need to make the vehicle schematic clearer to avoid confusion about which side of the vehicle was being viewed.
Mid-HiFi Prototype: Received positive feedback, requiring only minor adjustments.

Lessons Learned

Collaboration is Key: Tight communication with the UX team was crucial and was made easier by my early involvement in the research phase.
Balancing Creativity and Consistency: I learned how to work within the constraints of an existing design library while still introducing creative solutions.