A leading sea shipping logistics company in Singapore, operating in 100+ countries, struggled with manual Excel-based forecasting, leading to thousands of human errors and delayed decision-making. To enhance forecast accuracy and operational efficiency, they sought an automated solution.
Working with a development team in India, I led user research and problem definition to establish clear requirements before development.
The operations team struggled with manual data extraction from their Logistics Management System (LMS) into Excel, a process consuming over a day. This inefficiency resulted in delayed business decisions, frequent human errors leading to financial loss, and a critical lack of real-time insights for proactive action. My goal was to transform this chaotic system into a streamlined dashboard solution.
To tackle these challenges, my role was to lead the UX research and define the scope of a new digital forecasting tool, working closely with the engineering team in India. Our aim was clear: to reduce manual effort and errors, improve data visualization for quicker insights, and enable real-time updates for better decision-making.
To gain a deep understanding of user challenges and inform my design strategy, I initiated a comprehensive research phase. This involved conducting interviews with seven individuals across key roles: three field agents and four HQ agents. This distinction was crucial: field agents provided insights from the ground, where they directly managed operations, while HQ agents offered a broader perspective on centralized processes and data aggregation.
I performed contextual inquiries with HQ agents to really see how they manage data in the excel sheet. I observed their daily routines of generating and reviewing information, noting that each agent is responsible for monitoring over 20 countries. While I occasionally asked questions for clarity on specific numbers, I made sure to step back and let their natural process unfold, allowing me to understand their everyday data capture methods.
To collaboratively define dashboard concepts and understand feature categorization, I led a remote card sorting workshop with stakeholders on Miro. This approach ensured alignment and informed the logical grouping of functionalities.
To ensure a shared understanding and technical feasibility, I kicked off the design process by drafting a sitemap. This helped clarify the dashboard's scope and facilitated crucial discussions with internal engineers regarding potential technical challenges with the existing database.
During these discussions, I also evaluated technical constraints related to capturing real-time data, particularly considering potential latency from the current Logistics Management System. To effectively communicate the research-backed design direction to stakeholders, I developed and used low- fi wireframes. These visualizations were invaluable in illustrating the intended user experience and aligning everyone on the desired outcome.
I created a comprehensive style guide for the design, incorporating the organisation's existing brand colours. This guaranteed alignment with stakeholders' vision and delivered the essential flexibility and scalability needed for future solutions.
I led a design team in India to develop seamless office management with digital devices.
Client details has been modified according to NDA
