Rotor: Developing complete digitalised shipping solution for the Nigeria, Lagos port.
To help marine logistics managers manage their shipments, track containers, access carrier information and view rotation number all in one place.
Type of business: Marine logistics
My deliverables: wireframes, prototype, information architecture, competitors analysis, tasks inventory, complex data organisation
Project delivery year: 2023
Working with: project manager(studio), web designer(freelance), developer (freelance), company director(client)
The Brief
Existing logistics customer base that our client has established had to rely on their physical presence at the port office in order to access vital transportation information essential for their business operations, such as rotation number of vehicles. This data, updated daily in the morning, required customers to visit the office every day. To streamline this process, the client asked for our expertise to develop a digital solution.
For the first research phase of the process I developed user personas to make sure that their requirements are addressed throughout the design.
It was important to make sure that needs & desires of not only clients but also partners and admins were taken into a consideration.
For the user research purposes, in order to find out more about day-to-day challenges of marine logistics coordinators I used my connections back from the seafront city I grew up at that work in companies such as Maersk and Rohlig Suus Logistics.
Competitors analysis: Product that we were developing was the first of its kind in the market so I didn’t have any direct competitors to compare it to. For my desk research I wanted to focus how other marine related businesses display details on vessels and their routes in order to see what our potential clients are generally used to and to gain insights into the marina logistics environment, enabling informed decisions for the development of the brand-new app.
Complex Data Organisation
As a UX designer, before starting to draft up solutions, I had to first understand existing process of receiving/uploading information for logistics purposes, understand terminology around it and decide on how much flexibility in terms of input is allowed for both the end user and administration.
I handled and structured complex vessels data in a user centred manner. Engaged in an iterative process of prioritising and categorising data to make informed design decisions on presenting this information logically and cohesively.
Excel spreadsheet listing all data needed by agents with notes for features to be used when designing solutions.
Information Architecture for the Rotor Mobile App
I created Information architecture to assure intuitive navigational system for the app.
Information Architecture for the app was designed to future proof next updates and features, and work well with plans and visions for the product and business that the client shared with me.
Wireframes
I delivered 60+ Wireframes of app screens based on all possible user journeys, following an iterative design process, and providing the foundation for user interface design.
Design of a summarised information about embarking container ship went through a lot iteration, I had to make sure it was as concise as possible, with the most important information being in a top visibility and that data was displayed in a logical order. Also I had to make sure that fields have enough space for all possible input versions.
Example of high-fidelity wireframes:
Final designs:
Prototype
In order to test my wireframes I delivered Interactive prototype that we tested with the client and end users to, ensure all user needs were met prior to advancing to the development stage.
Interactive prototype was used for testing concepts with logistics managers, design was iterated accordingly based on their feedback.
Design Decisions
Research that I conducted during discovery phase has influenced a lot of important decisions regarding how the end product was shaped. Location of end users has contributed to those decisions majorly and some of the features could easily be overlooked if not for the thorough research. This really shows the power of design thinking process!
Following the research, we opted to implement dark mode as the default for the app. This decision was influenced by the fact that our target users frequently access information outdoors, particularly in Nigeria's sunny climate. To ensure optimal visibility in such conditions, we prioritised a high-contrast design.
As a team we were advised that certain locations, especially marina, experience poor internet connectivity, which made it necessary to ensure that design is lightweight and quick to load. We also made sure that the app was engineered to function effectively in offline mode to accommodate these conditions.
In the transport services section of the Rotor app, users are required to provide location information for cargo delivery. I discovered that describing locations in Lagos can sometimes be challenging due to, in some cases, the absence of street names, with locals often referencing nearby landmarks (e.g., "big blue house next to Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina"). As a result, it was necessary to allow users more freedom in describing locations, rather than limiting input to traditional street names, postcodes, and cities:
The Results
Designing and launching first on the market digital product providing real time information on vessels in Lagos, Nigeria port.
Rotor App launched successfully across both iOS and Google Play
Digitising a stage of the container importation, transforming it from a cumbersome manual process to automatic - in the palm of your hand process.