SaaS for Connected Operations - Product Design Case Study

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Andorean - SaaS for Connected Operations

Designing solutions for optimizing mining efficiency and productivity

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Role - Product Designer

Duration - 3 years

Tools- Figma, Figjam, Notion, Affinity Designer

Impact- Increase in worker safety & coordination, and optimized tracking

Skills- Prototyping, Visual Design, User Research, Design Systems, Interaction Design

Disclaimer: This work is under an NDA, and all designs, components, and some approaches are modified for a case study view. Please contact me for further information.

Credits to team members

BACKGROUND

Andorean’s main idea is to implement mining and earthworks monitoring solution that allows engineers and operations teams to monitor mining operation processes in real-time using IoT technology.

Goal

90%

Labor cost saving

30%

Fuel cost saving

10%

Improvement in dillusion

Business Perspective

“Incorporating Edge Computing and IoT technologies specifically designed for industrial settings with challenging environmental conditions”

WHAT HAPPENS IN MINING OPERATION?

In a mining operation, large sites are developed to extract valuable minerals or metals from the earth. The process involves heavy machinery like excavators, bulldozers, and haul trucks to dig, transport, and process raw materials. Skilled workers, including miners, engineers, and geologists, oversee different stages—from drilling and blasting to ore extraction and processing. Safety personnel and technicians maintain equipment and ensure compliance with safety regulations.

ANALYZING THE CURRENT SOLUTION

At the beginning, there were no true primary competitors, as the initial product plan and features set it apart from anything available. Some platforms came close but captured only about 60% of the envisioned solution. This brought some challenges at first in understanding how users currently addressed the issues and pinpointing their pain points, given the novelty of the product.

THE MIX OF PLATFORMS… WHAT PROBLEMS DOES IT BRING?

The mining industry faces practical challenges such as stand-alone systems that lack integration, a shortage of IT experts, and the use of manual datasets, making data management time-consuming and reducing overall efficiency

PROBLEM

How might we create a unified, real-time monitoring solution that simplifies integration, minimizes manual data collection, and meets the specific needs of mining operations?

Given the application's large-scale and feature-rich nature, it was important to design an efficient platform that benefits sales, and enables users to accomplish their goals with minimal effort.

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN WE MAKE HERE?

Leverage an integrated Digital Twin and IoT platform to monitor equipment performance, environmental conditions, and material flow, and enabling process optimization

DEFINING THE USERS

Andorean target’s 2 primary users:

Advanced technology levels (Technology Specialists, Senior Engineers)

Open & Ground mining engineers

SOLUTION

Introducing SaaS for Connected Operations - An enterprise software that allows users to monitor the process of mining operation, and earthworks in real time, reconcile planning and performance, and detect malfunctioning processes that affect planning at an early stage and will provide real possibilities for automating processes ensuring better cooperation between departments, simplifying operations, and remote management.

PROCESS

The process took 3 three years, undergoing significant changes in user interface, features, and overall design before final delivery.

Iteration 1

Date: 2022 April

The very first iteration was mainly focused on bringing the ideations together and come up with a disruptive, futuristic-tech-inspired interface. This iteration only focused on map measurement tools and vehicle location tracking.

Methods used: Brainstorming with the team -> User flow -> User Interview -> Design walkthrough -> Usability testing

Challenge: Visualizing data and ideating the overall user interface.

Result:

Users were able to measure areas successfully with the tool, finding it intuitive and easy to use.

The right sidebar proved difficult to use, as constant toggling was inconvenient and it blocked the main interface.
Mining engineers were not familiar with the design of the interface. Testing proved the UI needs to be simplified for a more standard use.

Iteration 2

Date: 2022 November

This iteration transformed the noisy interface into a cleaner, minimal design by removing the right sidebar, relocating features to the top navbar, and implemented file management concept on the left sidebar to prioritize more standard design usability.

Methods used: Consistency Inspection -> Design walkthrough

Challenge: Brainstorming ideas to reorganize and relocate features.

Result:

Folder management improved organization for users.
Relocating sidebar features to the top increased usability and freed up space.
Users found accessing files through multiple steps unsatisfactory.
Placing the menu to the left sidebar caused some trouble.

Iteration 3

Date: 2023 July

The 3rd iteration focused more on flexible folder management, new features like time-lapse, customizing objects and overall UI tweaks.

Methods used: Usability Testing -> Design walkthrough

Challenge:

Designing an intuitive time-lapse feature with full date, time, seconds, and speed details was puzzling to implement.

Some features were not able to be implemented in code.

Result:

Folder management is more organized with better structure.

Moving the user profile section to the top bar improved usability for users.
Some of the added feature’s icons were confusing to interpret for some users.

Iteration 4

Date: 2024 February

This iteration underwent a significant overhaul in structure, implementing new features and a revised user interface, while removing measurement tools based on our user needs and business direction. The changes offer a fresh look and enhanced experience with in-depth interviews and additional methods.

Methods used: Information Architecture -> User Survey -> User Interview -> Usability Testing -> Design walkthrough

Challenge:

It took some time to transition to a completely new interface and experience due to user needs and strategic direction.
The structure and layout of the new features proved challenging.
Evaluating which features are feasible for development based on our goals from end users' wishlists.
Applying accessibility regarding user interface color scheme.

Result:

Easy access to navigation and features.
Users were satisfied with the improved UI.
Users were able to accomplish their goals with minimal confusion

Applying distinct colors to create the right feel for each function

The view bar changes into the respective bar when the user selects a certain feature.

Changes to a blue bar when "Edit" is selected

Changes to a purple bar when the user wants to annotate road signs on the map

Changes to a green bar when user selects the time-lapse feature to view previous actions

3D Vehicle models

Updated Information Architecture

PRODUCT FEATURES

EDIT SITE

Customizing objects for preference

TIME LAPSE

Replay and view previous options

ANNOTATIONS

Placing road signs on map

SPLIT SCREEN

View and manage multiple operations

ATTRIBUTES TABLE

View detailed info of objects

ALERTS

Notification of any incidents on map

DESIGN SYSTEMS

To design a large-scale app, a robust design system is essential. If you wish to view the design system, please contact me.

RESULTS

For this product, SUS and TSR were prioritized as key metrics to evaluate this product because of their complementary insights into system usability and task performance. SUS provides a standardized, quantitative measure of overall system usability and provides benchmarking against industry standards. Meanwhile, TSR offers a focused assessment of critical workflows, ensuring users can complete essential tasks efficiently and without errors.

REFLECTION

As the sole designer, I learned a lot about the enterprise software ecosystem, growing significantly in design maturity and handling complex workflows.

Understanding feedbacks

Closely working with the end-users and gather different perspectives on the product.

Design maturity

Understanding the “why” behind user behaviors and building a polished design.

Fitting in to agile methodology

Adjusting into agile sprints, keeping design and development in sync.

Dealing with ambiguity

Navigating through unclear requirements, making design choices even when details were missing.

Understanding enterprise software’s core ecosystem

Making sure the user is effective and productive while working on a platform with complex workflows.

Closer collaboration with developers

Close communication with developers and the business team to ensure the product’s design feasibility and implementation.

Understanding feedbacks

Closely working with the end-users and gather different perspectives on the product.

Design maturity

Understanding the “why” behind user behaviors and building a polished design.

Fitting in to agile methodology

Adjusting into agile sprints, keeping design and development in sync.

Dealing with ambiguity

Navigating through unclear requirements, making design choices even when details were missing.

Understanding enterprise software’s core ecosystem

Making sure the user is effective and productive while working on a platform with complex workflows.

Closer collaboration with developers

Close communication with developers and the business team to ensure the product’s design feasibility and implementation.

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