Our UX team was tasked with creating a mobile app that made it easy for independent drivers to find available work in their area. The concept was similar to a ride-hailing app, with some important distinctions. Instead of passengers, drivers would be picking up shipments that could range from construction materials, to food or cars. Drivers would set up a profile that included information about the vehicles they owned and their shipment preferences, so that they would only see relevant job postings. To make the shipping process as simple as possible, the haulme app would guide the driver through every step of the process: getting to the pick-up and drop-off locations, submitting necessary paperwork, and staying in contact with the shipper at every step of the process.
It was important for our team to better understand the people we were designing for, so we headed out to talk with drivers to learn more about their daily life. We learned about the methods they use to find shipments today, the types of devices they own, and uncovered some of their biggest challenges and pain points. We would use this information as a foundation for designing the product, and would later test our prototypes with drivers throughout the design process.
After a phase of informational gathering and speaking with drivers, our UX team hosted a design thinking session with individuals who had a diverse range of experience in the transportation industry. Many of the ideas that were brought forward, combined with our own research, provided us with a great starting point as we began to work through the process of defining user flows and creating wireframes. We conducted multiple rounds of usability testing during the design process to ensure our interfaces were intuitive for our target users, and to point out any potential problem areas that could be improved.
