User experience up close: an insight into the working day of a driver with a telematics app

How about a day on the road in a truck and doing something good at the same time? That's exactly what I did and I was able to see how a driver from a recycling company uses the app co-developed by adesso and, above all, how it makes his daily work easier.

So far, so good – but what does it look like in practice? I went on tour. Or rather, I accompanied a user of the app for a day through his working day. It started at 7 a.m. at the office of the recycling centre. There, the driver grabbed his tablet. The dispatcher had already provided all the customers for that day and the driver received the orders sorted in the app.

He got into the truck and went to the first customer. What did we need for this? A glance at the app showed us where the first order was, and we were on our way. Since all orders are clearly displayed in the app, the driver had already seen that two orders were not far apart and had already attached a trailer. This enabled us to save time by completing both orders directly after one another in a single trip. However, I noticed that this planning was done in his head and that another driver might not have had this information. So this perception was very important. It would be helpful if such information could be stored in the app.

The driver himself made a similar comment a little later. He has noticed that he has developed many routines during his 36 years of service and would like to share his accumulated knowledge of special routes or customers with his colleagues. On the one hand, this would have the advantage that no relevant information would be lost in the event of holiday or sick leave. On the other hand, it would also be helpful if messages about current tours were directly visible to the dispatcher as a comment. This would allow information to be communicated directly. For example, dispatchers receive customer calls during ongoing tours and could resolve customer concerns promptly rather than after the tour, as is currently the case.

Why not ask the end users for feedback directly?

Maybe you have been in this situation before. You had the opportunity to say what you would like to change or what you need, and you just couldn't think of anything. Many people feel the same way. It is easier to get a list of problems or challenges and look for suitable solutions. To do this, it is very important to understand the processes of a typical working day. This enabled me to identify some of the problems and challenges faced by drivers and to bring them to the team for the design of solutions. To ensure that this kind of feedback is obtained regularly and, above all, from different users, my team colleagues and I regularly ride with the drivers and thus receive direct feedback on the latest version of the app with all the new functions.

Is it really worth the effort?

If you ask me, ‘Yes, definitely’. I have been to a recycling centre a few times and of course I know the garbage trucks that pick up household waste. But I had never had a close look behind the scenes. What do users expect from an app? Are they willing to use an app? Do they already have experience with similar apps? I couldn't answer all these questions accurately without getting to know the end users.

But if there is one person who is very important for a good user experience, it is the user. And it is precisely with these that you should engage as a designer, developer, tester or project manager. Improving efficiency, standardising processes or successfully handling special cases are topics of great importance that are set as goals. However, these goals can only be achieved if you recognise what is necessary to achieve them and where the problems lie.

Conclusion

What have I learned from my journey? A good user experience is crucial for a smooth process in everyday life, where the application is used to increase efficiency. We, who sit behind the screens, should leave our desks from time to time and take a look at how things are in practice. This way, we can absorb valuable feedback and process it later.

Have you ever observed and analysed the end users of an application in practice and listened to their honest opinions? I can only say: do it and take advantage of this valuable opportunity when it arises. You as project members, but also as end users, will benefit from it. Because, as the name suggests, ‘user experience’ is about the users.

Want to learn more about exciting topics from the world of adesso? Then take a look at our previous blog posts.