Optimizing trucking management for a Fortune 500 company

Optimizing trucking management for a Fortune 500 company

Optimizing trucking management for a Fortune 500 company

Introduction

Ever wonder how shipments on trucks are managed? How do trucking companies figure out which truck is going to be used by which driver and which shipment it’s going to pick up?

How do you optimize tens of thousands of equipment and a hundred moving pieces to make sure the supply chain keeps trucking along? (pun intended). Well, that’s what this project looks at. A shipment management experience that allows trucking managers to effectively manage their drivers, equipment and shipments.

Jump to section

Discovery

Discovery

Discovery

Synthesis

Synthesis

Synthesis

Ideation

Ideation

Ideation

Solution

Solution

Solution

Testing

Testing

Testing

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

0%

Reduction in training time

Reduction in training time

0th

percentile system usability scores

percentile system usability scores

Role

Lead UX Designer

Team

2 designers; 1 researcher

Project Duration

16 weeks

Sector

Transportation and logistics

Stakeholders

20 total (product owners, business analysts, and tech leads).

20 stakeholders; product owners, business analysts, and tech leads

Discovery

A note on our users

The goal for this project was to enable planning managers to plan their drivers day. They have a complicated job where they’re charting out which driver will pick up which shipment and from which location.

They’re juggling a whole bunch of priorities while doing this- they’ve got to make sure that :

  • every shipment for the day gets picked up on time

  • they create an optimal route so trucks aren’t driving empty for too long

  • drivers individual preferences for routes and trucks are respected

  • drivers have work to do the entire day so they get paid

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User Goals

We started out with some high level goals from the business and over the course of our research, translated business objectives into user goals. Here’s a brief snapshot of how we defined those goals.

Keep Drivers Happy

Xiaolin likes to end her day near downtown Kirkland. Jessa needs to be off by 5:00 PM today. Swati doesn’t like going to the Target in Stoughton. Anderson had a rough week with difficult loads, so he needs something easier today.

Enable planning

Melissa, a senior manager starts at 6 am and needs to get all 200 of her drivers at least 1 load before they start at 8:00 am. She’s also got 60 Amazon loads that need to be out before 8:30 am

Provide Visibility

20 loads slipped through the cracks last week and had to be pushed to the next week. Did we not plan efficiently or do we need more drivers?

*Real world scenarios based upon hours and hours of user research.

*Real world scenarios based upon hours and hours of user research.

Virtual Whiteboarding

Once we identified a core working team, the project kicked off on a virtual whiteboard using Miro to keep everybody aligned. UX owned the process while working closely with our dev, product and business counterparts.

The rest of this case study is going to be screenshots from this board walking you through the details.

You’ll see a little thumbnail on the bottom right corner of each image that follows telling you where on the Miro board I’m taking screenshots from. (And yes, I wish there was an easier way to share this content.)

Contextual inquiries

Format: Contextual Inquiries

Participants: UX Designers + Researchers

Time: 8 sessions with end users

Process: We shadowed 8 users through their day-to-day jobs to understand the current system and how its used to plan loads.

Outcome: A detailed understanding of the current tools, processes and mental models of the user.

Legacy Systems

The answer? A hodge-podge of systems built in the 1980s and 1990s that they’re constantly jumping around in. We spent a great deal of time understanding these systems because that was our starting point- how does this job get done currently and how do we take that, re-imagine the process and build something that doesn’t take a 6 week training course to get started on.

I will go out on a limb though and say that despite how these systems look- they work and they work well. Not because of how well they were designed but because our users have had over 30 years of institutional knowledge passed down from person to person that really knew they nitty gritties of these systems. Across excel macros, word docs, and just knowing how the process works, the users had a workaround to get every single thing they needed done.

If it works, why redesign it? Because the current system needed a 6 week training course just to get started, and years before somebody was ready to start out solo. And that wasn’t even the biggest problem, our users were so focused on getting the job done and reacting to problems, they had no chance to anticipate problems and proactively solve issues before they arise. The project goal then? Let’s free up people to solve real problems and automate everything that can be automated.

I will go out on a limb though and say that despite how these systems look- they work and they work well. Not because of how well they were designed but because our users have had over 30 years of institutional knowledge passed down from person to person that really knew they nitty gritties of these systems. Across excel macros, word docs, and just knowing how the process works, the users had a workaround to get every single thing they needed done.

If it works, why redesign it? Because the current system needed a 6 week training course just to get started, and years before somebody was ready to start out solo. And that wasn’t even the biggest problem, our users were so focused on getting the job done and reacting to problems, they had no chance to anticipate problems and proactively solve issues before they arise. The project goal then? Let’s free up people to solve real problems and automate everything that can be automated.

I will go out on a limb though and say that despite how these systems look- they work and they work well. Not because of how well they were designed but because our users have had over 30 years of institutional knowledge passed down from person to person that really knew they nitty gritties of these systems. Across excel macros, word docs, and just knowing how the process works, the users had a workaround to get every single thing they needed done.

If it works, why redesign it? Because the current system needed a 6 week training course just to get started, and years before somebody was ready to start out solo. And that wasn’t even the biggest problem, our users were so focused on getting the job done and reacting to problems, they had no chance to anticipate problems and proactively solve issues before they arise. The project goal then? Let’s free up people to solve real problems and automate everything that can be automated.

Synthesis

Visioning with the leadership team

Once we’d understood things at ground level, we decided to switch to a 10,000 foot view. We got together with senior leadership to figure out what the future of this space looked like. What is the future or the role and the process?

That took the format of a workshop talking through ideas centered around these 6 key focus areas.

Mapping Ideas

Our synthesis was ongoing process through the rest of the process - endless impromptu calls, endless amounts of “this is so confusing and I don’t understand what is happening” which finally led to some great insights and ideas. It culminated with ideas grouped together across a few key themes.

Collaborative Ideation

We convinced our counterparts (product, business and tech) to get together, sketch some ideas and put them on our board. We then met in a workshop format to talk through the ideas and vote on what worked best.

Here’s a zoomed in example of one of those sketches from a business analyst.

Here’s a zoomed in example of one of those sketches from a business analyst.

Here’s a zoomed in example of one of those sketches from a business analyst.

Here’s a zoomed in example of one of those sketches from a business analyst.

Here’s a zoomed in example of one of those sketches from a business analyst.

Ideation

Building the Information Architecture

The product is centered around three key screens- a list of shipments that needed to be covered, a list of drivers that are working and a planning screen to help match those together.

Medium Fidelity

We took the ideas from our ideation sessions and plugged them into medium fidelity mocks so we could have more conversations around the details and the data. This is where things start getting serious and we start layering in some discussions around technical and timeline feasibility.

Integrating with the design system

We had a very robust design system so next steps were easy- plug and play to make sure we were compliant with the design system and to identify components that might need to be added.

We had a very robust design system so next steps were easy- plug and play to make sure we were compliant with the design system and to identify components that might need to be added.

Solution

Solution

Scroll on to see the solution that went live after multiple rounds of usability testing and feedback from our power users. The visuals have been recreated using an open-source design system, but the content structure and architecture remain true to the original release.

Scroll on to see the solution that went live after multiple rounds of usability testing and feedback from our power users. The visuals have been recreated using an open-source design system, but the content structure and architecture remain true to the original release.

List of Shipments
List of Shipments

  • Quick filters to find different kinds of shipments.

  • Comprehensive list of shipments that need to planned for the day. (Yes one manager can plan over 500 loads in a day.)

  • Options to see shipments from adjacent regions.

  • Quick filters to find different kinds of shipments.

  • Comprehensive list of shipments that need to planned for the day. (Yes one manager can plan over 500 loads in a day.)

  • Options to see shipments from adjacent regions.

Split Panel | Plan Load
Split Panel | Plan Load

  • Option to type in a drivers name if the user has somebody in mind. Auto selected by default

  • List of recommended drivers and external carriers the user can choose from.

  • Option to type in a drivers name if the user has somebody in mind. Auto selected by default

  • List of recommended drivers and external carriers the user can choose from.

Split Panel | Confirmation
Split Panel | Confirmation

  • Confirmation of what adding the new shipment will do to the drivers day.

  • The user needs to juggle the drivers drive time, availability, location and existing shipments - the confirmation screen gives them an easy way to do this.

  • Confirmation of what adding the new shipment will do to the drivers day.

  • The user needs to juggle the drivers drive time, availability, location and existing shipments - the confirmation screen gives them an easy way to do this.

Planning cart
Planning cart

  • A planning cart that the user can add shipments they're interested in.

  • They have the option to multi-select shipments and plan them straight to a driver from here.

  • A planning cart that the user can add shipments they're interested in.

  • They have the option to multi-select shipments and plan them straight to a driver from here.

Driver View
Driver View

Driver View

  • Overview of the drivers the user is responsible for along with their planned loads.

  • The user can add shipments to drivers and make sure they have some shipments for each driver.

  • Overview of the drivers the user is responsible for along with their planned loads.

  • The user can add shipments to drivers and make sure they have some shipments for each driver.

Split Panel | Plan Driver
Split Panel | Plan Driver

  • Option to plan recommended loads to the driver

  • The user has can also pick loads they have in their planning cart to quickly add them

  • Option to plan recommended loads to the driver

  • The user has can also pick loads they have in their planning cart to quickly add them

Testing

Usability Testing

Format: Moderated usability tests

Participants: 8 end users

Process: 4 Task based usability tests with increasing complexity, Miro Board with screens to get initial feedback.

Reflection

Mistakes were made, lessons were learned

I've presented this project as a neatly packaged bundle: a concise description, a glimpse into the process, and the solution. However, there's so much more to the story—mistakes made, numerous course corrections, and dozens of screen iterations, some so drastically different they barely resemble the final product. Yet the underlying process was consistent: experiment, test, observe failures, improve, and repeat. Central to this iterative journey were our users, whose feedback significantly shaped both the functionality and appearance of the final designs.

Ultimately, this experience strengthened our team, solidified scalable processes adopted across our entire design organization, and produced work we're deeply proud of. The response from users exceeded our expectations.

Unlike past experiences where transitions from legacy products were met with resistance, this rollout was eagerly embraced. Business units and locations proactively requested earlier access, reflecting genuine enthusiasm and validation of our approach.

I've presented this project as a neatly packaged bundle: a concise description, a glimpse into the process, and the solution. However, there's so much more to the story—mistakes made, numerous course corrections, and dozens of screen iterations, some so drastically different they barely resemble the final product. Yet the underlying process was consistent: experiment, test, observe failures, improve, and repeat. Central to this iterative journey were our users, whose feedback significantly shaped both the functionality and appearance of the final designs.


Ultimately, this experience strengthened our team, solidified scalable processes adopted across our entire design organization, and produced work we're deeply proud of. The response from users exceeded our expectations.

Unlike past experiences where transitions from legacy products were met with resistance, this rollout was eagerly embraced. Business units and locations proactively requested earlier access, reflecting genuine enthusiasm and validation of our approach.

I've presented this project as a neatly packaged bundle: a concise description, a glimpse into the process, and the solution. However, there's so much more to the story—mistakes made, numerous course corrections, and dozens of screen iterations, some so drastically different they barely resemble the final product. Yet the underlying process was consistent: experiment, test, observe failures, improve, and repeat. Central to this iterative journey were our users, whose feedback significantly shaped both the functionality and appearance of the final designs.

Ultimately, this experience strengthened our team, solidified scalable processes adopted across our entire design organization, and produced work we're deeply proud of. The response from users exceeded our expectations.

Unlike past experiences where transitions from legacy products were met with resistance, this rollout was eagerly embraced. Business units and locations proactively requested earlier access, reflecting genuine enthusiasm and validation of our approach.

I've presented this project as a neatly packaged bundle: a concise description, a glimpse into the process, and the solution. However, there's so much more to the story—mistakes made, numerous course corrections, and dozens of screen iterations, some so drastically different they barely resemble the final product. Yet the underlying process was consistent: experiment, test, observe failures, improve, and repeat. Central to this iterative journey were our users, whose feedback significantly shaped both the functionality and appearance of the final designs.

Ultimately, this experience strengthened our team, solidified scalable processes adopted across our entire design organization, and produced work we're deeply proud of. The response from users exceeded our expectations.

Unlike past experiences where transitions from legacy products were met with resistance, this rollout was eagerly embraced. Business units and locations proactively requested earlier access, reflecting genuine enthusiasm and validation of our approach.

0%

Reduction in training time

Reduction in training time

0th

percentile system usability scores

percentile system usability scores

I hope you have a gorgeous day!

I hope you have a gorgeous day!

I hope you have a gorgeous day!