CLIENT
Manitoba Public Insurance
SUMMARY
Web App Redesign - Search feature
OUR APPROACH
Empathize to understand
Secondary Research
We began the project with understandng the numerous users for this software. Users included:
- Police Officers
- Court Officials
- Park officials
We followed this with an overview of the type of driver and vehicle information used by each class of users. Before speaking to users we conceived a rough journey map of the perceived user experience for police officers - our main focus group.
Interviews
User interviews and usability testing were not scoped in the beginning of the project, but regular meetings with different representative users were a norm. We leveraged those meetings to "interview" people who used the current software across Manitoba. This helped us get a first-hand account of their experience, frustrations and times when the software didn't meet their expectations.
For example, the current software only allowed people to print driver/vehicle information and not save it a s a pdf. Customers wanted to save time, not to mention printing paper and were frustrated by this limitation. outline their needs, goals, pain points and environmental factors.
Quasi Usability Testing
Once we had presentable prototypes we used our regular meetings to show them to prospective users and run quasi usability tests. This gave us a first impression data helped us assess the app's usability.
One of the game-changing insights we learned was that police officers used the app while driving at night. This meant we had to design our app to reduce distraction and be usable in the dark. This translated to using large fonts, big touch targets, handy keyboard shortcuts and a dark theme.
A safer solution
Our final solution was a web app that could be accessible by law enforcement agencies in offices and on the field. The app had several key features, such as:
- Keyboard shortcuts that made it easier for searches to be run by police officers while driving and by dispatch officers while using several monitors in the office.
- Explanatory text for traffic offences so that users could understand the offences tied to each driver without picking up a manual.
- Split screen format that reduced the time to find a driver or vehicle.
PROJECT BRIEF
MPI had been using the same software for displaying driver and vehicle records to government agencies for decades. The interface was outdated, fragile and difficult to understand.
Our challenge was to design a new app for provincial agencies to access driver and vehicle records in the office and on the go.
To help them, we asked ourselves: How might we communicate driver and vehicle information more clearly to help police officers and other provincial government employees keep our cities safe?
TASK