Conclusion
AIMS is an application that covers end - to - end process for the Marine Advisors and Managers. The end-goal is to streamline the entire elaborate process using this application. The project adapted th Agile work methodology hence, design and developmen were being conducted simultaneously. All the design work were divided into mutlple tasks and taken up bi-weekly to be executed and approved by the subject matter experts.
Challenges
Facing difficulties in the design process
Domain Expertise & Breaking the Norm
Reusability
Understanding the process involved - the physical and digital aspect
Visual Design challenge - Users were used to seeing tabular data
Aligning all users to the enhanced user flow
Long term project - enhancements coming along the way while developing the product
Aligning visuals with the design system
A lot of these features can be extended other applications that have a requirement to be assessed, thereby not restricting it to Shipping.
Certain features have already been extended to other application within Shipping that includes the ‘Help Button’.
Continuous Improvement
Based on User feedback after the release of the product for user testing, we went on to enhance the dashboard adhering to certain UX laws and User Requirements.
Viewing action items on Dashboard
Manager’s View of the action item
Viewing action item on Report Editor screen to feed relevant information
Closed Action item
Action Tracking
For every category based findings identified by the assessor, an action item is created for a V&C team member (another user group) to investigate and follow up to close the observation made initially.
AIMS on caters to report creating and are responsible to mark action items as closed.
The tasks related to the action item are conducted by the V&C (Vetting and Clearance) separately offline, and upon completion the assessors are notified through offline communications.
Replacing assessors
If an assessor can’t make it to the assessment due to a sickness or any emergency leave, users should have the ability to replace the original assessor with an available one.
Screen that is designed to edit the assessment report
Ability to choose the replacing assessor
Re-assignment of elements & assessors
With 2 assessors on the job, it’s frequent for User A to complete the assigned work whereas User B might take up more time than anticipated. At this point, User B should be allowed to delegate some more work to User A in order to stay within the desired timeline.
Single element re-assignment
Multiple elements to be reassigned
Pop-up to confirm changes & new assignment
Displays the file type
Allows user to delete, download and view notes of an attachment
Detail Screen
One stop shop for viewing all the information related to an assessment.
Tabs were introduced to neatly organise the information and not overload the user.
CTA’s for quick actions originating from the information displayed on the screen
Adding a Help Button
Multiple issues come forth when the users starts to use the application regularly
Since Users are spread across regions it is not necessary that the support provided by the team to resolve their issues are available during their working hours.
It’s advisable for them to raise a service ticket for such issues.
This button helps the users reach the platform to raise a ticket (3rd party) using just 2 clicks.
This also helps the users keep track of the issue resolution.
Screen Building
Solutions provided to tackle each task in the process of an assessment
Enhancing the Dashboard Experience
Cognitive Overload
Law of Proximity
Visual Design
Multiple functionalities that weren’t used by the user, causing confusion
Filter was designed to work across all tabs - Screen did not align with the thought
Division of screen area seemed unnatural, as the primary focus of the dashboard is to view overall progress along with the requests lined up
Repositioned filters to be indicative of its application
Removed unnecessary elements and utilised the space to accommodate required feature
Refined the Input fields & Tab styles to give users as much information as possible but within a capsule
Journey Mapping
The enhanced user flow for scheduling an assessment
An Assessment Request is raised via Requestor Portal
It pops-up on the Marine Advisors / Managers dashboard as a task
MA / MM can either assign the task to themselves or to some other team member
After Assigning the assessment an introductory email is sent to the requestor
After sending out the introductory email, the assessment is scheduled.
As soon as they get access to any wifi network they log onto the application to upload their findings
The advisors visit the asset to be assessed and capture their findings via notes / images
After the assessment goes into the ‘In progress’ state, the elements previously selected will be autopopulated in the report editor for the advisor to answer
Once the report is completed, it is submitted to the manager for approval
Based on the findings some action items might be created to follow up with the requestor
Once it has been scheduled the advisor can select the elements/KPIs to be assessed.
Manager either approves the report directly or provides comments offline / via email.
A confirmatory email is sent to the requestor with the dates updated
Changes are made and resubmitted for approval
Once drafted the report is open for peer review - usually done offline / via email
Upon approving a final report PDF will be generated which is shared with the requestor and the marine team for further use if any.
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Target Users
Marine Managers
Manage requests across assigned regions, delegate work to the advisors, conduct assessments occasionally and approve the final reports generated.
Marine Advisors
Primary role is to conduct assessments and draft a report.
User Brief
Marine Advisors & Managers (A&I)
As a part of the Marine Assurance service provided, Assessments and Inspections is a team of 15 - 20 members spread across regions like EMEA, ASPAC and Americas that carry out Vessel Inspections and Company, Terminal Assessment to ensure safety of the cargo and its people.
End Users of the Report generated
Requester
Asset owner/manager
Vetting & Clearance
Team responsible for approving the clearance of assets
Design Process
User Interviews - Online
Understanding as-is process
Gather expectations/
requirements for the new application
Mapping the journey
Suggesting ways to enhance process
Set the visual language
Design Iterations
Discuss with Development team - feasibility
Deliver a major feature / functionality
Approval calls with the SMEs
Design Hand-off for development
Analysing and evaluating Developed design
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Project Overview
This project focusses on re-building a legacy application that provides a solution to the Marine team to conduct their day-to-day activities involving Assessments and Inspections of assets from end-to-end.
The aim is to standardize and streamline the process followed by the entire team to deliver quality reports of the findings from assessments conducted by them.
Trading & Shipping in bp involves buying, selling and moving energy, integrating our products and services to provide energy solutions across the world.
About
An application designed for Marine Teams to conduct assessments and inspections of assets.
Client
bp (Beyond Petroleum)
User Group
Assessment & Inspection Team
Duration
1yr - Ongoing
Screens
20+ / Application from scratch
Team
Combination
Problem Statement
To redesign and divide a legacy application iMAS (Integrated Marine Assurance System) into multiple applications.
Need an application that allows the A&I team to conduct assessment and inspections of assets.
The Legacy Application - iMAS
Analysing the Current Situation through User Interviews
Understanding the current process followed by the user was an important first step.
We conducted a few calls with the Users to understand how they use the existing applications, and noted the pain points they expressed verbally and sometimes unknowingly.through User Interviews
What’s troublesome?
Takes too much time to load
Can’t keep track of the numerous tabs that open up with the opening of every request
A cluttered view of the requests lined up that also has requests that have been raised for a different team altogether
For an overview they created spreadsheets to keep track of the status
Over the time, a lot of information was added but the previous outdated data was never removed
If there’s any technical issue that has to be raised,team takes too long to respond or never responds - hence annoys the user since some activities in the application are time based - rework is required
What they like?
Flexibility - easy to trick the system
Every user has a unique workaround to solve a problem - proud of that!
All necessary information pertaining to a particular request can be found in one place
To streamline and standardise workflow for all members of the team
To improve efficiency of the user and save time
To enable user to use the application in remote locations
To aid the user to track, complete requests raised and have an overview of the team’s progress
Make the application intuitive and automate wherever possible in order to reduce manual labour
How Might We?
User Goals
Information Architecture
An overview of the application
Marine Advisors
Marine Managers
Assign requests
Schedule Requests
Assessment Elements
Report Editor
Review Report
Dashboard
Request Detail Screen
Request Card
Following step CTAs
Details
Assessment Info
Contact Info
Requester Details
Progress Tracker
Communication
Assessment History
Meeting Notes
Documents
Audits
Lead & Secondary assessors assigned for request
Introductory Email
Re-assign
Assessment dates
Assessment details
Contact Info
Confirmatory Email
Pre-Arrival Email
Draft Report
Completion Progress Tracker
Assessment elements & KPI
Attachments
Executive Summary
Confidential Remarks
Profile
Result - Input fields
View report drafted
Comment if necessary
Approve
Final Report Email
PDF Report
Preview Report
Peer Review
Replace / Reassign Assessors
Submit for approval
Manager Review Comments
Full Assessment
Risk-based Assessment
Attachments
Select Elements
Allocate Assessors
Workload Overview
Manage Requests
Interested in some more case studies?
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Contact
Let's connect
smritisreekumar@gmail.com
© Smriti Sreekumar | 2024
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