Challenge
As the New York MTA prepared to implement Infor Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), they needed the ability to use a mobile device to manage inspections of linear assets such as train tracks, a functionality that was not yet available in the Mobile for Transit iOS application.
The project’s tight timeline pushed us to efficiently synthesize our research and to quickly iterate on our designs. We also needed to find the best solution that met the MTA’s needs, while ensuring that our designs accounted for the wide range of use cases encompassed by the core product.
My role
I served as UX design & strategy lead – working with a user researcher, a mid-level designer, and the EAM product team (a product manager & 5 engineers) to craft a solution based on insights from Long Island Railroad track and signal inspectors. The research & design phase of the project took place from June to July 2017, with development and implementation support continuing through the end of the year.
Research
The research engagement kicked off with a series of phone interviews and culminated in a two-day contextual inquiry visit to observe track and signal inspectors working in the field.
Based on our observations, we identified 3 key findings:
- With their own safety on the line, track inspectors cannot afford to devote their attention to a complex app.
- When it comes to asset and defect locations, a lack of precision causes misunderstanding and creates additional work.
- Users need a system that tells the whole story and provides quick access to previous inspection information.
Design
As a result of our research findings, we prioritized a few key functional improvements:
Create and carry streamlined electronic records on-the-go
Moving from paper to electronic records ensures safe keeping and easy access to all required records while working in the field, such as the Job Brief.
Provide access to past findings to inform current decisions
Mobile access to historical data allows track and signal crews to make faster, more informed decisions on how to proceed with their assets.
Take full advantage of device capabilities to tell the whole story.
Robust non-conformity capture including GPS, photos and severity ratings fill in context gaps to generate clear and complete work orders.
Before kicking off design, I outlined how this new functionality would fit within the EAM Mobile app’s existing information architecture. The new additions to the app’s navigation provided quick access to key pieces of documentation – observations, work orders, and linear asset details – and the ability to create, view, and update them digitally.
Since track inspectors’ days are heavily rooted in routine, we focused our solutions on making those routines as quick and easy as possible. My design partner & I created sketches and wireframes of key workflows, concentrating on where a mobile device could streamline the process without adding any extra hindrances.
After finalizing the workflows and functional requirements with our product partners, we created the final design assets using Infor’s Soho XI design system and native iOS patterns.
Outcomes
Although EAM was already one of Infor’s more successful products, our additions to the mobile app gave it another competitive advantage in the market. As of early 2018, Long Island Railroad track inspectors are using EAM Mobile for Transit in the field, and other world-class transit systems like the Paris Metro were in negotiations to follow suit in the near future.
To continue to improve the product, our next steps involved taking a closer look at its offline functionality to ensure that it meets users’ needs – namely MTA and LIRR employees working underground, especially as they began work on renovations below Penn Station.