Routing App for waste Haulers

Routing App for waste Haulers

Overview

In 2022, we decided to add a routing feature to our product. We added routing to our web app for dispatchers to create and operate routes in the office and a routing app for drivers, who would then receive these routes while working in the field, picking up garbage or construction waste.

This case study will mainly focus on the driver routing app.

Company

CurbWaste is a cloud-based platform that helps waste haulers digitize their operations.

My Role

UIUX Designer

Year

2022

Problem

The existing system for managing waste collection routes was inefficient, relying on paper and phone calls. This led to mistakes and wasted time, especially updating routes and recording extra pickups.

Before, routes were created on paper, and every time there was a change, dispatchers had to call drivers to ensure they would not service canceled stops or add new stops to the route. On the other hand, drivers had to make notes on paper if there was any problem servicing clients or if they had to pick up extra things that qualified for additional fees. Then drivers would bring these notes, and dispatchers had to manually collect money from each extra pick-up, which was time-consuming.

We needed to
digitize
the routing

We needed to
digitize
the routing

Our Vision

We decided to digitalize the route creation. We were adding a routing feature to the web app for the dispatchers to create and assign routes to drivers. Then, drivers would receive up-to-date routes in their mobile app, make notes, and add extra pick-ups to automate additional fee collection.

This is the visualization of the entire routing cycle:

Create the route

Dispatcher creates the route on web -app.

Assign it to the driver

Dispatcher assigns the route to the driver.

Service all stops

The driver picks up garbage at every stop .

Complete the route

All the reports flow back to the web app.

First We developed the web app

In this case study, we'll only focus on the mobile app.

Next Was The Routing App

Next Was The Routing App

Research

To better understand drivers’ needs, I went along on routes with them, observing how they completed daily routes and reported back to the office. After each observation session, I conducted small interviews with them (eight drivers).

Although each driver had a slightly different routine than the other, the pattern was very similar, so we came up with these six essential features:

Batch Actions

Batch Actions

Drivers can service multiple stops and input data later on.

Drivers can service multiple stops and input data later on.

Optimized navigation

Optimized navigation

Drivers can re-optimize the stops list in turn-by-turn navigation.

Drivers can re-optimize the stops list in turn-by-turn navigation.

Live Notifications

Drivers can get live updates from dispatchers.

Notes & Photos

Notes & Photos

Drivers can make notes with photo attachments.

Drivers can make notes with photo attachments.

New & Removed Stops

New & Removed Stops

Before starting a route, drivers review new and removed stops.

Before starting a route, drivers review new and removed stops.

Extra Pick-Up

Extra Pick-Up

Drivers can add extra pick-ups for additional charges automation.

Drivers can add extra pick-ups for additional charges automation.

Getting started with the design

Next, I defined user flows and sketched some design ideas to pitch to the product and dev teams.

Testing

Design Validation

Because this was a new feature and our business stakeholders had no experience in this field, we decided to opt in with mid-fidelity tests.

This way, we could understand if our initial solutions were suitable for the driver in the early stage, investing less effort in pixel-perfect designs.

Testing was not perfect; we could not simulate an actual route. Instead, we gave the prototype to the drivers in the office, asking them to imagine as if they were on the road. Here is what we found out:

Action Button

"Action" was too general; no one guessed it was for batch actions.

Select Buttom

"Select" was more accurate for selecting multiple stops.

Too many stops!

Selecting a long list of stops was cumbersome.

Select All Buttom

We added the "Select All" function.

Forced Interactions

The extra pick-up suggestion was a forced interaction.

Timer

We timed the overlay and added an expiring progress bar.

Button Placement

Drivers needed to see the estimated time and distance to the next stop.

New Arrangement

We moved the sticky button to the top to free up some space.

Bringing Designs To High Fidelity

Bringing Designs To High Fidelity

Results

Digitalizing routing greatly impacted our subscribers (waste haulers) businesses.

The time spent recording and processing extra pickups was reduced by more than 60%. Drivers previously needed to report extra pick-ups to the office, and dispatchers had to collect money from their customers manually. Driver app now automatically adds those fees to their customer invoices.

Driver efficiency increased by 25% in their daily routes. This was reflected in their ability to complete more routes in the same time as the pre-app period.

Summary

To date, the Curbwaste routing app has improved workflow for 74 drivers!

Because of my colleagues' hard work and passion, we managed to scale our business to mid- to higher-level tiers, create solid UX, and create infrastructure for many future A/B tests.

Copyright © Giorgi Okhanashvili, 2023. All Rights Reserved.