A mobile app for professional drivers on multi-stop routes, part of an integrated hardware–software fleet ecosystem. A proprietary tracking device in every vehicle syncs location and diagnostics automatically. I led the design and experience, working with mobile engineering, the hardware team and mobile operations.
Three fronts
No digital tools for the field. Drivers relied on paper logs, radio calls and personal phones, and high turnover meant the learning curve had to be minimal.
No truly mobile-first option. Competitor apps were desktop interfaces shrunk to a phone, with poor offline support.
Devices drivers never see. Tracking hardware raised privacy fears, and when something failed, drivers couldn’t tell whether it was the app, the phone or the device.
How do we design a mobile app that works in real-world field conditions and builds driver trust in tracking hardware they never see?
What the research showed
Field observation showed most app use happens at stops, and stops last two to five minutes. Drivers need glanceable information (next task, address, ETA) and one-handed use. On the hardware side, the questions were “How do I know it’s working?” and “Is it my phone, the app or the device?”
Three principles
Speed over features: primary actions within one or two taps.
Offline-first: the app mirrors the device, caching locally and syncing when connected.
Safety by design: driving mode switches off non-essential features.
Start of shift: today’s trips, one action
① Each trip shows route, start and dumping point ② A single Start trip button
At a stop, one tap records the outcome
① Stop 3 of 14 ② Collected, Partly collected or Couldn’t access
Three decisions carried the design, each tied to a research finding.
Progressive disclosure in drive mode
The trip panel collapses while navigating and expands for planning, so drivers can see beyond the next stop to plan fuel and breaks. End trip and Report stay within reach.
Incident reporting with one required input
Competitor flows asked for 8–10 required fields across several screens. Here, location comes from the device’s GPS, time is captured automatically and photos are an optional one-tap camera, so the incident type is the only required input.
Making the invisible device visible
An online/offline badge in drive mode shows whether the in-vehicle device is connected. Offline doesn’t stop the trip: updates and reports save on the phone and sync later. Actions that need signal stay in place but disabled, so the layout never shifts under the driver.
Where it stands
Shipped and live with select clients. It’s the first mobile-first driver experience in the company’s portfolio.
While driving: only the next stop
① Next stop, distance and time ② One Navigate button ③ Report issue always within reach
Expanded for planning, not driving
① Dumping point ahead ② Optimise budget, 3 left ③ End trip
One required field: the incident type
① Type chips, the only required input ② Time and location filled automatically ③ Photos optional
Offline never stops the trip
① Device status badge ② Updates saved and synced later ③ Actions that need signal stay in place, disabled
Want the full story?
The full case study goes deeper, with every decision up close, more screens and the reasoning behind them.
