Twilio - Programmable Asset Tracker
"How might we enable enterprise businesses to track and monitor location of their physical assets and update the tracking requirements in real-time?"
Overview
Overview
The Programmable Asset Tracker by Twilio is the tracking system (hardware) that is completely customizable and can be deployed straight out of the box.
Objective of the project was to launch hardware in private beta as MVP. To address the needs of the project at hand, I was brought on board to help design the initial MVP prototype of the Programmable Asset Tracker that should allow prospect customer to test the hardware. The ultimate vision was to release the hardware product with a cloud dashboard and configuration environment for field trials.
Role
Solo Product Designer, Zero-to-One Launch
User Research, Interaction, Strategize, Wireframe, Hi-fidelity designs and Testing
~2 Weeks (Sept 2022)
Research (2 days)
In the beginning, I lacked understanding of who the users are and what problems they face and why they need what they need? To empathize and understand customers use cases, I begin the project with prospect customers interviews.
Research goals:
- Understand who users are?
- What are users’ pain points?
- What do they really need?
Research approach:
One on one, qualitative research interviews with 3 prospect customers.
Research summary:
We learned that our primary users for private beta release are highly skilled engineers who needs a simple customizable solution.
Primary user persona - based on the data gathered
Define MVP (2 days)
Having gained a little insights of our customers’ needs and use-cases, I set out to understand hardware features, functionalities and limitations to define the design requirements that were aligned with business vision. To achieve this goal I collaborated with the product manager, business developer, and hardware engineer. I understood requirements given as a JSON file and created simple graphical presentation and site map of features supported by the Programmable Asset Tracker Hardware. We used FigJam to collaborate and worked out the flow diagram.
Hardware setup flow
- Partially integrated with multiple Twilio products
- Team takes manual steps to set up the hardware and onboard the customer
Hardware features
- Hardware has 9 sensors
- Each sensor can be turned on-off over-the-air
- Hardware also has non-sensor System settings
Hardware requirements
- Allow user to configure sensors
- Allow user to view their sensor's status
- Allow user to see sensor's log history
Hardware Setup flow
Hardware feature sensor settings
Hardware feature site-map
Gathering insights - Affinity map
After collecting the learnings from the user interviews and hardware specification exercises, I conducted affinity mapping workshop with my teammates to synthesise the pains identified and define the scope of the design for MVP. We grouped these problems under common themes and features in the platform. During workshop, we determine priority of the themes we have discovered based on the available resources, time estimation to develop these feature. I relied on a collaboration and partial data-driven approach to define and ruthlessly prioritize the requirements.
Affinity mapping
Narrowing down the scope of work:
During the course of these exercises, the team came to the realization that we had an abundance of content, but limited resources to work with. As a collective, we all agreed that this was just the first release and that we should strive to keep things simple while learning from each product release. To embody one of Twilio's core values of prioritizing ruthlessly, we made the decision to focus on the highest value items and to put additional ideas and information in the "later bucket" as there were still many unknowns that needed to be addressed
Defined Product requirements:
- Dashboard - sensors status
- Configuration - Sensors settings
- Scope - Solution for single unit
Design requirements:
- Responsive design (Web + Mobile)
- Use Twilio’s branding
- Use Twilio Design System
Wireframe (2 days)
Next two days, I spent ideating multiple solutions for mobile and web based designs. Shared and collected feedback form the extended team. I started my initial design with low-fidelity wireframes for both Mobile and Web based solutions.
Wireframe design and feedback collection approach:
- During the ideation process, I explored several distinct concepts and approaches that satisfied all of the requirements.
- Although the designs shared certain similarities, they differed significantly in their use of interaction and components.
- To verify the effectiveness of my wireframe design solutions, I solicited feedback from my design colleagues by organizing and conducting three design critique review sessions with internal team members.
Change of scope:
Dropped Mobile solution for phase 1
I shared designs with my teammates and the 3rd party development team to obtain estimates for implementing the designs. We faced resource constraints and consequently had to change the scope by excluding mobile friendly solution, but we aimed to learn from the private beta release.
Hi-Fidelity Design (2 days)
For the next three days, I focused on designing the detailed interactions of the scoped projects, including edge cases. I created my high fidelity mockups in Figma to allow the 3rd party engineering teams to inspect the file and export the HTML and CSS code. Additionally, I began planning the validation of the design by scheduling usability interviews with prospective customers.
Design Validation (1 day)
Once design was complete, I began validation of the design by scheduling usability interviews with prospect customers who had shared insights on their use-cases and pain points with us during research phase of the project.
Usability studies results:
In general, users expressed satisfaction with the straightforward and efficient user interface. However, some felt that a wizard-style approach with separate pages for sensor configuration was excessive for the purposes of trial and testing a proof of concept. Instead, they indicated that in the initial release, they would prefer to update a JSON file for faster turnaround.
There were budget and resource constraints that had to be taken into consideration for wizard pattern to be implemented. The proposed short term solution was to provide a JSON file text editor for first release and collect more data for future personas who will be using this product end-to-end for consumer use.
Final Design - handoff
My next step was to handoff my designs to the development team. My designs were created in Figma to allow the 3rd party engineering teams to inspect the file and export the HTML and CSS code.
Design handoff approach:
- One-on-one meetings / Slack
- Figma walk through
- Access to Twilio's Design System components
- Everyday stand-ups / meetings
- Ensured that team felt empowered
Impact // Metrics
402
Webinar signups138
Webinar Attendees79
New leads68
Prospect Sign-upsWe successfully launched one month later and private beta. To promote the Asset Tracker product and its portal, the Product Manager and Business Developer conducted a live demo of the implemented design in a webinar attended by over 400 interested customers.
The project was a success. The team recognized and appreciated my contribution to the project.
Shortly after the webinar presentation, we had six customers sign up for the trial. Team valued investing in user-centered design process and reinforced the importance of considering user needs throughout the design process. Overall, it was a happy ending to the project.
Next Step
Next steps to provide more value to the customers. We want to conduct more research with private beta customers.
Additionally, we will continue to gather feedback from users during the private beta trial to make improvements and iterate on the design. Once we have enough data and insights, we can decide on the next set of features to build and prioritize based on customer needs and business goals. Meanwhile with the help of dedicated PM, I am working on the system map to explore the product fit.
Overall, the focus will be on continuously improving the product and providing value to customers, while also aligning with Twilio's overall strategy and goals.
Key Takeaway
- Involve engineering upfront: This helps to reduce any rework later on as an understanding of the technical limitations upfront will help to inform your design strategy.
- Embracing the uncertainty: During this project, I encountered persistent ambiguity and adjusted the scope according to the available resources. To make progress, I had to quickly adapt to changes, maintain an open-minded approach, and establish practical expectations and priorities.
- Create a strategic plan to launch an MVP: To ensure timely delivery of a high-quality minimum viable product (MVP), it's important to develop a strategic launch plan that addresses potential out-of-scope requests that could otherwise derail the project.
- The key to success was prioritizing ruthlessly and collaborating effectively, ensuring that efforts and resources were focused on the most critical aspects of the product