Find and Fix
Client: Coca-Cola
Role: UX/UI
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Watch
Challenge
The Apple + IBM partnership engaged Coca-Cola to design an app that would be adaptable to both iPad and iPhone.
Coca-Cola field technicians’ main pain points revolved around inefficiencies in the way they carried out fixes and maintained vending machines around the globe on a daily basis. The number of jobs a field technician was able to service in a day largely depended on how long it took to drive between jobs.
They also had very little control over which jobs they were assigned to and relied instead on manual scheduling systems that did not take into account the job location.
Other pain points included difficulties in finding vending machine locations inside malls or larger venues and the need to carry manuals with codes to diagnose issues.
Process
This Apple + IBM app began in the Apple Enterprise Design Lab where we conducted a 3-day intensive workshop with Coca-Cola. We interviewed the field technicians and they walked us through their typical day. After gathering the user’s pain points and prioritizing those into high, medium and low, we created a “Golden Thread” defining what the “north star” of the experience could be.
By using the “Golden Thread”, we sought to keep the MVP scope focused around the necessary things a user would need to complete their task in a shift. All other desired features were added to the backlog for future design and development.
Golden Thread Draft
As we uncovered the challenges field technicians faced, we identified ways to implement iOS technologies to simplify and streamline their work process.
We designed an experience that allowed technicians to select jobs by priority and proximity, and easily find the gear they’ll need to service it in an intuitive experience for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Jobs and Job Details Screens
Additionally, we leveraged Apple Maps to provide optimized travel routes to help them get to jobs faster, efficiently service more jobs and increase customer satisfaction along the way.
We focused on key features that enable field technicians to:
Travel between job sites more efficiently with real-time traffic and parking information and turn-by-turn directions inside large buildings with iBeacon technology
Prioritize urgent job requests that are identified by analytics based on issue type and issue safety
Use the built-in camera on the iPhone to scan equipment bar codes, document issues and use FaceTime with off-site service specialists for assistance
Results
Once we rolled out the iPad/iPhone app, field technicians were able to do their jobs more efficiently without major training from day one. They were able to choose their jobs based on their location, access necessary information within each job like contacts, parts needed, notes, etc.
As we worked with Coca-Cola, we identified an opportunity to design an app for the Apple Watch to receive notifications and basic job information that complemented the overall user experience of the iPhone/iPad application.
Coca-Cola signed up for two more complementary apps and have seen out-of-the-gate improvements in customer service feedback, productivity and processes.
iPad version