AiM Inspect

AiM Inspect is a mobile app designed for vehicle inspectors to use daily at the field to collect vehicle data, record damage conditions, estimate damage repair costs, capture required photos, and upload inspection reports to the cloud.

@ Alliance Inspection Management | 2015-2018

THE BRIEF

Alliance Inspection Management (AiM) is a vehicle inspection company providing coverage throughout North America and inspecting over 12,000,000+ vehicles annually. They started their business in 2005 and have used AiM InspeX since then to collect inspection data. In the past 10 years, technology changes rapidly. The legacy systems and devices made the workflow slow and complex to use.

Our high-level goals were to:

  1. Replace multiple devices with one device.
  2. Combine multiple systems into one system.
  3. Optimize the workflow of vehicle inspectors.
  4. Ensure the accuracy of information recorded.
  5. Improve the efficiency of performing vehicle inspections.
  6. Be flexible to adapt to different auto manufacturers’ standards.

In 2015, I started as the only designer of this ambitious project to redesign the next generation of vehicle inspection experience.

The new app launched nationwide in May 2016.

MY ROLE

I led the design for this project. My responsibilities were:

Overall app experience

I designed every piece of the app and made sure the overall experience is consistent.

User flow design

I focused on designing the user flow of photo taking and damage recording experience.

Graphic design

I created the app icon and all graphics used in the app, including the flat car images and photo sample illustration.

User testing

I conducted bi-weekly user testings, iterated feedback from users, and helped the project manager decide action items.

I worked alongside a product manager, 2 Android developers, and 2 QA engineers. I also collaborated with 3 business partners at Manheim to work on the damage estimation flow.

LOOKING BACK

AiM had a set of software installed in Toughbook for vehicle inspection used for the past 10 years. Their vehicle inspectors used one of them called AiM InspeX to collect vehicle data, along with a digital camera to take all required pictures, a MiFi to connect to a printer, and a printer to print out a condition report.

To finish each inspection, the inspectors need to carry a chunky Toughbook, a digital camera, a MiFi device, and a printer with them, which takes lots of effort and depletes energy.

THE KICKOFF

Field Study

Because I did not know enough about our users - the vehicle inspectors - how they usually do their work and their context, I decided to ride along with 5 AiM inspectors for a week to observe them working in their natural environment.

Here were what I observed in the field:

  • The inspector carried at least 4 devices for each inspection- Toughbook, digital camera, MiFi, printer, etc.
  • The inspector accessed at least 3 systems for each inspection - schedule, recording, damage estimation, etc.
  • The inspector walked back and forth around the vehicle.
  • Every inspector’s workflow is different.
  • The inspector needs to work in any weather condition: 2 hot sunny days, 3 rainy days.
  • The inspector would take about 40-80 minutes to finish each inspection.

DEEPER INSIGHTS

Before I jumped into the design, I would like to figure out more details by playing with the legacy system and interviewing 2 inspector area managers.

The Legacy AiM InspeX

The legacy system was a desktop application. I saw almost every selection in the application shown as a drop-down list. Whether it was a yes/no option, a few options, or a long series of options, they made it a drop-down. The inspectors usually used a stylus pen to select a value from these options. It was terrible for user experience, especially when we moved it to mobile.

Difference between Users

During the field study, I only rode along with 5 inspectors for a week in September and only in Michigan. Our target users are working throughout North America, and there must be some bias from my previous findings. I talked to 2 area managers who are responsible for monitoring the south-central region and northeast region.

Here are some interesting takeaways:

  • The inspector may be tech-savvy or not.
  • Some experienced inspectors would take required photos at the beginning of the inspection process.
  • Some inspectors would prefer to follow the workflow guided by the application.
  • New inspectors would take required photos at the wrong angle, which did not meet the manufacturer’s requirement.
  • In most situations, the inspections happened outdoors - the weather may be hot, rainy, or snowy.
  • The inspector may have big hands or wear gloves.

REFRAMING PROBLEMS

After interpreting all the finding from the previous research, we finalized the main problems for the existing workflow are:

The user had to carry multiple devices.
The user had to jump between multiple systems.
The no-designed workflow wasted the users’ energy.
The unlimited dropdowns slowed the process.
The legacy system was not friendly to a new inspector.

NEW ERA OF INSPECTION

Introducing AiM Inspect

Our newly designed AiM Inspect is an Android application installed on a mobile phone. The inspector can use one device to take photos and get unlimited internet access. The app also connects to multiple systems. Now the inspector can view their daily schedule, scan the VIN to get the vehicle information, and automatically generate a damage estimation in one system. After the inspector fills out all data, the report will upload to the cloud and accessible online.

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS

Redesign Selection

Since the vehicle inspection record is all about inputting information, we could not avoid making selections. The legacy system used drop-down menus everywhere.

The condition screen in the legacy system

Dropdowns on mobile phones can be a huge pain. It was not friendly to big hands, and it had a higher possibility of selecting the wrong option. To help our users better navigate the selections on a mobile device, I replaced some drop-down menus with a better format.

A More Efficient Way to Take Photos

Photo is an essential section of a vehicle inspection report. It presents the actual condition of the vehicle under inspection. The legacy system asked the user to upload photos from a digital camera to the system and then associate a label to the matching photo.

The picture labeling screen in the legacy system

Based on the findings from my research, the main problems of the photo-taking process are:

  • Many times of back and forth work between digital camera and Toughbook.
  • Circle a car several times to take photos from different angles.
  • Possibly take a photo from a wrong angle that does not meet the manufacturer’s standards.
  • Possibly match a photo to a wrong tag.

My ideas are to design a better flow for users to follow and guide users when taking each photo.

Thumbnail view

The user will see a list of required photos in the thumbnail view in the new-designed photo section. Each thumbnail has a description of the image and a sample illustration.

Optimized flow

The photos’ order is preset in an optimized order to ensure the user only needs to circle the vehicle once. It will automatically take the user to the next photo to prevent missing any pictures.

Capture with confidence

Once the user enters the camera mode, he/she will see a sample illustration overlay for 3 secs. After taking a photo, it will immediately show on the screen for preview. The user can either choose to retake or save then go to the next image.

A More Accurate Way to Record Damages

Damage recording is another essential section of a vehicle inspection report. The damage condition will influence a vehicle’s value. We can easily retrieve some necessary vehicle information found on the VIN, but the damage records always rely on the inspector’s manual entry.

The damage recording screen in the legacy system

Based on my research, here are the main problems of the damage recording process:

  • The endless drop-down selection causes lots of pain for the inspector to locate the option.
  • The user needed more time to get used to the system.
  • Depending on the experience level, the user may have a different terminology in mind than the term used in the system.

So, my idea is to design a way for all-level inspectors to efficiently and accurately enter damage information. For each damage recording, the inspector has to identify its Group (G), Area (A), Location (L), Type (T), and Severity (S). I explored different ways to replace or optimize the drop-down menu and came out with these solutions:

  • Show the damage Group (G) selections with segmented buttons for fewer clicks.
  • Design the flat car illustration for easier and more accurate damage Area/ Location (A, L) selection.
  • Show the most common damage Type (T) options on the top of the dropdown list.
  • Narrow down the damage Severity (S) options based on the Type (T) selection.
  • Include typeahead functionality in all drop-down for a quicker search of the option.

HOW I GOT HERE

The Final Design is Not Absolute

The photo section design took me many rounds of iterations. I conducted 3 design sessions to explore different design options and 3 user testing sessions to discuss these options.

Here were some previous versions I’ve been through:

The current solution will not be the final design. After launching the app in the real-world field, we can gather more users’ opinions and create an even better plan.

User Testing is a Win-win

The newly designed damage GALTS selection is very different from what it used to be. To make my design work, I need to make sure the flat car illustration will work for all the scenarios, the data will filter accordingly, and the interaction is intuitive to users. I conducted 5 user testings to validate my design. We invited 3 inspectors and 1 area manager to participate in each session and gave them 2 tasks to finish.

User testing sessions

User testing sessions are good opportunities for our team to test our ideas and gather users’ feedback. For inspectors, it is also an excellent time to provide insights and help build a user-centered product.

THE IMPACT

The vehicle inspection time eliminates 50% of the time - from an average of 60 mins to 30 mins per vehicle. The new app remarkably optimizes the inspection process and improves the inspectors' work efficiency.

WHAT I LEARNED

Always Keep the Entire App Experience in Mind

When designing a specific feature in the app, we may focus too much on a single section without recognizing the whole app's design pattern. It may cause a fragmented design decision and make it hard to maintain in the future.

In this project, I was the only designer on the team at the beginning. It was good because I knew what I designed and could easily keep the app's consistency. But, it was also bad because I could change my design all the time. AiM Inspect has many sections, and I could only focus on one section one time. I found it became more and more challenging to maintain, especially when each section was so different.

When the second designer joined, I got an excellent opportunity to check every section in the app and maintain its design pattern. We created a style guide that we could easily follow even though we worked on a different portion of the app.