Intranet for VOLVO CE
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Context
Volvo Construction Equipment is one of the world’s leading companies in construction machinery. We were tasked by Volvo to design a system that will simplify their current internal system for reporting problems and improvements in their working environment.
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Impact
This digital service helps VOLVO employees to make an impact on their work environment through reports and feedback. Helping them create a better day-to-day life.
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Solution
A simple digital service that helps improve Volvo’s work culture. We used gamification and a reward-system to create an incitament for employees to use the service every week.
Research
We started our project by interviewing 7 employees from different departments at Volvo in order to understand and define their behavior, needs and pains. We also did market research through bench-marking.
The Process
Volvo employees have a need to report suggestions for improvements in their factory. They used an analog system with physical boards and handwritten notes that got passed a long through departments. This system was chaotic and many notes got lost and forgotten about.
It was clear to us that their analog system was limiting the process and made it difficult to get the work done. Many workers expressed that they didn’t even bother to leave any reports because the system didn’t work well. Me and my team realized that we needed to find a way to get the employees to want to use the service.
Therefore, our desired goal was creating a digital version of Volvo’s analog system.
It was important for us to make the platform is accessible to everyone, regardless of digital skills, because we saw that many of Volvo’s employees were part of an older generation and weren’t used to technology. In our research stage we saw that many workers didn’t even have a smartphone of their own, so we realized we needed to simplify the digitalization so that everyone would understand how to use the product.
Our main goal was to contribute a structured, simple and a fun way to the implementation, documentation and follow-ups of Volvo’s internal process for improvements in the workplace.
The Problem
Needs
Many reports get lost or forgotten about when there is no structure or clear system for the feedback.
Older generations find digital services hard to understand.
There is no motivation from employees to engage with the system when they get no incitament or feedback on submitted reports.
Goals
A structured system for internal feedback where data doesn’t get lost
A simple digitalization that older generations can understand
A fun, validating and ambient solution that make the employees engaged in using the service
Define&Ideate
The Process
After defining pains and goals we had some design workshops where we created personas and flows that met the user needs and pains.
The application is designed for a user that feels the need to get feedback on their submitted reports and appreciates attention from their company. They want an incitement in order to continue using the system, and they sometimes feel like they don’t dare to send in certain feedback. They enjoy working together in teams.
See one Persona below. Her real name is not Amanda.
The image below contains a flow used to explain the users interaction with the service.
Wireframes&Prototype
The Process
Iteration 1 of the prototype was designed using low fidelity wireframes sketched by hand where the team voted on functions we wanted to use in our final prototype. We then went on and created a simple, first-draft digital version in Figma.
Usability testing
The Process
We chose to conduct a user test on our mid-fi prototype to see if there was room for improvement. After the user test, we were able to base future design decisions on the insights we gained during the test.
As the test leader, I guided the testers and gave them tasks to perform while the rest of the group took notes on post-its.
Digital prototype test
After the tests, we went through everyones observations. Post-it sorting helped us map out possible pain points and unclearness through our testers.
Post-it sorting excersice
We found a few painpoints and changes we wanted to make in our prototype after the test.
Our two most important takeaways from our testing-session was that the testers wanted an option for uploading a picture of what they were reporting, and there was also a feeling of uncertainty of what happens after the improvement had been submitted. Therefore we added the option and created a more informative confirmation at the end of the submission.
Usability test-findings
For the purpose of this project, there was 1 prototype created in Figma to give Volvo a first impression of the digital service. The images and video below showcase a first draft of the solution.
Final Prototype
The Solution
Gamification
Gamification
Points
The point-system creates an effective incentive for the employees to use our service.
Points are collected when a user uploads relevant data in the service. The points can be converted into gift cards at different companies.
Streak
The streak-function to create more engagement and give the user motivation to return to the service frequently. The Streak means that the user gets extra points when using the service every week. Ex: Month 1 = user gets 25 points. Month 2 = user gets 50 points. Month 3 = User gets 100 points etc.
Leaderboard
The leaderboard shows each teams ranking. Every team member collects stars into their team when they upload relevant data into the service. So the user collects points personally but also collects stars to their team.The leaderboard shows what team has collected most stars each month. The team that collects most stars wins a prize. Prize could be a group activity.