Keeping in line with Industry 4.0, an old Machine Monitoring platform has to be designed into a web application, letting you access your data from anywhere. The redesign included redefining the product vision, functionality and look for users in the context of an Industrial Plant.
The purpose of the application was to view and analyse data to generate reports. The structure of the old the old interface was confusing. As the data was directly linked to machines in the plant, users were hesitant to freely move around the application.
“Seamless”, “Welcoming” and “Forgiving” were the new values on which the new design was based. A new information architecture with logical grouping, a fresh brand identity to enhance the structure were introduced. For the product to be developed, a set of guidelines with technical and design specifications was produced.
This project is under an NDA - contents have been used with permission and belong to Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd.
A machine monitoring solution is a network of hardware and software products, which is customised to track data as per the plant's needs. Eversense is Forbes Marshall's software solution which centralises plant data and makes real-time data accessible anywhere. Before Industry 4.0, machine readings were tracked manually.
Data helps identify the root cause in case of machine breakdown. Minimising downtime is necessary to reduce loss in production.
In a plant, Operators, Managers and Plant Owners make use of this interface for different purposes such as tracking transmission, breakdowns, generating reports, performance-based analysis, etc.
Image Credits: Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd and Hureo's Usability Analysis Report.
A 6-month long project which included understanding the old product in great detail through various activities to define a new vision. The outcome of this project included reimagining the features, giving a fresh look and creating guidelines for implementation.
The vision was to make a "seamless", "welcoming" and "forgiving" product experience.
Apart from the values in the product vision, we wanted the interface to look trustworthy, simple and professional. The visual language included not only defining colours and typography, but also creating a component system, icons and brand identity.
The objective was to enhance the user experience by having clear visual cues and hierarchy of elements.
The Visual Language is very important to breathe life into a well-thought out structure of the product. UX and UI depend on each other.
In the same way that an interface should be user-centric, guidelines should be considerate of who will use them and how. In this case, the document is meant for future designers of the product and developers.
They are in the form of a website design in Adobe XD, where:
The guidelines explain each decision in detail, right from the design specifications to why a certain function works the way it works. Think of it as "design secrets" document.
Writing the guidelines was a very reflective process and include the following sections:
Newer does not always mean better. In this case the interface is not better because it is newer, but because it learned from the strengths and weaknesses of its predecessor being in use for nearly two decades.
A huge task in the project was figuring out a better way to structure the features - the aspiration was the be able to jump from anywhere to anywhere.
These key improvements, among others worked to make Eversense 2.0 a seamless, welcoming and forgiving interface. Telling the users that they are free to explore, play around and in case a mistake is made, it can be undone.
