Opensafe for SNCF
Opensafe for SNCF
Prenez le temps de rédiger une introduction courte, intéressante et pertinente.
SNCF
Opensafe (2018)
Opensafe is a management tool for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that allows its clients to track and monitor the assignments and training of their employees.
Inventory Management
Security
INTERVENTION
UNDERSTAND & DEFINE
Qualitative Research :
- Shadowing
- User interviews
UX / UI DESIGN
Conception
Wireframes
Graphic layout of the MVP
Prototype
Their client: the railway security service - more precisely, the SUGE* - of SNCF wanted to implement their solution to track their equipment.
* « The Sûreté Ferroviaire, primarily composed of the Surveillance générale (SUGE), is the railway police force of SNCF. Its mission is to protect, assist, and ensure security for both passengers and staff, as well as safeguard property across the entire SNCF network. It can also intervene with other railway operators using the French rail network upon request. »
_ source : source Wikipédia
CHALLENGE
How can we simplify the use of the Opensafe interface in stock management and the traceability of weapons and ammunition for SUGE managers in Île-de-France and the region?
MISSION
👉 UX Revamp : improve the user journey
👉 UI Revamp : modernize the interface and align it with the current SNCF guidelines
UNDERSTAND & DEFINE
_ Immersion and shadowing: I observe the staff as they go about their daily tasks. They sign papers, scan them, wait for the document to appear on their workstation, load it into the interface, annotate references in a binder, and preserve and archive the scanned document. This phase allows me to map out the experience of the managers.
_ Qualitative research: in-person interviews were conducted in Paris (where this team covers half of the Île-de-France, a densely populated area) and Metz (with broader coverage, including more scattered stations). These interviews allowed for a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of the SUGE managers.
_ Synthesis of gathered insights (excerpt from the summary below)
CONCEIVE / PROTOTYPE / DESIGN
_ Wireframes
Simplification of the process, particularly by centralizing information and data within the interface (as opposed to printing and scanning), aims to reduce the mental load on users. By streamlining access to relevant information, we enhance user efficiency and ease of interaction.
_ UI design
A mobile-first approach aims to empower SUGE teams to take action even while on the move. This adaptation aligns with the SNCF guidelines, ensuring a seamless and efficient experience for managers to handle essential tasks from their mobile devices.
_ Prototype
KEY LEARNINGS
The immersion phase particularly surprised me because the administrative procedures for SUGE teams are lengthy and sometimes tedious due to the time they require: numerous paper records and reports were necessary. For instance, one step involved printing a document that the user then had to scan. In case of any issues hindering the process, the user was forced to start over from the beginning. Additionally, it was essential to consider the concept of personnel responsibility (mental load) because security stakes are substantial. SNCF demonstrates great vigilance in these aspects and strives to maintain an extremely precise level of traceability.
An agent once confided in me, “We must be more vigilant than a gendarmerie or a police station because we are a public service.”
Furthermore, the computer usage and digital literacy varied: the personnel in Île-de-France (IdF) were better equipped and more accustomed to digital tools, while in the regions, some of the interviewees did not even have smartphones. I remain skeptical about the decision to create a 100% mobile interface when user habits still involve computers and paper. An alternative desktop version would have been a smoother transition initially.
I firmly believe that even as our aspirations push us toward constant innovation, our role as designers is to adapt to the users’ existing practices for whom we design tools and services.
« Rule of thumb: if you think something is clever and sophisticated beware-it is probably self-indulgence. »
_ Donald A Norman, The design of everyday things