PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Design a unified ecosystem of five interconnected applications to drive mail processing speed and accuracy.

DESIGN OBJECTIVE

Create UX strategy and design solutions centered around the users’ success and connecting to the organizational strategy.

  1. Build a cohesive user experience that successfully mapped to the daily tasks of diverse operational roles.

  2. Direct the platform architecture to actively support the new business processes and overarching goal of accelerating speed and accuracy of mail delivery.

CONTEXT

The Mail Innovations (MI) department at UPS manages high-volume mail processing and transportation for large corporate clients like Amazon, Macy’s, and Barnes & Noble. To increase delivery speed and accuracy across the network, in 2019 the department initiated a massive technology and process overhaul.

Challenges

  • Fragmented software landscape. Legacy applications operated in data silos, relying on tribal knowledge across 7 distinct user types. Information mismatch between facility touch points caused operational blind spots, processing delays, and expensive remediation work.

  • Fragmented product development process.

    • Development teams worked piecemeal without a shared vision

    • Decision-making occurred in silos

    • Return on long-term initiatives was difficult to see and track

Timeframe

2021 - 2024

Client

Mail Innovations, UPS

Role

Sr. UX/ UI Designer

CASE STUDY

Design for high-impact business and user outcomes

Design Principles - Connecting User Needs & Organizational Strategy

As a Sr. UX/ UI Designer on the project I initiated continuous research, interviewing business stakeholders, industrial engineers, product owners, and facility operators. In addition to designing individual applications, I looked at the platform through a systems-thinking lens. I mapped how cross-product user needs translated into the company's macro strategy:

ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY

Increase accuracy and speed of delivering mail

  • Increase workflow efficiency

  • Ensure connectivity of information between apps

  • Increase visibility to mail in the UPS network

SYSTEM’S LEVEL USER NEEDS

  • Monitor and manage the progress of mail in the UPS network effectively

  • Reconcile mail sent with mail received

  • Recognize problems before they happen

  • Problem-solve in a timely manner

  • Communicate clearly and effectively with other UPS facilities and users of the system

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

  • Ensure visibility to mail throughout the mail journey in the UPS network

  • Establish a unified source of truth

  • Help triage incidents and prioritize remediation

  • Enable seamless access to data and navigation through the mail processing system

  • Allow progressive disclosure of information for high-level and in-depth analysis

  • Simplify workflows and interfaces to ensure efficient operations and management

Defining Key Outcomes

The research and analysis I led identified the following business and user desired outcomes:

SPEED UP DELIVERY TIME

  • Streamline processes

  • Surface problems and facilitate problem-solving

User Outcomes

INCREASE VISIBILITY

  • Surface important information

  • Ensure users’ data needs are met at every stage of the process

  • Provide data cross-reference

INCREASE USABILITY OF APPS

  • Provide seamless navigation in the suite

  • Create cleaner and user-friendly interfaces

INCREASE EFFICIENCY

  • Optimize flows

  • Automate processes

  • Guide workflows and facilitate decision-making

Business Outcomes

INCREASE ACCURACY

  • Increase connectivity of information

  • Automate workflows and reduce human input to reduce inaccuracies and inefficiencies

REDUCE COST

  • Of labor and rework

  • Paper and printing

System Architecture that Ensures Connectivity of Information

Ensuring connectivity of information was essential for automating the business processes and increasing the users visibility into mail trough the system.

I led a team of an industrial engineer, a product owner, and a lead developer to create and visualize a unified data flow across the 5 applications.

I led reviews and discussions to help three development team Aligning on the data flows provided teams with:

  • a shared vision and a single source of truth.

  • a solid ground for the design and development of each application.

  • a solid ground for decision making.

Designing a System for High-Complexity Cross-Functional Jobs

Increase visibility to effectively monitor and manage mail through the system

I led a team of an Industrial Engineer, a Product Owner and a Lead Developer to create a system of standardized and consistent cross-platform mail statuses. The system captured cross-platform flows, status triggers, cross-platform changes and statuses.

Triage incidents and prioritize remediation 

Enable high-level and in-depth analysis by progressive disclosure of information

Simplify workflows and interfaces to ensure efficient operations and management

Design to Unlock Business & User Outcomes

Move from Piecemeal Requirements to a Holistic Vision

As I continued working on the UX research and prototyping for the second and third applications, I realized we no longer needed separate applications but a suite of interconnected applications that worked in synch to deliver the value the business was expecting.

Like building a puzzle, I started creating a vision for how the applications needed to work together, how the information would flow to support the new processes and provide the visibility needed.

Home page of MI Ship Suite. Users could easily move between applications with a single sign-in.

DESIGN A SUITE OF FIVE APPLICATIONS

  • Use single sign-in

  • Gather and present meaningful information as shipments progress through the system

Addressing the Need for Connectivity of Information

I challenged the 'one-app-at-a-time' mindset by introducing a high-level process map that became the foundation for alignment on business processes, data movement and visibility needed.

A high-level process map capturing the relationship between the applications and the connectivity of information. The map became our North Star.

ENSURE CONNECTIVITY OF INFORMATION

  • Eliminate human input

  • Ensure seamless data flows

  • Ensure accuracy

Reduce Paper Waste and Human Input

Stop printing labels from Excel. Create a new application for creating Container IDs, recording container information and sharing container quantity, weight and status between origin and destination facilities.

Reduce human error.

Containerization App (for desktop and mobile) allows creating Container IDs with associated container type and weight, and viewing created containers within a selected timeframe. Container Information is also shared with all apps in the suite.

PROVIDE MORE GRANULAR INFORMATION FLOWING SEAMLESSLY

  • Automate container labels creation

  • Capture more detailed information

  • Enable seamless flow of data between apps

  • Ensure user data needs are met at each touch point

Addressing the Need for Visibility and Usability

I interviewed transportation managers and operations supervisors and synthesized their visibility needs. In addition to understanding the intended business processes, I created data flow and user journeys maps which allowed us to design for the level of visibility needed, eliminate redundancies, and create focused user interfaces.

Example of the flow of information in the suite.

INCREASE VISIBILITY AND EASE OF USE

  • Applications share data seamlessly

  • Ability to zoom in and out for different levels of information

  • Meaningful and consistent shipment statuses drive attention and guide inquiry

  • Standardized user flows and interfaces

Eliminate Paper Load Manifests and Manual Info Entry

I worked with business stakeholders to design a new mobile application for forklift drivers to create Load Manifests by scanning Container IDs as they load the trailers.

An old process of creating Load Manifests by hand and keying in the information in one of the apps was eliminated.

More about Trailerization App

Trailerization app automates the process of creating and sharing Load Manifests.

INCREASE ACCURACY & EFFICIENCY

  • Automatic Load Manifest creation by scanning Container IDs. Manual input is eliminated

  • Visibility across the network - both outbound and inbound facilities access the same real time information

Key Outcomes

WORKED WITH UNDERSTANDING

  • Teams defined meaningful goals

  • Teams worked with a vision and a plan

  • Teams worked with clarity and focus

DELIVERED MORE VALUE SOONER

  • We focused on outcomes

  • We understood dependencies

  • Planned for incremental value delivery

SAVED TIME AND MONEY

  • By reducing rework

  • Eliminating confusion

  • Delivering value sooner