Site survey mobile app for CCTV camera installation
Process:
Persona, Empathy map, Scenario, Storyboard, User flow, Wireframes, UI Design
Tools:
UXPin, Illustrator, Sketch, Photoshop
NTT Data developed a site survey mobile app to inspect proposed sensor (CCTV cameras, speakers, microphones) installations and gather information for security review
ABOUT NTT DATA
The Smart Application Platform group of NTT Data offers a wide variety of customized applications from traffic monitoring and crowd management to public safety and data monetization, all powered by the NTT Smart Platform technology engine.
BUSINESS NEED
The burden of paperwork is making site survey costly and inefficient
Site survey is a manual process that requires collecting a large amount of data and spending hours collating and doing tedious paperwork.
There is no application in the market that presents a standardized approach for site surveys that can be adopted for any use-case and performed by individuals with little to no technical expertise.
SOLUTION
Digitizing data collection and making data instantly available to the larger team is the first step in improving efficiency of site survey
A mobile application that can be used by on-site surveyors to collect data using a standardized approach will make it possible for a survey to be done by workers with limited technical knowledge. The paperwork will be greatly reduced and real time data will be instantly available to the security engineers to review and process.
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The second stage of the project will also aim to deliver a customized dashboard interface that can automate many parts of data collation and report generation.
The MVP solution was built in 8 weeks using waterfall methodology
Served as a part of 10 people team,
located across the US west coast and east coast
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Project Owner
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Project Manager
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Lead Solution Architect
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Technical Architect
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Business Analyst
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VP Engineer
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Data Engineers
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UI Engineer
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Data Architect
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UX & UI designer
My role
UX and UI design
GOAL-DRIVEN & FICTIONAL PERSONA
A site surveyor performs onsite surveys and gathers information for the security engineer to review and create detailed reports
Robert
Site Surveyor
Contractor City of Las Vegas
Wants to gather all necessary information about each sensor location and pass on to the security engineer
Age: 26
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Experience: 2 years
Education: High school diploma or GED
​Tech comfort: Below-average
Travel: 100%
Responsibilities
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Effectively accomplish all Site Surveys on their daily schedule
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Communicate with customers and be very punctual
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Comply with all city regulations
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Maintain a positive attitude and follow directions
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Perform other needed job tasks as requested by leadership
Frustrations
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Tedious paperwork to complete during and after survey
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Lot of data to keep track of in physical notes
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​No fast way to submit pictures
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Often needed to rev-visit the same sensor to gather additional data requested
Questions in mind
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What are the best angles CCTV to get the results I want?
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Is the lighting around the proposed camera locations sufficient to support proper functioning, without creating problems?
Hopes
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To take pictures on the phone while on site and not have to print or submit them physically later
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To gather all required in one visit in the precise format and not miss any details
Peter
Security Engineer
Contractor City of Las Vegas
Wants to review the data collected and create a detailed site survey report for the client security team
Age: 30
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Experience: 4 years
Education: Bachelor's in Electrical or Computer Science
Tech comfort: Above-average
Travel: 20%
Responsibilities
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Coordinates site surveys and technical implementation of systems.
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Completes necessary design, test, and deployment documentation like site survey summaries, cost models, drawing mark-ups, Visio/cad system overviews.
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Provides information and drawing markups to complete sensor installations
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Researches, develops, designs, and tests security components, equipment, and systems.
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Directs modification of equipment to ensure operational performance meets specified standards and ensure technical superiority.
Frustrations
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Long wait times to receive completed documentation from surveyors even after the survey is complete
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Missing information in the survey
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Lack of enough pictures to get a clear understanding of sensor location and conditions
Questions in mind
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If the plan is to keep the camera running overnight, will specialist night vision cameras be required?
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Are there the right surfaces for the cameras, and will placement provide an unimpeded view?
Hopes
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To receive data real-time from surveyors without needing to wait
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​To access data whenever needed from one central digital repository without the risk of losing any papers
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To receive as many pictures as possible from surveyors to review​
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To be able to generate automated reports from the systems based on the data gathered
STORYBOARD
The visual storyboard consisted of 6 tasks to be performed by the user in order to complete survey
Based on the requirements defined by the stakeholder and the project owner, I outlined the primary tasks
Then, I painted a visual storyboard with my iPad Pro and Photoshop paintbrush to see it from the user's perspective
USER TASK DIAGRAM
While creating a detailed task diagram, we realized that the scope of the project is greater than originally imagined and user flow far more complex
I created this flowchart to describe both back-end processes and user task flow. This process helped the stakeholders think about a number of factors that they had not considered and clarified their vision. The number of screens required greatly expanded and so did the scope of the project.
WIREFRAMES
We tested functionalities with high fidelity prototypes
Robert
Site Surveyor
This flow present screens:
Login / Select a Client / Client's existing sensors / Client's info / Add a photo to the registered sensor & User profile info
This flow displays "Add new sensor" & "Add sensor field view photo"
FINAL DESIGN
I delivered the final UI design using UXPin for use by the development team
Some sample screens below (in both light and dark themes)
A recording of the end-to-end user flow
OUTCOMES
The application was launched for a pilot group within City of Las Vegas Parks Department and is currently being tested on the field
From the pilot testing phase, we are looking to collect feedback from surveyors on ways to improve the app.​
The next phase of the project is slated for January 2021 and will include improvements to both the mobile on-site survey app and the maintenance dashboard used by the security engineers.​
LESSONS LEARNED
It is not uncommon for the scope of the project to vastly expand during research and design phases
In the initial stages, the definition of the app was simplistic and the design phase was expected to complete in merely 4 days. As we reviewed user research data and engaged with field users during design, the scope greatly expanded. From a very simple few screen design, we quickly jumped to a complex user flow.
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This was not particularly anyone's fault. The nature of the project was such that it required a fair amount of discovery during the design phase and turned out larger than originally imagined.