Mobile Portal
MineRP 2022 - 2024
My Role
Design lead - Interaction Design, Visual Design, User flows, Rapid Prototyping, User Research
Team
Johan Van Rooyen
Ronald Rhodes
Danie Opperman
- Product Analyst
- Developer
- Program Manager
Platform
Mobile
Tech stack
MVP1
MMR1
- Xamarin
- .Net MAUI
Project Timeline
2022 - 2024
Overview
What
The MineRP Mobile Portal is a real-time mobile interface connecting mining supervisors and crews underground to the master short-interval schedule. It enables task review, approval, delegation, and reporting, ensuring that updates from the field feed directly into the master schedule for proactive management of complex, inter-dependent mining operations.
Why
In mining, precise task scheduling is critical as delays or missing resources can have cascading effects on the entire operation. Traditional reporting between the control room and underground crews suffered from significant delays, often only updating at shift end. The portal addresses this by providing real-time reporting, improving task visibility, resource management, and enabling quick adjustments to the master schedule.
How
I designed the portal to provide tailored views for supervisors and operators, focusing on clarity and ease of use. Feedback from initial MVP testing informed a redesign, enhancing information hierarchy and simplifying interactions. Features like badge notifications, "fat finger design" for glove use, and a dark theme for low-light environments were integrated to optimize usability underground, ensuring crucial information is easily accessible and actions are clear.
Developing a Minimum Viable Product
MVP 1
With the goal to develop a mobile platform for mining operations to use for issuing and reporting on tasks, our small team started by fleshing out the user flows required to accomplish a few basic tasks. The user flows informed the information architecture design and from there a minimum viable product (MVP1) was developed utilizing Microsoft’s Xamarin development environment. This MVP version was deployed to some users at Sibanye mines for testing.
Key Insights
Feedback from initial user testing surfaced a number of friction points which needed to be addressed.
Areas which required improvement were:
Information hierarchy – Users found it difficult to scan pages for the information that they were seeking and felt like they were likely to miss a crucial instruction or note because it was not visually distinct from other ancillary information.
Deviations – Scenarios that deviate from the ‘expected’ procedural flow were much more common than initially anticipated. The system needed to be adaptable to these scenarios and not prevent or hinder the user from manually altering the flow of events.
Usage context – Understanding the special environments in which the application gets used highlighted a need for a dark theme which is much easier to use in low light conditions. Another requirement that came to light was the need to use the system while wearing gloves.
System status and connectivity – While the system is designed to enable real-time updating between underground teams and above ground control rooms, the underground teams often find themselves in areas of poor network connectivity. It was unclear whether the system was connected or not, whether updates were being sent or if the user could be confident that they have received the latest information.
Redesign
MMR 1
For the development of MMR1 a change in tech stack from Xamarin to MAUI presented the opportunity to not only incorporate functional improvements based on the feedback gathered from MVP1 testing but to also do a substantial aesthetic redesign.
With a strong emphasis on hierarchy of information, I reduced the cognitive load on the user by guiding their attention to what is truly important. Making the different types of information on the task details page visually distinct greatly improved the scannability of these pages.
The new tech stack enabled the use of new UI elements such as badge notifications to highlight new tasks that are yet to be viewed. Icons were added to clarify task status colours, reducing the need for users to remember their meanings, especially with the increased number of possible task states. Colour usage was restrained to enhance its impact when applied and allow the application’s theme to be more prominent, avoiding the “candy store” appearance.
The interface was further decluttered by consolidation multiple actions under one floating button. Settings pages were separated out of the main flow and hidden after initial setup was completed and no setup errors were detected.
Prominent icons were used to indicate network status so that operators would recognize when the application was running in ‘offline’ mode and could respond appropriately.
The task flow accommodates variances at any stage, using an open-ended reporting form that captures all necessary details without restricting users, ensuring unforeseen scenarios can be documented without hindering task completion.
Other enhancements include larger touch targets for gloved use, a dark theme that follows the device's settings, and a redesigned login page to prevent the on-screen keyboard from covering the 'sign in' button, eliminating unnecessary clicks.
Conclusion
The MineRP Mobile Portal has successfully launched and is now in operation at three mines, where it has been instrumental in streamlining task management and improving operational efficiency. User feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with supervisors and operators praising its intuitive interface, adaptability to unique mining conditions, and real-time connectivity. This success marks just the beginning, as plans are already underway to expand the application’s functionality further, ensuring it continues to meet the evolving needs of the mining industry. By fostering seamless communication and proactive task management, the MineRP Mobile Portal is setting a new standard for digital transformation in mining operations.
Takeaways
Context Matters – Designing for the specific environments and conditions in which a product will be used ensures greater usability and relevance.
Clarity and Simplicity are key – Reducing cognitive load through clear information hierarchy, visual distinction, and intuitive interactions enhances user efficiency and satisfaction.
Adaptability is Essential – Systems should be flexible enough to handle unexpected scenarios or deviations from standard workflows, ensuring users can achieve their goals without frustration.