Battery Swapping App for Technician
Battery Swapping App for Technician
Timeline
Timeline
8 Weeks
8 Weeks
Team
Team
Product Designer (me)
Principle Product Designer
Product Manager
Product Designer (me)
Principle Product Designer
Product Manager
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
UX Research
Prototyping
UX Research
Prototyping
Tools
Tools
Figma
Figma
Context
Context
In India, the electric vehicle charging infrastructure is still developing, especially for commercial vehicles. Minda, a local auto manufacturer, launched a battery swapping model to improve convenience for drivers. By allowing quick battery swaps, vehicle owners save time compared to traditional charging methods. However, technicians at swapping stations needed an efficient system to handle direct visits and mobile requests while maintaining smooth operations.
In India, the electric vehicle charging infrastructure is still developing, especially for commercial vehicles. Minda, a local auto manufacturer, launched a battery swapping model to improve convenience for drivers. By allowing quick battery swaps, vehicle owners save time compared to traditional charging methods. However, technicians at swapping stations needed an efficient system to handle direct visits and mobile requests while maintaining smooth operations.
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
Technicians handle both walk-in customers and mobile app requests at battery swapping stations. They are responsible for verifying vehicles, diagnosing batteries, swapping them, and processing payments. With hundreds of swaps a day, managing the queue, prioritizing requests, and keeping track of battery inventory without causing delays became crucial. The goal was to design a technician app that streamlined this process and supported fast, accurate, and prioritized battery swaps to maximize station efficiency.
Technicians handle both walk-in customers and mobile app requests at battery swapping stations. They are responsible for verifying vehicles, diagnosing batteries, swapping them, and processing payments. With hundreds of swaps a day, managing the queue, prioritizing requests, and keeping track of battery inventory without causing delays became crucial. The goal was to design a technician app that streamlined this process and supported fast, accurate, and prioritized battery swaps to maximize station efficiency.
Crafted Solution
Crafted Solution
Project Goal
Project Goal
Simplify the battery swapping process for technicians.
Prioritize mobile and direct requests in a seamless queue.
Allow fast diagnosis and maintain records to maximize business efficiency.
Simplify the battery swapping process for technicians.
Prioritize mobile and direct requests in a seamless queue.
Allow fast diagnosis and maintain records to maximize business efficiency.
User Persona
User Persona
Use Case Scanarios
Use Case Scanarios
User Flow
User Flow
Brainstorming & Ideation
Brainstorming & Ideation
01
Approach
Approach
Focus on minimalism: Technicians need a clean, easy-to-navigate UI.
Prioritize token-based queue system: Include timers and token IDs for fair and quick swaps.
Action-first UI: Swapping requests are front and center, keeping technician distractions low.
Focus on minimalism: Technicians need a clean, easy-to-navigate UI.
Prioritize token-based queue system: Include timers and token IDs for fair and quick swaps.
Action-first UI: Swapping requests are front and center, keeping technician distractions low.
02
Possible Solutions
Possible Solutions
Auto-accept mobile app requests to reduce time spent on manual approvals.
Queue-based system to handle both direct visits and mobile app requests seamlessly.
Auto-accept mobile app requests to reduce time spent on manual approvals.
Queue-based system to handle both direct visits and mobile app requests seamlessly.
Wireframes
Wireframes
Iterations
Iterations
Final Designs (Mockups)
Final Designs (Mockups)
Home
Home
Real-time inventory display.
Search bar for quick request identification.
Unified token queue for direct and mobile requests. Includes estimated time for mobile requests (e.g., 2 hours) and a 30-minute buffer; expired tokens are removed after this period if the driver doesn’t arrive.
Enables instant swap initiation for direct or urgent requests.
Real-time inventory display.
Search bar for quick request identification.
Unified token queue for direct and mobile requests. Includes estimated time for mobile requests (e.g., 2 hours) and a 30-minute buffer; expired tokens are removed after this period if the driver doesn’t arrive.
Enables instant swap initiation for direct or urgent requests.
Battery Swapping
Battery Swapping
Battery Connection via Bluetooth: Technician connects the vehicle battery to a diagnostic device through Bluetooth; if the connection fails, the technician troubleshoots based on their expertise.
Diagnostic Information Display: Upon successful connection, the technician can view essential battery data like health, charge level, and performance metrics, helping assess battery condition.
Outgoing Battery Check and Billing: Technician repeats the diagnostic process with the fully charged outgoing battery to confirm its readiness, generate a receipt, and calculate the bill for the customer’s review and transparency.
Battery Connection via Bluetooth: Technician connects the vehicle battery to a diagnostic device through Bluetooth; if the connection fails, the technician troubleshoots based on their expertise.
Diagnostic Information Display: Upon successful connection, the technician can view essential battery data like health, charge level, and performance metrics, helping assess battery condition.
Outgoing Battery Check and Billing: Technician repeats the diagnostic process with the fully charged outgoing battery to confirm its readiness, generate a receipt, and calculate the bill for the customer’s review and transparency.
Battery Swapping: Error Handling
Battery Swapping: Error Handling
Battery Error Detection: If any of the 4 battery cells show issues, an error alert appears.
Error Selection: Technician can choose from predefined error types/reasons or add a custom error to proceed with the swap process.
Battery Error Detection: If any of the 4 battery cells show issues, an error alert appears.
Error Selection: Technician can choose from predefined error types/reasons or add a custom error to proceed with the swap process.
Swap Summary
Swap Summary
Bill Calculation: Generates bill based on the net battery units exchanged (outgoing units minus incoming units).
Payment Methods: Technician can accept payment via UPI, cash, debit, or credit card; cash payments are marked directly in-app, while card payments are processed via POS machine, refreshing the app upon completion.
Transaction Completion: Data is saved to the server, with a swap summary shown to the technician and a receipt provided to the customer.
Bill Calculation: Generates bill based on the net battery units exchanged (outgoing units minus incoming units).
Payment Methods: Technician can accept payment via UPI, cash, debit, or credit card; cash payments are marked directly in-app, while card payments are processed via POS machine, refreshing the app upon completion.
Transaction Completion: Data is saved to the server, with a swap summary shown to the technician and a receipt provided to the customer.
Mood boarding
Mood boarding
Moodboarding helped establish a simple, clean aesthetic with a practical, technician-friendly feel, aligning with the EV brand and India’s busy, high-energy work environment.
Moodboarding helped establish a simple, clean aesthetic with a practical, technician-friendly feel, aligning with the EV brand and India’s busy, high-energy work environment.
Style-guides
Style-guides
Color Palette: Light, neutral tones with clear, bold accent colors for actions with a focus on accessibility.
Typography: Clean, modern sans-serif typeface (Figtree).
Icons: Material symbol library.
Grid: 4-point Grid System
Color Palette: Light, neutral tones with clear, bold accent colors for actions with a focus on accessibility.
Typography: Clean, modern sans-serif typeface (Figtree).
Icons: Material symbol library.
Grid: 4-point Grid System
Prototype
Prototype
Conclusion (Challenges, Outcomes, Learnings and insights )
Conclusion (Challenges, Outcomes, Learnings and insights )
01
Challenges
Challenges
Encountered complexities in understanding operational bottlenecks faced by technicians in a rapidly evolving EV industry.
Balancing between showing enough information for diagnosis while keeping the UI simple.
Figuring out a unified system for direct and mobile requests.
Encountered complexities in understanding operational bottlenecks faced by technicians in a rapidly evolving EV industry.
Balancing between showing enough information for diagnosis while keeping the UI simple.
Figuring out a unified system for direct and mobile requests.
02
Outcomes
Outcomes
Technician task completion time decreased by approximately 30%, allowing them to handle more requests per hour.
The average time taken to manage requests decreased from 10 minutes to under 3 minutes, significantly speeding up the service process.
Technician task completion time decreased by approximately 30%, allowing them to handle more requests per hour.
The average time taken to manage requests decreased from 10 minutes to under 3 minutes, significantly speeding up the service process.
03
Learning & Insights
Learning & Insights
The project taught me adaptability and resilience in navigating shifting priorities, while collaboration with knowledgeable stakeholders boosted my confidence in effective communication.
Simplified designs often lead to better efficiency, especially in environments where speed is critical.
The project taught me adaptability and resilience in navigating shifting priorities, while collaboration with knowledgeable stakeholders boosted my confidence in effective communication.
Simplified designs often lead to better efficiency, especially in environments where speed is critical.
Scope of Improvements
Scope of Improvements
What Could Have Been Better?
What Could Have Been Better?
User testing in high-pressure environments could have provided deeper insights into technician workflows.
Exploring a self-service kiosk model for battery swapping, where vehicle owners could swap their batteries independently under the supervision or guidance of a technician, could have significantly reduced swapping time and improved customer satisfaction.
However, due to business decisions, we were restricted to using the manual device and mobile app, which were deemed more cost-effective options at the time.
User testing in high-pressure environments could have provided deeper insights into technician workflows.
Exploring a self-service kiosk model for battery swapping, where vehicle owners could swap their batteries independently under the supervision or guidance of a technician, could have significantly reduced swapping time and improved customer satisfaction.
However, due to business decisions, we were restricted to using the manual device and mobile app, which were deemed more cost-effective options at the time.
Your thoughts and feedback are welcome to make this system even better for future iterations.
Your thoughts and feedback are welcome to make this system even better for future iterations.