Turning Digital Ambition into Measurable Impact through Agile Transformation & Customer-Centric Experience Design
project context
An automotive terminal facility sought to modernize and optimize its vehicle inspection process, improving both customer experience and internal operational efficiency. The Smart Automotive Terminal (SAT) application was developed collaboratively by a technology provider and a rail operator to enable real-time vehicle inspections, data collection, and streamlined workflows for vehicles categorized as cleared, damaged, or routed for repair.
Client challenge
How might we create a unified, efficient vehicle inspection process that enables accurate and timely inspections across multiple terminal locations, improves data consistency and communication between yard operations and back-office management, and enhances usability for diverse users working in a challenging outdoor environment?
Project Scope
Type of Engagement
User Experience Research
Time-frame
15 weeks
75 hrs
Data Collection + Workshops
150 hrs
Analysis, Recommendations & Story building
-
Stakeholder Interviews
Subject matter expert work sessions
On-site observations
In-field research with users of the system -
Research Team
Senior Researcher
Senior Design Researcher
Communication DesignerClient Team
Director of UX
UX Researcher
Product Designer
Product Owner
Product Manager
Subject Matter Experts
Software Architect
Railroad Customers -
Design Methods Used:
User Profiles
Customer Journey Mapping
Service Blueprint
Prioritization MatrixResearch Methods:
Virtual Expert Interviews
In-field observations
On-site intercepts
On-site documentationCommunication Methods Used:
Video Storytelling
Diagrams & Visualizations
Presentation
KHOJLAB APPROACH
Approach: Lean, Agile, and Design Thinking
Lean: Identified waste and bottlenecks in current inspection workflows, focusing on value-adding activities that directly contribute to faster vehicle processing and resolution. Efforts targeted at reducing redundant data input and minimizing delays in routing damaged vehicles.
Agile: Employed iterative development cycles to build and refine the SAT Vehicle Inspection system, incorporating frequent usability testing of prototypes to validate terminal management interfaces and vehicle advance shipping notice (ASN) workflows. This allowed rapid response to user feedback and evolving operational needs.
Design Thinking: Centered on deep user empathy through research on how terminal crews, inspectors, and back-office staff interacted with information, equipment, and each other. Usability studies evaluated mobile device ergonomics in outdoor settings and user interactions with system elements, ensuring the solution met real-world challenges and user expectations.
IMPACT/OUTCOME
The insights provided a fresh perspective for the user experience design, product performance, and marketing & sales teams, enabling them to approach shower solutions in a more user-centric manner.
By integrating Lean, Agile, and Design Thinking methodologies, the project achieved significant transformation in automotive terminal operations. The Lean approach helped identify and eliminate inefficiencies in the vehicle inspection process, streamlining workflows to focus on activities that directly enhanced vehicle throughput and resolution times. Agile practices enabled rapid development and iterative refinement of the SAT Vehicle Inspection system, incorporating real user feedback to ensure the platform met diverse operational needs effectively. Design Thinking fostered deep user empathy, uncovering critical insights into user interactions, environmental challenges, and ergonomic requirements, which led to a highly usable and context-aware solution.
Collectively, these approaches improved operational efficiency by reducing delays and enhancing data accuracy, empowered better communication across yard and back-office teams, and elevated user satisfaction by delivering intuitive and practical tools tailored to the dynamic, outdoor work environment. The result was a resilient, user-centered system that supported smarter decision-making, faster vehicle processing, and scalable adoption within complex automotive terminal operations.
Process Service Blueprint
