Parts of this project are under NDA. If you'd like to learn more, please reach out. sanna.s.klefbom@afry.com ↗︎
I was the lead UX designer of the startup and shutdown interaction behaviour of Scania's new vehicle generation, Smart Dash. I designed the interaction architecture of triggers, screen feedback and system timers in tight collaboration with system architects, function owners, the requirement team and the safety team. The work introduced a new user experience for all new Scania vehicles when starting and ending a drive.
Problem statements
The startup and shutdown had to be rebuilt around new technology and new driver expectations.
User problem
Drivers needed the vehicle to be quick and responsive, surfacing the right information at the right time. The experience had to feel aligned with modern, connected vehicles while staying grounded in the legacy of the previous generation they already knew.
Business problem
Scania was in the beginning of creating a completely new vehicle generation, moving from local, offline vehicle systems to connected, intelligent systems with large screens replacing many of the physical buttons. The new systems were smarter and more powerful, and behaved differently at startup and shutdown than the previous generation. Scania needed to define a new user experience when starting and ending a drive, founded in the technical behaviour of the new vehicle systems, that also met the evolving expectations users bring to connected vehicles.
Impact
100k +
Driving users across all Scania vehicles
The work introduced a new standard interaction architecture for every Scania vehicle when starting and ending a drive.
100%
Of the Smart Dash HMI teams adopted the design outcome
The work set the system-architectural foundation and vehicle-state behaviour of the whole platform, impacting every HMI team working with Smart Dash.
5 +
New work epics crucial to the release
The investigation behind this work surfaced more than five completely new work epics crucial for release, engaging multiple teams.
Approach and rationale
Every design decision aimed to keep drivers' eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
Drivers of Scania's trucks often work in high-risk, pressured and time-critical situations with essential societal functions, such as fire trucks, waste management, construction-site vehicles, timber and logistics. Their primary need is design and technology that feels safe, stable, clear, trustworthy and accessible. As a designer it was therefore important to work closely with drivers, but also closely with the people who develop, specify and build the systems, so that the design is always technically feasible in a safe and stable way.
Research
We wanted to know both sides of the story, the human and the machine.
Through user interviews and fieldwork, we built an understanding of how drivers behave and what they need when approaching and leaving the vehicle. Understanding the technical context of the new vehicle systems mattered just as much, since the design possibilities depended directly on it.
Discoveries
The opportunity was to rethink how triggers, screens and timers worked together.
I mapped all the research data into user journey maps and found design opportunities across user insights, technical insights and benchmarking. We saw an opportunity in rethinking the interaction architecture of the various systems, screens and timers, to create a more efficient, robust and premium startup and shutdown experience.
Exploration
The more trigger flows we sketched, the wider the scope of systems became.
Together with the system architecture team I started sketching trigger interaction flows that would address the findings from the research. The video below shows a lo-fi prototype similar to what we used as discussion material in design reviews and in workshops with system architects, requirement writers, function owners and developers. It focused on user triggers and screen feedback. Each iteration surfaced new work areas, and we learned that we had to widen the scope of functions and systems included in the journey.
Testing
We tested in simulated driving environments and in real trucks, before and after release.
Behavioural observations
I created Figma prototypes that were tested by drivers in a simulated driving environment. In the early exploration stages we set a scenario for the drivers and observed their behaviour, learning their pain points across various startup and shutdown interaction flows.
A/B tests
After new iterations we ran A/B tests with drivers in the same kind of simulated driving environment, this time focused on specific interactions in the journey. The tests were followed by iterations and ran throughout the whole design process, in both simulated and real truck environments.
Fieldwork after release
After the release of Smart Dash we visited a large customer, Kinnarps, to talk to drivers about their experience with the new systems and instrument panel in real truck environments. The users of the Smart Dash ecosystem are not only drivers but other expert users, such as dealers, warehouse workers and mechanics interacting with the vehicles daily. The visit gave us valuable insights from every user group to carry into further iterations and bug-fix prioritisation.
Delivery
A complete interaction architecture for starting and ending a drive.
The delivery was the interaction architecture of triggers, timers, screen, light and audio feedback for starting and ending a drive across all new Scania vehicles.
The full delivery
Outcomes
A new standard for starting and ending a drive, now live across Scania's new vehicle generation.
Shipped
A complete interaction architecture of triggers, timers, screen, light and audio feedback for starting and ending a drive across all new Scania vehicles, used daily by drivers all over the world.
Significance
Utilised the possibilities of new smarter, connected digital systems to trigger the right information at the right time, giving users an efficient and responsive startup and shutdown experience.
Reflected
I learned how to lead the UX design direction of a highly complex technical system, where multiple stakeholders and interests all had to be understood to reach a qualitative outcome.
It pushed me to develop strong storytelling skills, using Figma prototypes as communication material and adjusting the message for the right stakeholder audience, and it developed my system and service design thinking, keeping the business perspective present throughout.