Schindler
A global elevator, escalator, and moving sidewalk company, Schindler transports about 1 billion passengers daily. The Novoda team was asked if we could build an app that could monitor elevator health from a typical passenger’s phone - in just 4 weeks.
Role
Senior Designer
Project
Secret Test App, Native Android
Client
Schindler
Year
July 2018 - August 2018
The Challenge
Schindler already had a diagnostic app - but it was highly technical and only used in scheduled maintenance checks. Our challenge was to see if we could build a concept app that could gather clean elevator data from a “regular” phone - while providing passengers with an experience that gave fair value in exchange for the information we were asking for.
Starting with a Sprint
We started the project with only a vague idea of the information we wanted the app to gather. We needed to learn as much as possible about what Schindler hoped to prove with this concept in a short timeframe. A design sprint would be the perfect framework to come up with features that could give value to users, as well as engage them enough to build up a good database. Our core team was joined by two data scientists and a design sprint facilitator for a weeklong sprint. By Friday, we had a good understanding of the challenge, a document full of product ideas, and a user-tested prototype.
The Solution
After sifting through a mountain of ideas, we decided to create an app for the Schindler employees at their campus in Switzerland. Employees would receive vouchers for the on-site canteen as they use the app during elevator rides, and Schindler would receive journey data for the elevators at the Schindler offices.
How it Works
When a user enters the elevator, they press start on the app. When the app detects acceleration, it will begin to show the user a mixture of fun trivia facts and canteen vouchers, which are saved to the user's profile. The app is recording sound to check for rust in the magnetic doors, acceleration for evenness of speed, and gyroscope to watch out for bumpy rides. If they data showed an abnormality, the elevator could be flagged for maintenance.
Creating Visual Engagement
This app had a lot going on under the hood, so between that and shipping a low-fidelity design early in the process, I made time to craft a beautiful design language. Motion, illustration, and a beautiful aesthetic would hopefully be the key ingredients to driving the user engagement we were looking for. The spirit of excitement, innovation, and humor around the design sprint inspired the whimsical rocket elevator character. After establishing the story of zooming through the sky in a rocket - the rest of the illustrations fell quickly into place. After Effects + Lottie added some micro motion magic, and we had lift off!
Trust and Privacy
We were aware that asking for this kind of data could be seen as intrusive. The purpose of the app was to see if gathering this information was even possible - nevertheless I felt it important to include a robust information section explaining what data the app was gathering and why.
Key Takeaways
This project was a whirlwind balancing act. But with quick planning, a supportive team (with no shortage of elevator puns), and an up-for-anything mindset, we managed to pull off a functioning proof of concept that fulfilled client requirements and delivered an engaging experience.