Simplifying data presentation and platform usability for ModuSense's end-users.
ModuSense provides wireless IoT sensor solutions for various industries, including agriculture, horticulture, and environmental monitoring. Their products include wireless sensors, data loggers, and gateways enabling users to monitor and control their assets remotely, giving them the data to make real-time decisions. ModuSense and US-based FreeWave have recently formed a joint venture that makes global innovative, turn-key industrial IoT edge solutions a reality. The outcomes of this case study are live within the FreeWave ecosystem.
ModuSense faced usability issues with their SaaS offering due to its development-heavy environment. With a strategic focus now on enterprise clients, the platform needed to evolve and improve to meet the demands of this target market. They needed to improve the user experience and bring clarity to the data insights to offer more than just data collection.
An Experience Audit that led to the strategy for a new design system, information architecture and purpose-driven data insights for the platform.
The Experience Audit findings brought a user focus into the platform design and enabled the ModuSense development team to better understand their user's perspectives and think more critically about development decisions. They feel more confident to share their thoughts and champion users.
Initially, we conducted a workshop with ModuSense to better understand their business objectives, the platform's purpose, and the specific problem we aimed to address for the users. We always remember not to place any pre-existing biases on the product during this process. Collaboratively, we created a user story to guide the evaluation of the platform to establish an authentic user perspective. Our story for this was that a newcomer to the platform was to set up a water tank monitoring system for the first time to ensure a constant water supply for the stock.
We began the evaluation by going through the onboarding process of the software and hardware components while capturing photos and screenshots on a Miro board to capture thoughts, feelings, and ideas in real time. Once onboarding was complete, we examined the other key user journeys within the product, resulting in a comprehensive map of the overall product experience.
The key areas of the audit included:
It's crucial to stay the course and overcome challenges when conducting an Experience Audit. During our audit, we encountered a moment of uncertainty when trying to progress to the next step. Rather than contacting the team for help, we opted to remain in character and utilise the platform's support options accessible to all users. As a result, we got a better sense of what users would experience when they hit a roadblock and insight into the platform's customer service.
Once we had reviewed the raw data gathered, we analysed it for common themes and identified any emerging issues. Based on our findings, we prepared a report outlining the problems identified and provided recommendations on how best to address them moving forward. Some of the key insights we found are below.
While customisation is valuable for personalisation and branding, it should be applied carefully. The custom branding feature inadvertently allowed users to create unusable or misleading dashboards. Users who chose red experienced difficulty distinguishing branded items from error states, and light colours often made buttons and assets appear as though they were disabled. A cleaner and clearer UI design with accent colours instead of primary colours would allow users to customise while avoiding these issues.
The data visualisations were overwhelming and complex, leaving users to interpret the data on their own. It's important to consider what users want to see when they log in and what information is most crucial for their decision-making. By highlighting the key insights, users can quickly access the necessary information and react more efficiently. This approach will eliminate guesswork and improve the overall user experience.
First-time users found it challenging to comprehend the ModuSense ecosystem, including the meaning of the terminology and how different components such as dashboards, devices, controllers, sensors, and gateways worked together. In addition, the multiple ways to access the same information made determining a clear path or goal for each screen difficult. A new information architecture and navigation structure will help new users onboard and allow all users to use the dashboard efficiently.
The new design system enhances the overall experience with intuitive custom branding. By retaining simple core elements and utilising neutral accent colours, we were able to introduce branding elements as accent colours without interfering with the user experience. The new design system has recognisable features and consistency throughout the dashboard for easy navigation
Implementing a simplified navigation structure and more organised information architecture gave users a clearer path to navigate the platform. We achieved this by reducing the number of side navigation items, introducing an intuitive top navigation system, and separating frequently used screens from those used less often. We also simplified the forms by grouping similar fields and arranging them to allow users to locate the information they need quickly.
We created a more purpose-driven dashboard by redesigning the water tank dashboard to provide users with key information that enables them to make decisions faster. For example, rather than simply displaying graphs of the water tank's levels, we included relevant details such as the remaining days of water supply, the rate of water entering or leaving the tank, and any raised alerts. Highlighting the data in this way simplifies the process for users to understand the current status of the water tank and take necessary actions.
Bruce Trevarthen
Co-Founder @ ModuSense
“Bo Studio is an exceptional team to work with. Their design outputs are not only efficient but also of industry-leading quality and clarity. Emma takes the time to deeply understand the intended user behaviours and aligns them with her extensive agriculture knowledge. As a result, the designs are both comprehensive and cohesive.”