Industry
Transport
Company
Openlane
Year
2024
A mobile solution for inspectors to update statuses and manage schedules
Summary
We have created the first mobile app that lets inspectors manage their day directly from the field. Instead of relying on phone calls and texts, inspectors can now track appointments, update inspection statuses, and view their calendar in one place. This streamlined experience saves time, reduces errors, and makes the inspection process more efficient and reliable.
The goal...and the challenge
The goal was to create a seamless experience that simplified inspectors’ day-to-day work. The challenge lay in designing a completely new digital workflow for a demographic accustomed to notebooks, pens, and phone calls. Beyond usability, the key task was building trust—showing inspectors that this new tool would not only fit naturally into their routines but also make their jobs easier and ultimately increase their earnings.
Last but not least, the intent was also to support managers by providing visibility into inspector activity—tracking locations, number of inspections, and overall performance. The design carefully balanced efficiency and oversight with respect for autonomy, ensuring inspectors felt empowered rather than constantly monitored.
We designed appointment cards with a focus on clarity and simplicity, highlighting only the key details—time, dealer name, and address. By minimizing noise and emphasizing what inspectors need most in the moment, the interface supports quick scanning and reduces cognitive effort in the field.
The project had a tight deadline, and initially the plan was to rely on the phone’s native camera to save development time. Midway, the scope shifted toward building a custom AI-powered image capture and analysis feature. This transformed the project from a design-focused deliverable into a highly technical collaboration. While the core design work was straightforward, I actively partnered with developers, listening and contributing to discussions on backend solutions to ensure the final experience remained seamless for users. In the end, I think it turned out pretty well.
A key challenge was streamlining the handoff between two apps in the inspection workflow. After capturing photos, technicians had to re-enter a five-screen review flow designed a few years ago, to verify sections and finalize the appointment. The goal was to design a seamless, unified journey that minimized context switching and cognitive load, making the dual-app process feel like a single, continuous experience.
There is more...
We also designed a feature that allowed inspectors to track their earnings on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis—something that had never been available before. Previously, inspectors relied only on pen and paper to keep records. To solve this, we created a comprehensive yet simple dashboard, focused on clarity and ease of use. We validated the concept with low-fidelity mockups and presented it to several inspectors prior to launch. The response was overwhelmingly positive—inspectors were genuinely excited about the feature and saw immediate value in how it simplified their workflow.
What I learned
This project reinforced an important lesson: always validate before you design. Especially in a context like this—where we were essentially asking a specific demographic to change behaviors they had relied on for nearly a decade—early validation was critical.We invested heavily in field research: visiting dealerships, observing inspectors on site, having in-person conversations, following up by email, and sharing rough prototypes. The goal was to deeply understand their needs, pain points, and expectations before committing to design decisions. Another layer of the challenge was introducing technically advanced features to a group that wasn’t particularly tech-savvy. This meant not only designing for simplicity and clarity, but also clearly communicating the benefits—showing inspectors how these tools could improve their workflow without overwhelming them. And finally, the project underscored the importance of team collaboration, particularly when complex backend requirements were involved. Many of the solutions we explored were somewhat unfamiliar to me as a designer, just as certain UX approaches were new territory for the developers. The key was clear communication, transparency, and a willingness to meet in the middle—finding a balance between user needs and technical feasibility. That shared problem-solving approach kept the project moving forward and ultimately made the solution stronger.