We start at 6:00 am at the Vienna-Nord delivery base. The already presorted letters are further arranged according to the route sequence of the district. Today, mail carrier Daniel, who has been with the postal service for 17 years, takes me along to the Großfeldsiedlung.
Once we’re done, we head to the bus. After a few stops, the tour begins. We drop letters and parcels into mailboxes, exchange signatures for RSb items, and engage in conversations with the local residents. Daniel mentions that many people have no one but him and that his work carries a social aspect because of this.
After 4 hours and covering roughly 8 kilometers on foot, all deliveries are complete, and we head back to the delivery base. For me, it's time to log everything, impressions, photos, and notes, into a Miro Board.
Design is Science
Why all this? It wasn’t just me out there as a mail carrier; UX/UI Designer Gjeneta Osmanaj from EBCONT in Liesing and Design Manager Jutta Doppelreiter from the Austrian Post in Penzing were also on the route. These observations marked the beginning of an initiative to enhance the software used by mail carriers on their handheld devices.
We are following the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach, employing observation as a method in the initial "Understanding" phase. Shadowing helps us gain insight into people's daily lives, their tasks in various scenarios, the processes, and the challenges in this job. This knowledge will inform decisions in the subsequent design process.
Efficiency through Good User Experience
In the following weeks, we'll progress through the additional steps of Human-Centered Design. All information will be gathered, categorized, assessed, and then prioritized. We'll create personas, visualize user flows, and evaluate the existing application using heuristics.
The analysis phase revealed that minimal adjustments to the user interface regarding color, consistency, and wording could significantly reduce the onboarding phase, particularly for career newcomers.
- Using colors makes the user interface more understandable.
- Consistent use of colors, components, and words makes it easier to comprehend, allowing users to reach their goals faster.
- Strategic UX Writing enables quicker scanning for keywords, contributing to more efficient usage.
With a clear focus on user-centric design and continuous improvement of user experience, we are confident that our insights will positively impact the mail carriers' work and ultimately the satisfaction of our postal customers.
We look forward to the upcoming steps in our design process and aiding mail carriers in performing their crucial work more efficiently and user-friendly.