About: FlytNow is a drone fleet management software. It has various applications in security, public safety, delivery, inspection and surveying. It focuses primarily on the surveillance use case of drones, allowing users to plan missions, set waypoints, operate multiple drones simulatneously from a remote location over 4G/5G. The application is a B2B software built exclusively for subject matter experts (SMEs), drone operation managers and operators.
Duration: 4 months (2021) Role: UX intern
Project Overview
The product had been developed focussing purely on functionality since it's a complex operation however the software suffers from usability problems. This has led to low customer conversion rates and constant requirement of customer support from existing customers.
Exisiting application
Design Process
Studying the existing product
To understand the problems in the existing product, I conducted research in 3 parts:
Getting user feedback: Using google forms, existing customers were asked about various functions of the webapp to gain insights on efficiency, memorability and satisfaction
Interviews: Potential customers were interviewed to collect data about user needs and to prioritize issues to be fixed for better customer acquisition
User testing and heuristic evaluation: Testing the software with a first time user and conducting a design heuristic evaluation exercise for learnability and errors
Google form
User onboarding journey mapping
Heuristic evaluation
Task list for user testing
Register and import drone
Create waypoint mission
Set up grid mission
Drone in a box
Pre flight checklist
Precision landing
Set up waypoint actions
Flight logs list
Geofence set up
Drone attachments
Navigation controls
Video and image capture
Competitor analysis
Since flytnow is a cloud based solution and can be integrated with a large selection of off the shelf hardware, it is not limited to a certain region of the world. It has customers and therefore competitors all around the globe. There are a number of security companies that provide their own software as well as hardware solutions with drone integration. The closest competitors in the drone security market include the following.
Nightingale security: Has their own Drone in a Box (DiaB) hardware and software solution powered by AI for surveillance together managed from the mission dashboard.
Sunflower Labs: A drone security solution mainly aimed at rich homeowners paired with motion sensors that can detect intruders and then launch a drone to provide video feed in case of intrusion detection as a replacement to CCTVs.
Easy Aerial: Fence sensors, motion detectors and other security hardware paired with Smart Aerial Monitoring Systems (SAMS) for securing areas.
Drone Sense: Drone fleet management software that allows users to control their drones manually or execute autonomous missions.
Screen captures of various competitor software
Feature checklist of competitors vs FlytNow
Key Problems Identified
Customer acquisition and conversion: FlytNow has a lot of features, functionalities and modules that are not obvious to a user at first glance and the software gets dismissed as incapable because the user can't figure out how to use certain sections of the app. Moreover the free trial offered by the company does not include several modules that the user can buy and customize for their use.
Lack of clarity: A lot of features such as the automated Drone In a Box solution, cloud based gallery, etc. have certain pre-requisites that need to be fulfilled before they can be used. However, no proper explanation is provided to the use regarding the same.
Inconsistency in UI: Due to multiple features of different levels integrated in the app, there is a lack of consistency in UI elements like pop up notifications, placements of buttons, interactions, toaster messages etc. While this might seem like a minor issue it leaves a bad impression on first time customers as well as existing customers.
Need for new features: FlytNow has moved its focus completely towards the security market which is a highly competitive and upcoming market. To cater to its different use cases there are a lot features that customers require for the software to create high ROI for its users. For example, VMS integration, AI detection etc.
Design brief
To redesign the existing web-app ‘app.flytnow’ to increase accessibility, user retention and usability and develop new features based on current industry standards and market competitors.
Features to be worked on
Based on the high priority requirements found from the previously discussed research and business needs, the following features were selected:
FlytNow design system
Onboarding flow
Virtual drone feature
VMS integration
Device logging
User Personas
FlytNow has three major types of users:
FlytNow design system
Issues in existing system
Colours:
The old dashboard was made keeping the map view in mind, however during the interview process all the customers said that they used the satellite or mixed views which are darker than the map view
Design elements were not following WCAG i.e. lack of proper contrast between colours, sizing issues etc.
Lack of branding colours across the app
Lack of consistency in the colours used across the dashboard
Typography
Use of >12px fonts in certain areas
Lack of consistency in useage of font size, font family across webapp
Components
No set values or structure for design elements like toastes messages, text boxes etc to be followed causing inconsistencies
Factors affecting selection of colours
Environment: The main use case of FlytNow software is for security and surveillence. Since these drones are deployed for the security of large areas the video feeds are monitored at a command center either on site from a remote location. These command centers are generally dark rooms with multipled monitors and therefore the colours shouldn't be too light so as to reduce eye strain.
Supporting elements (Map): The map spans a major part of the creen of the dashboard. Users primarily use the satellite view due to requiring more detailed views of their sites and darker colours.
View attention: The viewer's attention should primarily be on the feeds that they are monitoring. Darker and dull colours help keep the users' attention on the video feeds without causing any distractions.
Onboarding Flow
Existing flow
Issues in existing flow
Onboarding flow
Hard to distinguish potential users from random sign ups
Potential users find it hard to discover and use features since a lot of them are locked and have to be purchased (unavailable in trial) causing would be customers to find the software incompetent
Outdated and incomprehensive drone tutorial
Friction between moving from desktop to phone to search for the application on the mobile app store
Anyone can access the free trial which leads to competitors gaining easy access to information
Virtual drone
Complicated way to turn on virtual drone via external application
No existing way to set location for virtual drone
Scope of project
Change in onboarding flow
Improve the interaction between potential clients and the business development team by implementing a 'request for trial' form instead of providing free access to everyone. This would help the team personalize the trial according to the users' needs and also allow them to provide a demo explaining complicated and hidden features.
Improve instructions for how a user can add their drone to the dashboard
Visual improvements
Virtual drone
Create a way to turn on the virtual drone from the dashboard
Create a flow to change the location of a virtual drone from the dashboard
User flow
UI Design
User testing
5 users were chosen for the user testing. 2 were existing users who were familiar with the older interface, 2 were new sign ups who had never used the software and 1 was an internal tester.
Method: Monitored remote moderated user testing (due to clients being international and covid restrictions)
Type: Semi structured
Results
Users found it very easy to sign up for the trial since the form was very straightforward
Users could add drones easily and found the QR codes intuitive
The virtual drone power on button was not obvious to existing users since they were used to the seperate login process
One user expected the virtual drone location to be in settings instead of the drone card detail screen
Feedback
The existing users liked the new layout of information in the drone card
The new colours highlighted important information and made it easier to use
The virtual drone feature needs more adjustments like simulating battery level of a particular drone to make tests more accurate
Impacts
12%
Reduction in cloud cost due to less spam accounts
87%
Reduction in sign up bounce rate
63%
Less calls for setup help due to QR codes
8
New conversions from enquiries
Video Management Systems (VMS) integration
Video Management Systems are a key part of security systems and are already well established in the market. Adding an option to access Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) link would allow users using different software to integrate FlytNow and drone video feeds without the need of extra efforts.
Scope of project
Provide user with the ability to copy the RTSP/RTMP link for individual cameras of each drone
Allow users to toggle RTSP/RTMP streaming on and off for a particular drone
Allow users to regenerate a link thus revoking access in case of redundancy
User flow
UI Design
Device manager
FlytNow allows users to add multiple drones and charging stations to their accounts. Drones are complex machines that require regular maintainance and overview to make sure they function as they're meant to. Drones also have to comply with various laws and regulations especially for 'Beyond Visual Line of Sight' flights (BVLOS) which require flight logs and additional information.
Scope of project
The user should be able to add / edit maintainance checklists and intervals for the devices / hardware and also upload maintainance manuals and keep logs of drone maintainance. The user will have an overview of the following devices / hardware on his dashboard:
Drone: The user can view the ID, the make and model of the drone, total run time as well as the average flight time of the drone and current status (airworthy / under maintainance)
Batteries: The user can view the lifetime parameters such as total number of cycles (or discharges), full energy charge and remaining recommended life time
Docking station: The user can see the number of battery charge cycles, total number of drone landings on the docking station and have the ability to download the docking station logs of 1 week, 1 month, 3 months or 6 months.
User flow
UI Design
Outcome and learnings
At my 4 months at FlytBase Labs I got to work closely with the business as well as the development team to learn customer requirements and provide a smooth end user experience. These were my most important learnings there:
How and where to compromise in design to speed development to meet client needs
Working in an agile environment
Coordinating with different teams
Working within technical limitations and researching on various technological capabilities to figure out optimum solutions
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