Surveyor's Tool for Optical Fiber Networks
During a building survey the main goal is to determine the future location of each piece of equipment inside and outside of the building.
The surveyor physically goes to the building and together with the building manager determine the location of every piece of equipment, construction work and city permits. They also take pictures and annotate the pictures and maps of the building and nearby streets with symbols, lines and text. Later on, a document is produced and signed by multiple parties.
This software tool can be used on a desktop computer, tablet or smart phone.
Context of work
The Surveyor works inside and outside the building being surveyed, walking, carrying other equipment and documents in a backpack, and in his person (pockets, belt, safety vest). Approximately 90% of his time on site is spent discussing and negotiating with the building manager, and 10% taking notes in short bursts of less than 30 seconds. Thus taking notes needs to be efficient and simple. A building survey can take from 15 minutes up to one or two hours.
The Network Designer works at an office on a desktop computer and can spend more time adding finer details to the document.
User Journey
Surveyor User Journey
The user research for this project was a lot of fun. I went to multiple cities and spent plenty of time with surveyors and designers while they were doing their work. And of course many lunches and dinners.
Desktop
Side panels are visible by default.
To add objects on the map the user selects the object from the side menu and uses the mouse to drop it on the map.
For Linear objects such as lines, walls and routes the user clicks multiple times on the map to draw a polygon.
An object properties are displayed on the right side panel.
Tablet
Side panels are hidden by default and slide in from the side when selected.
A target tool is added to guide the eye on where new objects will be added on the map. The target tool is always displayed on the center of the screen. Panning and zooming affect the map only.
To drop an object on the map the user selects the object on the side menu, pans and zooms on the map and taps on the target tool to drop the object.
For Linear objects such as Walls and Routes the user taps on the target tool for every vertex needed.
Smartphone
Side panels are hidden by default.
A target tool is also used the same way as in the tablet version (see above).
The tools are organized in two levels of navigation. For example, to add an MDF to the map the user first selects the "Punch out" tool, a new set of tools are displayed, then the user selects the MDF object.
Target Tool
In this particular industry the location of an object such as MDFs (point objects) and Walls (polygon objects) need to have certain precision on the map (< 0.5 m).
The goals of the target tool are:
1. Eliminate targeting errors and rework.
2. Reduce the cognitive load while making annotations on a map; i.e. straining while trying to get the right location of an object.
The target tool divides the task of adding an object in two separate steps:
1. Targeting. Panning and zooming the map to place the target location under the targeting tool. Panning is done using one or two fingers and zooming with two fingers.
2. Adding and object. Tapping on the target tool adds the object to the map. This action does not pan the map thus eliminating unintended panning.
